Upon receiving the response, Vanessa felt a bit disappointed, but at least the other party hadn’t outright rejected her, which made her feel there was still a chance to negotiate.

“Alright, I hope Mr. Aamon will reconsider. I’ll take my leave for now.”

After leaving Mr. Aamon's office, Vanessa met with several other executives, but received the same reply from each of them.

Back at Cortex, she sat down and closed her eyes for a moment to rest.

After a day of running ...