Chaos In a Tailored Suit

Chapter three: the rejection

ZARA’S POV:

My phone buzzed just as I stepped out of the taxi. I barely looked at it.

I was already halfway into the next plan, next investor, next pitch, next version of the same hope I kept facing forward like it hadn’t already started cracking.

Then it buzzed again. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

People brushed past me, annoyed at the inconvenience of a girl standing still in a city that didn’t wait for anyone.

I pulled my phone out and I opened the message.

Hale & Co international

We regret to inform you that your proposal for Bloom Tech has not been approved..

I didn’t read the rest, because I didn’t need to. It felt like something dropped inside me. Not shattered. Not dramatic. Just dropped.

A man bumped into my shoulder as he passed. “Watch it,” he muttered. I didn’t respond. I was still staring at the screen like the words might rearrange themselves if I waited long enough. They didn’t.

I locked my phone and unlocked it again. Read the message from top this time, slower, like I had missed something the first time.

We encourage you to pursue other opportunities.

A small laugh slipped out before I could stop it. Other opportunities. Right. Because they were just waiting for me somewhere weren’t they?

“Zara?”

I turned. Iris was crossing the street towards me, her heels hitting the pavement like she had somewhere important to be and I was currently delaying it.

She took one look at my face and slowed down. “That bad?” She asked. I handed her my phone instead of answering.

She read it. Her expression didn’t change much, but her jaw tightened slightly. “Of course they did,” she said, handing it back. I nodded. “Of course they did.”

We stood there for a moment, cars moving, people talking, the world continuing like nothing had shifted. But something had. “I can fix it,” I said suddenly. Iris blinked. “Fix what?” She asked. “The numbers. The structure. Whatever made them reject it.” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “I can adjust it. “I just need,”

“Zara.”

I stopped. “That’s not what this is,” she said, quieter now. I shook my head immediately. “It has to be. It has to be something I did wrong.” Because if it wasn’t, then I had just lost the one thing I didn’t have time to lose.

Three weeks.

The thought hit harder now. Not in the background, but right in front of me. My grip tightened around my phone. “I don’t have time for this,” I said, more to myself than to her. “I can’t just start over. I can’t.” My voice broke. Just slightly. But i felt it. And I hated that.

I looked away immediately, pressing my lips together like I could force it back in. Not here. Not in the middle of the street. Iris stepped closer. “Hey.” I shook my head again, faster this time. “I’m fine.” I said. “You’re not.” She replied. “I said I’m fine.”

The words came out sharper than they should have and for a second, I thought she’d snap back. But she didn’t. She just watched me. And that somehow made it worse.

I let out a breath, dragging a hand through my hair. “I just need a minute.” Iris nodded slowly. “Okay.” But she didn’t move. I looked back at my phone again.

The message was still there. Unchanged. Still rejected. All those nights, those revisions. All those times I told myself it just had to work. And it didn’t.

Something in my chest tightened. Pressure. And it’s building fast. “I really thought,” I shook my head. “I thought this was it.” Iris crossed her arms lightly. “You don’t get one it Zara.” I let out a short laugh. “Feels like I just used mine.”

Before she could respond, another voice cut in. “You always did bet everything on one move.” I froze. That voice. It better not be. I turned slowly.

Elias.

He leaned casually against the side of the building like he had been there long enough to hear everything. Like he had chosen the exact moment to speak.

My chest tightened again but this time, it wasn’t about the rejection. “What are you doing here?” I asked. He smiled slightly. “Same city as you. Not illegal yet.” Iris shifted beside me.

Her posture changed immediately, sharper. Colder. “You’ve got bad timing.” She said. Elias ignored her. His eyes stayed on me. Always too direct. “You look like you just lost something important.” He said. I let out a breath. “Go away, Elias.”

“Bloom Tech didn’t go through, did it?” I went still. Iris stepped forward. “You don’t get to ask her that.” she said. But he was still looking at me. Waiting. I didn’t answer cause I didn’t have to. He nodded once. “Yeah. I figured.”

Something about the way he said it, calm, almost certain, made something in me snap a little. “You don’t get to figure anything about my life,” I said and his expression didn’t change. “If you wanted it to work, you should’ve chosen your partners more carefully.”

I blinked. “What does that even mean?” He shrugged lightly. “Nothing you don’t already know.” Iris stepped fully In front of me now. “Okay, we’re done here.”

But I moved around her. “No,” I said. “What does that mean Elias?” He watched me for a second. Then pushed off the wall. “You’re smart, Zara,” he said quietly. “You’ll figure it out.” And just like that, he walked away.

No explanation. Just that. I stood there, staring after him. “What the hell was that?” Iris asked. I didn’t answer immediately. Because my mind was already moving.

Fast. Too fast. Partners. Hale & Co. Rejection. My grip tightened around my phone again. “That didn’t feel random,” I say slowly. “No,” Iris agreed. “It didn’t.” Silence stretches between us.

Then she looked at me again. Softer this time. “Hey,” she said. “We’ll fix this.” I let out a not so steady or controlled breath. “I don’t know how,” I admitted. And for the first time since I received the rejection, I didn’t try to cover it.

Iris reached for my hand briefly and squeezed it once. “Then we figure it out,” she said, and I nodded.

Because I had to. Because stopping wasn’t an option. Not now. Not when everything was already slipping. I looked down at the rejection message one last time.

Then I locked my phone. “Okay,” I say quietly. “Let’s fix it.” But even as I said it. Elias words stayed at the back of my head.

You should’ve chosen your partners more carefully.

And for the first time. I wasn’t sure who or what he meant.