Chapter 168
Sage gave Shane a call after she left the sports complex. Although she hadn’t spoken to him since he used her to get in Ian’s way, Shane was the best person for the job.
Even though both of them were present at Mimosa’s contract signing, the crowd made it impossible for them to catch up. In no time, his lazy voice came through the phone. “What’s up?”
“Do you have a minute to meet up?” she asked.
“What’s this?” he asked in a flippant tone. “Have you taken an interest in me now that you’ve given up on Ian?”
Sage rolled her eyes and brooded, “I’ve just gotten rid of an arrogant guy, and here comes another shameless one. Don’t worry. I’m not interested in men anymore, especially thick- skinned and conceited ones like you.”
“Damn. What’s got you all worked up?”
“I don’t have time for this. I’ve got something important to talk to you about.”
“Come over to my office then.”
Sage hung up and went straight to Shane’s office. When she walked in, he was still as carefree as ever. He had his long legs propped up on the desk as he watched a video on his phone.
Sage recognized the familiar melody of “Hotel California” and walked over to take a closer look. Shane was watching the video of her drumming.
She decided to use his words against him.“Do you have a crush on me, Mr. Morrison? Why are you watching my video alone in your office?”
He wasn’t the least bit bothered when he teard fier. Instead, he arched his brow and quipped, ” To be honest, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to be with me after you dump Ian. After all,
you’re pretty talented.”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” she said without hesitation.
“What does he have that I don’t?”
“An ego check, for starters.”
“Eventually, you’ll realize that having thicker skin is an advantage.” Shane tossed his phone aside. “Alright, let’s get down to business. What brings you here?”
Sage pulled out her phone and opened a document. “Does this look familiar to you?”
He glanced at it. “Isn’t that the pharmaceutical research facility Ian invested in?”
13
She inquired, “I’m sure you must be interested in this project, right? After all, you did bring me to sabotage Ian and Professor Braun’s dinner appointment the last time.”
Shane chuckled. “Oh, Mrs. Holcomb, what are you playing at? What does it matter if I’m interested in it or not? Ian has already invested in it.”
Whenever he wanted to taunt her, he would address her as “Mrs. Holcomb” instead of “Ms. Joyner“.
“Ian has only invested in its initial development. The institution will surely require a few more rounds of financing after this.”
Shane’s patience was wearing thin. “Clearly, you haven’t done your research. Ian’s investment was for personal reasons, not because he believed in the project. It’s not easy to introduce a new drug to the market. Sure, you’ll make a name for yourself and earn a lot of moolah if you succeed. But if you fail, it will all be for naught.”
In short, he wasn’t interested.
Sage was well aware that the drug had promising prospects. However, Henry’s decision to charge a high price sparked widespread criticism.
In the past, she hadn’t realized Henry had acquired distribution rights for the drug from Collin’s research institute. She had wracked her brain and spent countless hours on before coming to that conclusion.
esearch
In the past, Collin and his assistants didn’t launch the drug under the name of the research institution. Instead, they let Henry handle its distribution. Sage was convinced that Ivy had
been behind this.
Hence, she wanted to secure its distribution rights first to prevent Ivy and Henry from having their way. Plus, it would be easier for her to proceed to the next step of her plan.
“There’s no doubt that the drug is effective. It will be a big hit once it’s launched on the
market.”
Her confident demeanor prompted Shane to agree, albeit reluctantly.
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