Chapter 127: Friction

Jenny sat in her office, poring over the latest updates on the Apex Future Focus fund.

Her team was making significant progress despite the whole thing with the audit, and media coverage had been largely favorable. She knew that the momentum wasn’t back with her yet but it also wasn’t with Jasmine. Their mother had levelled the ground, just like she’d said she would.

Well, this was only a part of it.

Anyways, just as Jenny was beginning to enjoy her moment of satisfaction, the moment was shattered by the sound of her office door slamming open.

Jenny looked up, startled, to see her sister storming in, fury covering her face. She swung the door shut behind her and it slammed into the doorframe as she stood there, not even bothering to sit down.

"What the hell did you do?" Jasmine spat.

Jenny sighed. Not this again. But there was one good thing about this… situation. For Jasmine to be this riled up, things must not have been going smoothly for her.

Jenny leaned back in her chair, a calm expression on her face. "You’re going to have to be more specific, Jasmine. What exactly are you accusing me of this time?" Read latest stories on NovelBin.Côm

Jasmine slammed her hand on Jenny’s desk, causing some papers to scatter. "Don’t play dumb with me! The audit. Mother canceled it. She was sitting back, not intervening and now, she suddenly called it off. What did you do to change her mind?"

Jenny sighed again, took her time to close the folder in front of her, knowing it would piss her sister off more, before standing. "I didn’t do anything underhanded, if that’s what you’re implying." She said. "Mother made her decision, and I respect it. Maybe you should, too."

Jasmine laughed sharply at that, a laugh that contained zero traces of humor. "Oh, don’t you dare try to act innocent. You must’ve begged, pleaded, or pulled some dirty trick to get her on your side."

"You’re projecting, Jasmine." Jenny waved away her sister’s words. "Just because you’ve been resorting to underhanded tactics doesn’t mean I have."

Jasmine took a step closer, her body practically vibrating with anger. "Don’t you dare lecture me on tactics, sister."

"Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve done to Apex by getting that audit shut down? It made me look weak in front of everyone. You’re sabotaging this company’s leadership."

Jenny rolled her eyes, chuckling at her sister’s words. "Oh, please. You sabotaged yourself when you put together that whole thing with Harrington & Co and leaked FleetForward’s private information. Or did you think we didn’t know about that?"

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Be very careful, Jenny. Your words are crossing the line."

"Or what?" Jenny snapped, finally tired of the accusations and bullshit.

She stepped around her desk and came to stand toe-to-toe with Jasmine, getting in her face. "What are you going to do? Sabotage another deal? Leak more confidential information? Face it. Mother sees through your games. That’s why she stopped the audit."

Jasmine’s face twisted with rage, and for a moment, Jenny wondered if she’d go physical but instead, Jasmine stepped back and her lips curled into a smile.

"You think you’ve won, don’t you?" Jasmine chuckled, her voice low. "You think you’ve got the upper hand because Mother decided to step in this time. But you know what? You’re wrong. You have no idea what I’m capable of."

Jenny raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the threat. "Oh, I know exactly what you’re capable of, Jasmine. Lying, scheming, stabbing people in the back. But guess what? That’s not leadership." She lowered her voice as if she was about to reveal a great secret. "That’s desperation."

Jasmine leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing at her sister. "You’d better watch your back, Jenny. Because when I’m done with you, there won’t be anything left for Mother to consider. You’ll be nothing but a footnote in the history of Apex."

Jenny narrowed her eyes, stepping towards her sister as her brain worked on her words. "Is that a threat?" She asked. "Because if it is, let me remind you that I’m not the same Jenny you pushed around with your tricks all those years ago."

"You think I didn’t know? I did but this time, I won’t back down, Jasmine. Not now, not ever."

Jasmine straightened, her smile widening. "Oh, don’t worry. It’s not a threat. It’s a promise."

"You know, Jasmine, for someone who claims to be the better choice to lead Apex, you sure seem more interested in tearing me down than building this company up. Maybe that’s why Mother keeps watching me."

Jenny’s lips curled into a vindictive smirk as she shook her head, eyeing her sister up and down. "Maybe she sees something in me that you just don’t have."

"Ha! The delusion!" Jasmine chuckled before her expression turned cold. "Mother’s just testing you, Jenny. She’ll soon see through your act, and when she does, I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Just like I always have."

Jenny crossed her arms, tilting her head as she studied her sister. "You know what your problem is, Jasmine?"

Jasmine raised a brow.

"You think you’re untouchable. You think that just because you’ve been at Apex longer, you deserve the top spot. But leadership isn’t about seniority. It’s about vision. And you… you have none."@@novelbin@@

"I see." Jasmine’s hand clenched into fists at her sides. "You’re going to regret this."

Jenny took a step back, gesturing toward the door. "If that’s all you came here to say, feel free to leave. I have actual work to do."

Jasmine hesitated for a moment, before spinning on her heel and striding toward the door. She paused with her hand on the handle, glancing back over her shoulder.

"This isn’t over, Jenny."

"No, it’s not." Jenny called out to her sister. "But I’m not the one who’s going to lose. That’s you."

The closer six months came to an end, the more bloody the war was becoming. It seems like Jasmine was taking everything personally.

Jenny sighed. She definitely needed to watch her back.