Chapter 192 - 190: Little Girl, We Meet Again
This approach was, admittedly, a form of moral blackmail, but Cecilia Sterling couldn’t afford to worry about that right now. She had to get a meeting with him, no matter what.
And based on what she knew of Mr. Jennings’s personality, Cecilia felt in her gut that this tactic would definitely work!
Sure enough, the assistant on the other end of the line froze before he could even get a word out. After hearing what Cecilia said, he instinctively turned to look at the Chairman in the back seat.
A black Bentley was driving from the airport toward Downtown. Randall Jennings had just returned from a business trip to Frostfall and was currently resting with his eyes closed.
The young assistant hadn’t been trying to completely brush Cecilia off earlier. Chairman Jennings really had been on a business trip in Frostfall recently.
But Cecilia’s hunch wasn’t wrong, either. The young assistant was indeed very wary of her, but he wasn’t singling her out.
Lately, Jennings had been relentlessly scouting potential wives for the Chairman, so the assistant had to find an excuse to reject any call from a woman—or from Jennings himself.
So, without knowing it, Cecilia had been mistaken by the assistant for one of the "candidates" sent by the old man. After all, he had received quite a few of those calls recently.
Now, the voice on the phone claimed to be Jasmine Sterling from Veridia. The name wasn’t unfamiliar to the young assistant; he was the one who had helped the Chairman find her back then.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke softly, "Chairman?"
Randall Jennings slowly opened his eyes. He had an imposing aura without even being angry, and a single glance was enough to make the young assistant quickly get to the point. "A Ms. Sterling from Veridia is looking for you."
’Ms. Sterling?’
Randall Jennings paused for a mere moment before sitting up straight, clearly having a vivid memory of Jasmine Sterling. He silently held out his hand, and the assistant quickly handed over the phone.
"Hello, Ms. Sterling. This is Randall Jennings."
The moment he spoke, his magnetic voice carried a hint of hoarseness from disuse, sounding deep and rich.
Just hearing his voice over the phone, Cecilia Sterling could distinctly feel a wave of pressure.
She quickly explained, "Hello, Mr. Jennings. I’m not Jasmine Sterling. I’m very sorry to have contacted you this way. I’m her daughter, Cecilia Sterling. We met once at my home in Veridia. I’m not sure if you remember me."
Of course Randall Jennings remembered. For one simple reason: Cecilia Sterling had a striking appearance, one that was hard to forget after a single meeting.
And Randall Jennings had always had an excellent memory.
Besides, it was this young lady who had insisted he stay and have two bowls of "God Jumps Over the Wall." He could still remember the taste to this day.
"I remember," Randall Jennings admitted readily, then asked perceptively, "Are you calling me because something has happened to your family? Or to Ms. Sterling?"
"You’ve misunderstood, Mr. Jennings. My mother and family are all fine. I’m contacting you so abruptly because I have a favor to ask." Cecilia didn’t beat around the bush. She knew Randall Jennings was a very busy man, so she had to be efficient.
So, without waiting for Randall Jennings to ask, Cecilia gave him the same concise pitch she had once given to Conrad Goodman.
Finally, tailoring her pitch specifically for him, she added, "Mr. Jennings, while the Jennings Group is a famous conglomerate in the country with a wide range of business interests, it’s a complete rookie in the field of artificial intelligence. But with our team’s project, you could help the Jennings Group take a huge leap forward and catch up in this sector. You have to give us a chance."
After saying all this, Cecilia subconsciously held her breath. She was afraid Mr. Jennings wouldn’t trust them or wouldn’t want to waste his precious time on what he might see as a project from a bunch of kids.
However, Randall Jennings just said in a normal tone, "Hold on a moment."
He looked at the assistant in the front seat and asked, "What’s the schedule for this afternoon?"
The assistant glanced at the time. It was already 10:30. "We’ll arrive Downtown around eleven," he said. "First, we’ll take you to The Azure for lunch. Your lunch break is from twelve-thirty to one-thirty. At two, there’s an internal meeting, and at three-thirty, you have a meeting with the Vice Chairman of Harbor Vantage Group to discuss next year’s..."
The assistant knew the Chairman’s schedule by heart; it was packed solid until ten o’clock tonight.
After listening, Randall Jennings picked up the phone again. "Young lady, I only have an hour and a half free today, between eleven and twelve-thirty. If you’re willing, come to the Chinese restaurant on the top floor of the Azure Tower and join me for lunch. I’ll have the head of this sector from my company join us to discuss your project in detail."
Cecilia was both surprised and overjoyed. She hadn’t expected Mr. Jennings to agree to meet and discuss the details so readily.
She nodded without a moment’s hesitation. "Okay, Mr. Jennings. I’ll definitely be there."
Just as she said that, the taxi pulled up in front of the courthouse. Cecilia glanced at the main entrance and sighed apologetically.
’Sorry, Director Lawson,’ she thought. ’He’s sure to win the case anyway, but I’ll have to be absent today.’
"Driver, to the Azure Tower."
After a frantic rush, Cecilia finally arrived at the Chinese restaurant Randall Jennings had mentioned at 11:10, just in time to meet up with Timothy Rowe, who had turned back midway to meet her.
"Cecilia, what’s going on?" Timothy Rowe still hadn’t grasped the situation.
Cecilia looked at him and said, "In a moment, you’re going to meet the Chairman of the Jennings Group, as well as their head of artificial intelligence. You need to explain our project to them clearly, understand?"
"J-Jennings Group?" Timothy Rowe was stunned speechless. ’It has to be the Jennings Group I’m thinking of, right?’
Cecilia nodded as a waiter approached them. "Good morning. Do you two have a reservation?"
"We’re looking for Chairman Jennings," Cecilia said.
The waiter’s expression showed immediate understanding. "You must be Miss Sterling. Please, follow me."
’Randall Jennings had actually given specific instructions.’
They weren’t led to a private room, but to a more secluded window-side spot in the main dining hall. Randall Jennings was already seated at a round mahogany table, and next to him sat an extremely young man in a suit. The man had a dignified bearing and a handsome face, with a slight resemblance to Randall Jennings in his features, but he was clearly much younger, not looking much older than Cecilia herself.
Hearing their footsteps, Randall Jennings looked up from a distance and gave Cecilia a kind smile. Cecilia quickened her pace slightly and, upon reaching the table, greeted him politely, "Mr. Jennings."
Randall Jennings looked at Cecilia with a calm and composed expression. "Young lady, we meet again. Please, have a seat."
Cecilia didn’t sit down right away. She first pulled Timothy Rowe forward to introduce him. "Mr. Jennings, this is the project lead for our team, my senior, Timothy Rowe."
Timothy Rowe’s hands and feet went cold and his scalp tingled. Before him was the living, breathing Randall Jennings. Even though the man’s smile seemed affable, his innate aura of authority was so strong it was impossible to ignore.
His voice trembled with nervousness as he bowed at a ninety-degree angle and said, "Hello, Chairman Jennings! My name is Timothy Rowe!"