A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

Keystone Technologies could be a powerful weapon for Seraphina Sterling to wield against Hale Corporation, but first, she had to get it under her control. Even then, she would still need time to hone it into a truly sharp blade.

"I have no problem with the other conditions you’ve proposed, but there are two points. You want to suspend the company’s current R&D project? Do you have any idea how much time, effort, and capital goes into establishing an R&D project? Besides, the company’s current project has reached its most critical stage. As long as we overcome this one last hurdle, our R&D will be a success, and the product can be launched immediately! We can also start recovering our initial investment right away! If we stop now, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing!"

Although Chester Sykes wasn’t skilled at running a business, when it came to matters of profit, it wasn’t just him—any company leader would pay extremely close attention.

"You need the courage to cut your losses! Your current research project is no longer unique or confidential. The R&D team that left is intimately familiar with it! Since they were able to leave Keystone Technologies and go it alone, they can just as easily continue the work. How can you possibly guarantee you’ll get results first?"

Seraphina Sterling wasn’t certain, but it was highly likely. The R&D team that had left Chester Sykes had probably been poached by Justin Hale. Hale Corporation’s software development company was in trouble, and he desperately needed this kind of talent to solve his problems.

"Kyle Warren’s team may know the core of the project, but they’ve already left the company. They have no funding to continue the R&D! And let’s say, for argument’s sake, that they do find funding and can continue their research—that’s still no guarantee they’ll succeed before we do! Why do *we* have to be the ones to stop?"

Chester Sykes was indignant. When it came to R&D, he had never lost to anyone! Stopping the research now would mean he was admitting defeat!

"Because Keystone Technologies can’t afford to lose right now!" This was the first time Seraphina Sterling had ever met a corporate manager who understood so little about running a business. ’He can’t even grasp something so simple! It’s a miracle Keystone Technologies ever managed to go public!’

"What do you mean? Was I wrong about something?" Being lectured by a young woman more than ten years his junior was a truly strange feeling.

"Haven’t you even considered the other possibilities? Why must they do the R&D themselves? Why wouldn’t they choose the most advantageous path? They could easily sell the research data they have now, get funding, and then start a new project!" Seraphina Sterling no longer held any hope for Chester Sykes’s business acumen.

"That’s impossible! I know Kyle Warren! This is our research! He would never give up the fruits of his own hard work so easily!" In truth, it wasn’t that Chester Sykes hadn’t thought of this possibility; he just couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

Seraphina Sterling’s tone suddenly sharpened. "You know him? If you really knew him, would you have ever imagined he would leave and take his entire R&D team with him?"

Chester Sykes fell silent. It was true; he really hadn’t seen it coming. He had never imagined they would part ways. Kyle Warren’s departure had caught him completely off guard, putting the already precarious company in even greater danger.

"Or, they could have been poached as an entire team by another company! They could hand their research data directly over to a new company and continue the work there! Anything is possible! And any one of those possibilities is fatal for Keystone Technologies right now!" Seraphina Sterling’s expression grew increasingly grave. ’I’ve had my eye on Keystone Technologies for so long. There’s no way I’m letting it face a crisis like this!’