Chapter 199 - 197: Mother Has Arrived
Reginald Jennings looked at Cecilia Sterling with a helpless expression.
"Miss Sterling, the Jennings Group was the first to test your project. As your first client, you could at least show a little more sincerity!"
Cecilia Sterling replied with a solemn expression, "As for sincerity, we will certainly have a chance to thank the Jennings Group for discovering us in the future. However, this program is the culmination of nearly two years of hard work by everyone on the team. The hardships, the sweat, the sleepless nights—they were all very real. It wouldn’t be right to devalue the final product just to grant a favor. The price I’m asking affirms the value of my team. Not counting myself, there are eight members who spent almost two years creating something this exceptional. Their compensation for that time is worth far more than this. I don’t believe the price is too high."
"Besides, my team’s potential goes far beyond this. I’m sure Vice President Jennings can sense their infinite possibilities for the future."
Hearing this, Reginald Jennings glanced teasingly at Timothy Rowe. "You are all certainly rare talents. Have any of you considered a job at the Jennings Group?"
Timothy Rowe smiled and subconsciously glanced at Cecilia Sterling before speaking. "Vice President Jennings, I think it would be better to focus on finalizing our current collaboration first."
Reginald Jennings grew pensive for a moment but didn’t press the matter too aggressively. "Since you’re unwilling to make concessions on the price, we’ll go back and hold another meeting. However, the outcome of that meeting will be our final offer. When the time comes, regardless of whether it meets your expectations, I still hope we don’t let this opportunity pass us by."
Reginald Jennings abandoned his usual hardline negotiation tactics. When it came to Cecilia Sterling, he couldn’t help but consider his second brother’s feelings. After all, it was a fact that she had done the Jennings Family a favor.
Cecilia Sterling could see Reginald Jennings was yielding. She gave him a knowing look, raising an eyebrow. "Let’s hope the result is the one we want."
She didn’t yield, but her insistence wasn’t born from a lack of consideration. Rather, she was unwilling to devalue the contributions of her team. Just as she had said, the project was worth the price.
Once outside the Jennings Group building, Timothy Rowe let out a huge sigh of relief. He had never been part of such a professional contract negotiation, and facing the Jennings Group right out of the gate had put him under immense pressure.
"Even a massive company like the Jennings Group thinks our price is too high. Should we maybe reconsider it?" Timothy Rowe hesitated before finally deciding to ask Cecilia.
Cecilia looked at him and smiled. "You’ve always been so confident in your own project, Timothy. Why lose your nerve now, in the final stretch?"
Timothy looked embarrassed. To be honest, if it weren’t for Cecilia, their team would never have dared to set such a high price on their own.
If it were a buyout, then a sky-high price would be understandable.
But they were charging a recurring fee—a yearly license of 600,000. It was a figure they had never even dreamed of.
"Hold your nerve," Cecilia said softly. "As long as this deal goes through, the road ahead will be much smoother. Timothy, in a fiercely competitive environment, do you know what everyone fears most?"
Timothy furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then blurted out, "Falling behind!"
Cecilia smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Fear of being left behind. As long as our collaboration with the Jennings Group succeeds, other corporations will come to us on their own. Let’s just wait a bit longer."
The words had barely left her mouth when Cecilia’s phone rang. It was her mother calling.
She answered casually, but her expression turned to one of surprise before she could even speak. "The airport?"
"Why didn’t you tell me in advance?"
"I didn’t want to be a bother. Just give me an address, and I’ll use my phone’s navigation to take the subway," Jasmine Sterling said over the phone.
"How is that a bother? My own mother comes to Lorcain; of course I’m going to pick you up. Find a place to sit down and rest for a bit. I’ll drive over right now."
"You really don’t have to, Cecilia. I..."
"What do you mean, you don’t have to? It’s your first time in Lorcain; you don’t know your way around. You think I’d let you take the subway by yourself? And you, not even giving me a heads-up before coming. You really launched a sneak attack! Just wait for me. I’m coming now."
Not giving her mother another chance to speak, Cecilia hung up and turned to Timothy Rowe. "Timothy, you head back on your own. I have to go to the airport to pick up my mom."
"Your mom’s here? You’d better get going, then."
Cecilia waved and jogged toward the outdoor parking lot.
「Forty minutes later.」
Cecilia found her mother at the airport. She was dressed in a light shirt and pants and carrying a few bags of things she had brought for her daughter, looking weary from her journey.
"Honestly, Mom, who does that? Calling me only after you’ve already landed in Lorcain."
Cecilia couldn’t help but grumble the moment they met, but seeing her mother so thinly dressed, she immediately grew concerned. "You’re not wearing nearly enough. Winter’s already setting in here in Lorcain; it’s freezing."
Jasmine Sterling, however, just smiled nonchalantly. "It’s fine. I brought a coat; it’s in my bag."
Cecilia took the bags from her mother’s hands and then linked her arm. "Let’s get you home first. We can talk more there."
Cecilia was, of course, happy her mother had come to Lorcain. Thankfully, she had everything prepared—a car and a house—so it would be no problem for her mother to stay for a while. Everything was very convenient.
On the way back to Downtown, Jasmine Sterling sat in her daughter’s luxury car, her eyes darting around curiously.
She occasionally used ride-sharing apps, and the cars she’d been in were all more or less the same. She’d never felt that any of them were particularly comfortable.
But her daughter’s car was clearly different. The moment she sat down, the seat felt as soft and comfortable as a cloud. The interior was spacious, and the color was beautiful, too.
Cecilia naturally noticed her mother’s expression. She glanced at her mother, a proud, teasing smile on her lips. "So, Mom, what do you think? Your daughter’s car isn’t half bad, huh?"
"It’s beautiful." Jasmine Sterling gave a simple, honest smile, not holding back her praise. "Not only is it beautiful, it’s so comfortable to ride in. This car must have been very expensive, right?"
Cecilia nodded, not denying it. "It wasn’t cheap, but it’s nothing compared to my house. Just wait until we get home. You’re in for a real shock."
’I should give her a little warning.’ After all, she owned two villas in Hearthstone Villas, and either one was luxurious enough to make her mother’s jaw drop.
Jasmine Sterling knew her daughter had bought a villa, so she thought she was mentally prepared.
But upon arriving at Hearthstone Villas, Jasmine Sterling realized her mental preparation was completely inadequate. Her daughter’s villa was nothing like what she had imagined.
Or rather, she couldn’t even begin to imagine a villa this luxurious.
From the moment she stepped out of the car, Jasmine Sterling’s eyes didn’t know where to focus. The vast area and the expansive view made her feel like she was in a palace.
"Mom, I’ll give you a quick tour. I haven’t had time to get the other rooms ready, and Lily isn’t here, so you can sleep in her room for now," Cecilia said to her mother.
Standing in the middle of the living room, Jasmine Sterling nodded numbly. This one room alone was already much larger than their entire house back in Veridia.
Just looking at the huge, spotless floor-to-ceiling windows made her feel a sense of liberating joy.