In the Wetting Conglomerate's conference room, Jonas sat in an office chair with both feet propped on the desk.
Jonas lightly tapped the documents before him, his thoughts at an impasse.
With the board incident resolved, his focus clearly needed to shift to the partnership with the Nathen Conglomerate.
But as things stood, the profit he could hope to extract from this partnership was pitifully small.
The bargaining chips Jonas currently held were clearly not enough to give him the upper hand in the partnership.
"But the partnership is about to officially begin. What do you intend to do, Mr. Jonas?"
The girl's cool voice suddenly came from beside him.
At her words, Jonas paused, then explained:
"The only opening we have to gain the upper hand in this partnership is Miss Chelsea herself..."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Eiffel's eyes when she heard that.
"So you're planning to...?"
"Find an opportunity to invite Miss Chelsea out alone."
Jonas set his pen down on the desk, stood up, and said:
"It's about time I got to know our partner..."
"Why do I get the feeling you've been plotting this all along, Mr. Jonas?" Eiffel remarked, sounding rather exasperated.
"I suppose I have?"
Jonas blinked and said jokingly:
"After all, who doesn't love a white-haired older woman?"
At his words, Eiffel was just about to speak when a sudden sound cut her off.
Thud.
A muffled noise from somewhere drew their attention.
"Who's there?" Eiffel asked warily.
A thoughtful look flashed through Jonas's eyes, but a moment later, he smiled and said:
"Probably just a rat that crawled out somewhere. Don't worry about it."
In a blind spot neither of them could see, in the shadows behind the door, Shiyu Ryoko clamped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from