Playtime's Over, CEO: She's Really Done With You-Chapter 406: Persuasion to Withdraw
Time slowly passed by.
Soon, it was time for Aether to seek another round of financing.
The time was near, before Aether secured any new orders.
Everyone was raring to go.
If Aether got new orders afterward, its valuation would soar even higher, and it would require more funds to enter, so it’s best to seize the opportunity now!
Of course, there were some who, after researching the details in Aether’s announcement and assessing their own capabilities, decided to back out.
But these were the minority. Most were thinking, even if it’s just to join the buzz, it’s worth it. They knew the competition was fierce this time, with large company representatives present, but what if they got lucky?
Just like Jasper Ford before.
A great opportunity fell into his lap.
Thus, on this day, the crowd gathered.
When Serena Sterling got out of the car with Raine, there were even more people at Aether than last time.
"Wow!" Raine exclaimed instinctively.
Serena chuckled.
Raine immediately covered her mouth, feeling embarrassed.
Serena waved her hand, indicating it was fine.
A car stopped next to them, and Thea Lloyd stepped out.
"Thea," Serena greeted.
Thea smiled back and greeted Serena, while Lucas Quentin made a special effort to come over and greet both of them too.
The three were all accompanied by assistants.
"So, how’s it looking?" Lucas asked directly, "Can we get on the Aether train this time?"
"The chances are almost zero," Serena said straightforwardly.
Lucas clutched his chest, looking deeply wounded.
This earned him a glare from Thea.
"Don’t roll your eyes at me. Everyone’s heard about the time you rolled your eyes at Jasper Ford, and now you have a new nickname. You’re not ’Thea,’ you’re ’Eye-Roll Thea,’" Lucas said, shrugging. "It’s all the same, if you ask me."
"That’s enough out of you," Thea moved closer to Serena.
The three of them teased each other as they walked inside.
On the way in, they exchanged greetings with various people, maintaining surface-level politeness at least.
Once inside, they found that Jasper Ford had already arrived and came out immediately to greet them.
Thea, reminded of her new nickname, shot Jasper a glare.
This left Jasper puzzled.
Meanwhile, Lucas was laughing heartily.
Serena almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.
"What’s going on?" Jasper scratched his head.
"It’s nothing," Serena said with a smile.
Jasper was still curious, wanting to ask more, but was interrupted as a team approached.
It was people from the Hawthorne Group.
Silas Hawthorne didn’t come; instead, the head of the investment department and a middle-aged man, who others called Director Wyatt, were there.
Serena knew that Silas Hawthorne wouldn’t be up to anything good.
Something a bit mischievous.
When Director Wyatt saw Serena, he paused, a peculiar smile on his face.
"Miss Sheridan," Director Wyatt began, "Nice to meet you. I’m Desmond Wyatt."
Someone beside him quickly handed over a business card.
Serena took the card, glanced at it, and nodded with a smile, "Hello, Director Wyatt, I’m Serena Sterling, nice to meet you."
After speaking, Raine understood Serena’s meaning and handed Serena’s business card to Desmond Wyatt.
Desmond Wyatt narrowed his eyes, sizing up Serena.
But Serena just smiled.
Just a moment ago, he intentionally assumed a higher stance, casually instructing his assistant to hand over the card, a clear signal of seniority over the junior.
But Serena directly leveled the playing field.
A back-and-forth exchange.
This displeased Desmond Wyatt.
But Jasper Ford immediately stepped in, "Not going to accept it?"
"I have a business card too, does Director Wyatt want one?" Jasper said nonchalantly, digging into his pants pocket.
Jasper pulled out his own business card, thought for a moment, and handed it to Raine to give to Desmond Wyatt as well.
"By the way, I’m Jasper Ford," Jasper added after handing it over.
Those present couldn’t help but twitch their mouths.
Who doesn’t know you’re Jasper Ford!
Desmond Wyatt was also annoyed; it was obvious Jasper Ford was siding with Serena Sterling!
So, he had no choice but to accept the card, forcing a smile, "Nice to meet you all."
He nodded to Thea Lloyd and Lucas Quentin nearby.
"Are you all interested in Aether?" Desmond Wyatt asked.
"What else?" Jasper retorted. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Leaving Desmond Wyatt unsure of how to respond.
Desmond Wyatt couldn’t stand it anymore and left, saying he had other matters to attend to.
Serena almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Jasper Ford was really good at this; as it was said before, a $700 per session class on how to diss people must be taught by Jasper Ford.
"Now the price has gone up; if you want to learn from me, it’s 800," Jasper seemed to have read Serena’s mind and added.
Serena chuckled, leading the group further inside.
They left quickly, but at the side, surrounded by people, Isla Lawson only had a cold sneer on her lips.
Let’s see how long they can stay pleased.
As long as she gets The Lawson Corporation involved, with its resources, she can directly kick Serena out of Aether!
Go ahead and laugh, but you won’t be laughing for long.
Thinking this, Isla gave her assistant a glance.
The assistant promptly sent a photo just taken of Jasper Ford standing up for Serena to Gigi Sutton.
Gigi Sutton, however, did not reply.
...
The crowd at Aether grew larger and larger.
It was almost packed to capacity.
Initially, it was planned to have the meeting in a conference room, but now everyone had to sit in the lobby.
Serena, Jasper, Thea, and Lucas sat together.
Brandon Huxley opened the door and came in.
"Such enthusiasm, everyone is so enthusiastic." Brandon smiled and said, "But this time, we only plan to raise 150 million, so most of you might leave disappointed. I apologize in advance."
As soon as Brandon finished speaking, someone in the crowd spoke up.
"Mr. Huxley, 150 million is too little. Can we raise more?"
This person’s words were echoed by many others who agreed.
But Brandon Huxley did not relent.
"I’m sorry, everyone," Brandon said, "The company has internal plans; I hope you all understand."
Although people were disappointed, they didn’t say much.
Everyone knew Aether’s valuation would soar, and they didn’t want their equity diluted or to offer too much in concessions, which was understandable.
"There are too many people now, so I think we’ll do some screening..." Brandon said, beginning to weed some people out.
Afterward, not many were left to enter the conference room; most people couldn’t go in.
"Sorry, everyone. If Aether develops well in the future, we’ll seek more financing. I hope you’ll all continue to support us. You can leave now," Brandon said with a smile.
"We want to stay and watch."
"Yeah, I want to see who wins in the end."
"Exactly, my boss also asked me to stay to get firsthand information."
The people here absolutely didn’t want to leave; after all, this was a hot event.
Moreover, when they came, they were ready to accept that their chances were slim, just coming for the excitement.
Having come all this way, how could they leave now?
At least they had to wait for an outcome.
