Chapter 192 Backing?

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Backing?

Julian Sterling stood tall and straight before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office.

It was an overcast day. Outside, the sky was a heavy, oppressive gray. Hearing a noise, he turned slightly and looked toward Sophie Winslow.

Stella Sutton was sitting in the chair next to him, gazing up with a coquettish smile as she chatted with Julian.

And that chair belonged to Sophie.

Finn Lockwood had also come along for the ride today. Seeing Sophie, a mocking glint flashed in his eyes.

With one glance, Sophie knew he was up to no good.

Mr. Thorne stood to the side, his expression grave. Seeing Sophie arrive, he stepped forward, looking somewhat troubled. "Ms. Winslow, could you talk to Mr. Sterling?"

Sophie glanced at the chair Stella was still occupying. "What’s this about?"

Julian had one hand tucked into his pants pocket. He wasn’t in a hurry to speak, appearing entirely indifferent to Sophie’s arrival.

Stella, meanwhile, sat in the chair with her legs crossed. Her lips curled into a smirk. "We called you here to tell you something. I’ve decided to take my entire R&D team and our products, leave Longview, and strike out on my own."

Her tone was that of a notification.

As if Longview was a place she could just come and go as she pleased.

Sophie truly hadn’t expected this—it was utterly laughable. What did Stella think Longview was? An R&D team just walking away with the products? Did she think corporate law was just for show? After leeching off all of Longview’s premium resources, she wanted to dump the company and set up her own?

"Do I need to remind you?" Sophie said. "You can’t take the R&D products with you. I can consider letting the team go, but as long as the project was developed at Longview, it belongs to Longview. It is not your personal property, Stella Sutton."

Sophie was astounded by her audacity. During that time, Stella had submitted numerous procedural requests—big and small marketing campaigns, resource allocations, and platform networking. She had used Longview as a stepping stone to elevate herself, only to plan such a blatant betrayal!

Stella was clearly unbothered. In high spirits, she said bluntly, "To be honest, our product has already been successfully prototyped. I want my team’s hard work to reach greater heights, but my vision fundamentally clashes with yours. I believe you will hinder the future of my achievements. So, Sophie, please don’t covet my work too much. Let’s just part on good terms."

She had kept this a secret. They had already tested it privately, and the first-generation prototype had been built. It was an all-rounder—capable of handling triage and assisting doctors in the operating room. She didn’t want Sophie to ride her coattails and take easy credit for her success.

Besides, not too long ago, Sophie had threatened to fire her.

At this thought, Stella leaned back in the chair and smiled elegantly. "I’m sorry, but I’m the one ’firing’ you."

So that was her play, Sophie thought. A few days ago, she hadn’t given Stella any face, using the threat of termination to knock her down a peg. She hadn’t expected Stella to turn right around and march back to her with even stronger backing.

Sophie shot a mocking glance at Julian.

Julian was here to back up his darling. He wouldn’t allow Sophie to be the one taking the initiative to fire Stella, so he was turning the tables on her at this crucial moment.

"Capable people always speak with such confidence. Sophie, let Stella go. Don’t hold back her development. That way, you can at least show you have some class. It’s better to be magnanimous about it," Finn chuckled and clapped his hands.

He clicked his tongue. "Could it be that you want to keep Stella trapped here because, as long as she works at Longview, Julian will come visit her? Are you just using her as an excuse to see Julian?"

At his speculation, Stella let out a silent sneer. After all, if that were true, Sophie would be far too pathetic.

Even Julian looked over at Sophie at a leisurely pace, his gaze deep and unreadable, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Being scapegoated so outrageously made Sophie’s stomach churn. Unwilling to take this lying down, she opened her mouth to retort, but Julian had already walked over. Sitting down directly across from her, he cut off her outburst. "Let’s talk. We need to resolve this properly."

Sophie hadn’t seen Julian in a while. And their first meeting after so long was once again because of Stella. For such a busy man to personally show up to advocate for and support Stella—it was truly touching.

"This is the original contract from when the team was formed." Julian slid a stack of documents toward Sophie. He just looked at her and said, "It was set up as an independent entity, so negotiating their departure from Longview now won’t be too procedurally complex, nor will it involve deep legal issues."

Sophie glanced at the papers. Julian was reminding her that there was no need to hold on so tightly. She needed to read the room and be smart about this.

"I’m not someone who cares about fame or fortune. I only came to Longview in the first place for Julian. Since Julian has let go of his management role at Longview, I don’t see any reason to waste my time here," Stella chimed in to make her stance clear. As she spoke, she cast an affectionate glance at him. Even a fool could see the tender sweetness written all over her face. She took the opportunity to flaunt her bond and connection with Julian. How sweet.

Sophie felt like a background character, forced to watch them openly display their affection without any reservations.

Her expression remained impassive. "It seems you really think you’re the main character, that everyone has to accommodate your every decision. You can leave, but we’ll take this to court and see how it’s ruled. If you think you can easily walk away with a project that Longview lifted off the ground, you’re delusional."

This wasn’t without precedent in the corporate world. It was a classic backstab—exploiting all of a company’s benefits and resources, only to brand the results as one’s own exclusive property.

Stella’s face turned cold at Sophie’s jab about her "thinking she had decision-making power," but then she chuckled lightly. "I know you care a lot about my project. After all, it can bring you a lot of profit. But don’t you think trying to steal it is overreaching?"

Sophie wasn’t stupid; she knew the value of the project.

Finn frowned, recalling how Sophie had also tried to steal the credit for Stella saving the Lockwood family. Sure enough, it was her true nature. She would never change. He scoffed. "There’s no need to be so shamelessly greedy."

Sophie finally smiled. She leaned back in her chair. "You guys think too highly of yourselves. Helios could easily make whatever it is Stella’s working on. Don’t flatter yourselves."

She was telling the truth. She didn’t care about Stella’s product at all. She had made similar things just for fun during college competitions. What she actually cared about were Longview’s gains and losses. After all, Longview had poured so many resources into this.

Stella’s mouth twitched, and her gaze grew colder. In her eyes, Sophie was just talking tough to save face. She didn’t care about the project? It was obvious she wanted to steal it, yet she still tried to belittle it. Finn was right; she was being unbelievably greedy!

"A valuation buyout. Is that acceptable?" Julian didn’t mince his words, looking directly at Sophie. "We’ll evaluate this project, and I’ll buy it out."

Sophie’s expression cooled completely. A heavy breath caught in her throat. Julian was dead set on helping Stella leave Longview. He was going to pay to buy out the project for her, securing her freedom so she could strike out on her own.

Sophie didn’t speak. She was utterly blinded by this display of epic true love.

Julian, however, stared at her expression without blinking, shooting back, "If I buy it out for her, does she have the decision-making power now?"