But not Until now, Cora didn’t just check boxes. She rewrote the list entirely.
In that silent beat between words, while the conversation hadn’t officially started, Robert found himself staring at her, not in a way that would be inappropriate, but in a mont of realization. He didn’t just admire her. He respected her. He saw a future in her.
After all the years of waiting, of telling himself that he wouldn’t settle for anything less than extraordinary, he finally understood why.
Because he had been waiting for her, Cora.
The woman who deserved to be everything, his partner, his equal, the mother of his unborn children.
And in that exact mont, sitting across from her, Robert knew it in his soul, Cora was the one.
At that mont, Cora leaned forward slightly, her tone calm but firm, her words asured yet filled with purpose.
"Well," she began, "that’s the reason why I’m here." Her eyes held Robert’s gaze, not in challenge, but in clarity. "I got the ssage, and I believe it’s best to hear directly from the source what this is all about."
Then she sat back gently, folding her hands together in front of her on the table. "Because let’s be honest," she continued, "a proposal like this doesn’t just drop on my desk without reason. This collaboration didn’t just co out of thin air. A company like JSK doesn’t move without strategy, and soone like you, Robert, doesn’t call for a private eting like this unless there’s sothing more beneath the surface."
Hearing Cora words Robert nodded faintly, his expression unreadable, though the corners of his mouth twitched with faint admiration. He could see that Cora wasn’t soone who would be easily wooed by position or power. She was here for business, and she made that clear from her very first word.
"I’m not saying I’m not interested," Cora added, her voice softening a bit. "In fact, I’m quite open to the idea of a partnership. I believe there’s great potential in it. Our companies together could achieve sothing remarkable, especially on a project of this scale."
She paused for a mont, tapping lightly on the edge of her teacup.
"But..." she said slowly, raising her eyes again, "I need to know what’s at stake. I need full transparency. What exactly do you want from this collaboration? What are the percentages you expect? What parts of the project do you want control over? And most importantly, what leverage are you bringing to the table? I don’t want to waste ti dressing this up as a handshake agreent. We need to lay everything out now, so we know exactly what we’re walking into."
Her gaze didn’t waver. "That’s the only way I operate. No hidden clauses. No surprises. And if you’re expecting anything less than a sharp negotiation, then I’m afraid you’ve called the wrong woman."
At that mont, Robert couldn’t help but let a smile tug at the corner of his lips. It wasn’t the smug smile of a man who felt he held the upper hand, it was one of admiration, subtle and genuine. He had heard rumors about Cora before, that was long ago before she got married, of course, her confidence, her principles, her calculated ambition but now, sitting face-to-face with her, those stories felt watered down compared to the presence she exuded. There was strength in her words, precision in her thoughts, and clarity in her standards. She was exactly the kind of woman he respected, the kind of woman the business world didn’t see enough of.
Then he relaxed back slightly in his seat, letting the silence stretch for a mont longer before speaking. His voice, when it ca, was calm and reassuring, but with that unshakable tone of soone who knew exactly what he was doing.
"Cora," Robert said, "you really don’t need to be this tense. I understand, this is business, and you don’t play around with your ti, your resources, or your na. I respect that deeply. But I think you’ll find I’m not here to pull any tricks."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the table, his gaze steady and composed.
"I’ll go straight to the point," he continued. "This partnership has nothing to do with wanting a chunk of your project. I don’t want to control your vision. And it definitely has nothing to do with asking for so outrageous cut."
However Cora’s expression didn’t change, but her eyes sharpened slightly, listening closely.
"The proposal," Robert said, "is exactly what was in the letter. We are offering to handle the infrastructure developnt aspect of the ga City project. We have the technology, the engineers, the logistics, and the history to back our capabilities. You’ve seen what GSK has done with cities in three other countries, we have the blueprint, and we’re offering it to you."
He paused, then added, "All we ask for is the official contract for that specific portion of the developnt what we ntioned in the letter. No expansion beyond that. And for that, our firm is requesting a straightforward five percent revenue share from the city’s returns, just from our segnt of the project."
Robert watched her as he spoke, not in a way that demanded agreent, but with the quiet confidence of a man who knew what he was offering was not only fair but potentially ga-changing.
"This isn’t about taking sothing from you," he said, his tone softening. "It’s about aligning two forces that can build sothing the world hasn’t seen yet. That’s all."
At that mont, upon hearing what Robert just said, both Cora and Malisa were visibly taken aback. The air in the room shifted, not with tension, but with disbelief. Malisa blinked twice, her lips parting slightly in surprise. She leaned a little toward Cora, as if to silently confirm that she had heard the sa thing. But it was Cora whose reaction was strongest. Her fingers, which had been calmly resting on the table, subtly curled inward, and her eyebrows furrowed not out of annoyance, but pure confusion.
She looked at Robert for a long mont, studying his expression, trying to see if there was any trace of a smirk or a tease in his features. But he remained composed, collected, and incredibly serious. That was what made it even more baffling. There were no hidden intentions in his eyes, no clever grin tucked in the corner of his lips. He ant what he said.
Cora finally broke the silence.
"Wait," she said, her voice firm but genuinely puzzled, "Are you... being serious right now?"
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