Wendy slammed her hand on the desk. “What are you spacing out for? If Walton Corporation’s already involved, how can we afford to fall behind?”

“What exactly is the project about?” she asked, fixing her gaze on the assistant.

“It’s mainly a plot of land overseas. Aurora plans to develop a new project there. At first, Walton’s top executives didn’t support it,” the assistant explained, then added with a note of admiration, “But I have to say, Aurora really is a business prodigy. Even without the backing of the board, she carved out her own path and…” He stopped abruptly the moment he met Wendy’s eyes.

The rest of his sentence that praised Aurora died in his throat. How could he forget that Wendy couldn’t stand Aurora? Even if he wanted to compliment her, this clearly wasn’t the time or place. Now that the words were out, there was no taking them back.

Wendy looked at him with a half-smile, the kind that made his spine stiffen. “Go on. What were you going to say?”

He fell silent immediately. Under that gaze, he couldn’t muster another word if he tried.

“Never mind. I think our top priority should be getting ahead of her—stirring up division within Walton before she can close this deal,” he offered quickly, trying to pivot. “If she fails to secure this project, and the board already has doubts about her, who’s going to keep putting their trust in her then?”

That snapped something into place for Wendy. Of course. That was the angle. If she wanted to sow discord, there were plenty of ways. And nothing exposed a person’s weakness like their own greed.

“Good,” Wendy said, patting his shoulder. “This is a smart move.”

“Go to HR and claim your reward. Next time you have ideas like this, bring them forward. I’ll consider every one.”

The assistant beamed. “Thank you, Miss Shaws. I’ll give you everything I’ve got.”

Just like that, the two struck a very satisfying deal. Wendy was especially surprised. Who would’ve thought a lowly assistant could come up with something that sharp? But he was absolutely right. If the overseas project fell through, how could Aurora possibly hold her ground at Walton Corporation? She certainly wouldn’t allow it, let alone the board.

Wendy began flipping through the project file related to Aurora’s overseas plans. The moment she spotted the name of the collaborator—John—she picked up her phone and called her brother.

“Do whatever it takes. Make sure John either backs out of the deal with Walton or drives the price up.”

Kenneth stared at the message she’d sent, his head full of question marks.

He quickly replied, “Wendy, what’s going on?”

He followed up with another message. “We don’t have anything to do with this John guy. And what’s this Walton Corporation anyway?”

Wendy grew impatient. “Don’t ask so many questions. Just know this—my future happiness depends on this. Are you helping me or not?”

Hearing her voice, Kenneth hesitated at first. But after thinking it over, he sighed. His sister’s happiness came first.