“Sam, what’s your problem?” Hansel asked as he approached him.

“What are you talking about?” Sam replied.

“Why did you suspend the development project?”

Sam casually took another sip of tea. “I didn’t want to collaborate with you, so I suspended it. Do you have an issue with that?”

“You suspended it just because of that reason? Do you know how much money we’re losing daily if it’s delayed?”

Sam replied, “Yeah. I know.”

“Then, why the hell did you do it?”

Sam finished his tea and poured himself another. His movement was smooth and practiced.

Hansel stopped him. “You’ve been avoiding me for three days, and now you’re just sitting here silently. Are you planning to keep dragging this out?”

Sam finally looked up. “Who said I was avoiding you?”

“Your secretary told me you were on a business trip. Isn’t that your way of avoiding me?”

“Avoiding you?” Sam asked sarcastically. “You’re really overthinking this. I went to Lumberville for an investigation. That trip was planned two weeks ago. Why would I need to avoid you?”

Hansel paused, and something clicked in his mind. “Lumberville?”

Sam smiled teasingly.

Calvin leaned in suddenly. “Sam, did you go to Lumberville? That place is great. The food and drinks are totally my vibe… By the way, isn’t Miranda from Lumberville… Hey, why’d you hit me–”

Zach desperately tried to get Calvin’s attention. But when Calvin didn’t get the hint, Zach had no choice but to hit him.

Calvin finally realized he had misspoken and quickly clammed up.

Hansel stared at the calm Sam and asked slowly, “You went to Lumberville to find her?”

Sam replied coolly, “As I said earlier, I went there for an investigation. But…” He changed his tone. “I did run into Mimi.”

“What did you just call her?”

“Mimi,” Sam said.

Hansel snapped, “I dare you to say it one more time!”

“Mimi… Mimi…” Sam repeated.

Hansel grabbed him by the collar. “Sam Cooper, didn’t I warn you last time?”

Sam shrugged off Hansel’s grip and smoothed out his shirt. “Warning? What makes you think you’re in a position to give one as an ex? Talk about a big ego.”

Hansel took a deep breath. “So, is this your reason for ending our partnership? I thought you could keep it professional despite what happened between us because of Miranda. Looks like I gave you too much credit.”

“Does she even know how childish you are? Guess what? She can’t stand men who can’t keep things professional.”

Sam slammed his teacup down with a dull thud. “Forget it. Your mind games won’t work on me.”

He continued, “Tell me, Hansel. Did you come here today to talk about Miranda or the project? Or are you using her to get me to talk business?”

“Honestly, it’s not just this project. I plan to cut ties on all our collaborations one by one. From now on, you go your way, and I’ll go mine. Let’s draw a line between us and stay out of each other’s business.”

Hansel’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“Do you not get what I mean?” Sam asked.

“Why? Is it because I’m Miranda’s ex? Have you lost your fucking mind? You’re willing to throw away all this money just to satisfy your pride?”

The two had more than 20 ongoing projects together. Some projects were led by Sam, others by Hansel, and a few were joint ventures they had invested in, which third parties managed.

Splitting up would likely put a stop to most of their ongoing projects. They had already invested significant money, and ending their partnership now would mean losing everything.

“Do you really need to do this?” Hansel demanded. “You want to pursue Miranda? Fine, go ahead! I never said anything about ending our partnership, but now you’re taking it too far!”