chapter1602

Stella paused at Joshua's comment. To be honest, she'd never paid much attention

to what Wilbur looked like. It was like she knew him, but she couldn't form a concrete image of his face in her mind.

Prompted by Joshua, Stella gave it some thought. Wilbur was indeed decent- looking.

She recalled that when Abby was hiring a bodyguard, she had mentioned wanting to find someone handsome. Due to her profession, Abby had a soft spot for attractive people. Stella hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Hearing Joshua bring it up so suddenly, Stella took a few seconds to respond. "...I guess so."

Joshua's gaze darkened as he looked at her from under his lashes. "You guess so?"

Stella didn't understand why Joshua was so focused on Wilbur's appearance. She asked, "You don't think so?"

Joshua fell silent.

After a few seconds, he changed the subject. "How have you been these past six months?"

Stella's grip on her glass tightened slightly. "I've been fine. Everything on my end... has been going smoothly."

She swirled the glass in her hand unconsciously, wanting to thank him but finding the words stuck in her throat. Being around Joshua now didn't feel awkward, but... inexplicably tense. She didn't know where the tension was coming from. It felt like being a student waiting for a teacher to grade their homework.

"I've mostly handled things with the Gardner family," Joshua said. "I can stay in Solmaris for a while and finalize the partnership with The Williams Group."

Stella looked at him. "Are you really going to partner with The Williams Group?"

As if reading her mind, Joshua explained, "The Gardner Group has been stagnant for years, too focused on a single industry. It's time to seek external growth. The rumors about the Gardner family aren't aren't great right now, which has scared off many potential partners. To expand, we first need to entice collaborators with sufficient benefits. Offering a sweetheart deal is the best option at the moment."

He said it casually, but Stella knew that a massive, favorable deal like this wasn't something you offered lightly. Even if the Williams family knew Joshua's relationship with them was strained even if they suspected it was a trap, they couldn't possibly refuse. It was simply too tempting.

"However..." Joshua's tone shifted, his deep gaze landing on her face. "Once this

deal is done, you'll become Jonathan's biggest threat. Star, are you ready for that?"

Currently, Stella had about forty

percent of the support within The Williams Group. With Skyler's backing, Jonathan had sixty percent. Not long ago, Stella had secured a partnership with the Quinn family. Now, with this major deal from Joshua, her support within The Williams Group would be enough to rival Jonathan's.

When it came to profits, everyone was on the same page. The shareholders were pragmatic; they would support whoever could make them money.

In just over a year, Stella had achieved so much that her supporters were raking in profits and grinning from ear to ear. They would even take jabs at Skyler's supporters from time to time.

This was quietly changing how a lot of shareholders who weren't hardcore Skyler loyalists thought about things. They were starting to think that Stella had more potential than Jonathan.

As for how Stella got her deals..... whether she snatched them, they were gifts from her admirers, or just plain luck...