chapter 3
1306 Words
CHAPTER THREE
HER POV
Three years later, I learned that success had a strange way of making people forget how young you were.
At twenty-four, I had already heard people call me ambitious, stubborn, difficult, lucky and, my personal favorite, too confident for a woman my age.
I never bothered correcting them.
People were entitled to their opinions.
I was entitled to my results.
I sat at the back of my car, scrolling through the documents on my tablet while my driver navigated through the busy streets.
“Are we close?” I asked.
“About ten minutes, ma.”
I nodded and returned to the document in front of me.
The expansion proposal was twenty-seven pages long.
I had read it twelve times.
It still wasn't perfect.
I sighed and closed the tablet.
This was supposed to be exciting.
Instead, I felt like I was preparing for war.
My company had grown significantly over the past three years. What had started as a small business during university had become something I was genuinely proud of.
I had expanded into several cities.
Added new products.
Built a proper team.
Started two side businesses.
And finally registered the international branch I had spent almost a year planning.
There was only one problem.
I wanted to enter Aurelia.
And Aurelia was difficult.
The market was dominated by enormous corporations, most of them backed by families whose names had existed for generations.
Getting into that market without the right connections was almost impossible.
But impossible had never meant stop to me.
It meant try harder.
My phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
“Hello?”
“Angela, where are you?”
I recognized Benedicta's voice immediately.
“On my way.”
“You said that twenty minutes ago.”
“I was on my way twenty minutes ago.”
“That's not how time works.”
I smiled.
“I'm almost there.”
“You better be. The program is starting soon.”
“I know.”
“And don't scare investors with your serious face.”
“My face is normal.”
“Your face always looks like you're about to fire someone.”
“I have never fired anyone because of their face.”
“Exactly. That's why I'm concerned.”
I laughed quietly.
“You're annoying.”
“And you're late.”
“I'll see you soon.”
I ended the call.
Outside the window, the city moved around us.
Aurelia was beautiful.
Expensive.
Fast.
Everything about it screamed power.
Skyscrapers stood beside historic buildings, luxury cars moved through the streets, and every major company seemed to have an office somewhere in the city.
I watched the buildings pass.
This was where I wanted to build.
Not because I wanted someone else's money.
Because I wanted my company to stand here on its own.
I wanted my name on one of those buildings someday.
Not my family's.
Not a husband's.
Mine.
The car finally stopped outside the hotel hosting the business program.
I stepped out and adjusted my blazer.
My heels touched the pavement.
I took one deep breath.
Then I walked inside.
---
The conference hall was already crowded.
Entrepreneurs from different countries filled the room.
Investors stood in small groups, speaking quietly.
I recognized a few names from business magazines.
That alone told me this wasn't going to be easy.
I wasn't intimidated.
But I wasn't stupid either.
I knew exactly what I was walking into.
I found Benedicta near the refreshments.
She spotted me immediately.
“There she is!”
“Don't shout.”
“You're finally here.”
“I said I was coming.”
“You always say that.”
I gave her a look.
She laughed.
“You look good.”
“So do you.”
“I know.”
I rolled my eyes.
She grabbed my arm.
“Come. I want you to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“An investor.”
“Does he actually invest?”
“I hope so.”
“Then why are you introducing me?”
“Because I'm your friend.”
“That isn't an answer.”
She pulled me through the crowd.
We stopped beside a middle-aged man speaking with two other businessmen.
“Mr. Harrison,” Benedicta said. “I'd like you to meet Angela.”
The man looked at me.
His eyes briefly moved over me before returning to my face.
“You're the business owner?”
“Yes.”
“I've heard of your company.”
I smiled politely.
“Hopefully good things.”
He chuckled.
“Some good. Some questionable.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Questionable?”
“You're young.”
There it was.
I had heard it before.
I kept my expression neutral.
“Age doesn't determine whether a business works.”
One of the men beside him smiled.
Mr. Harrison looked amused.
“Confidence.”
“Experience,” I corrected.
He laughed.
We talked for several minutes.
I explained my expansion plan.
He asked questions.
I answered.
Then he shook his head.
“Your idea is good, but the capital you're asking for is significant.”
“I know.”
“You'll need stronger connections.”
“I know that too.”
He studied me.
“You're not giving up.”
“No.”
“Why?”
I smiled.
“Because I didn't come all the way here to be told something was difficult.”
He laughed.
“You're stubborn.”
“I've been called worse.”
Before he could respond, someone approached him.
“Mr. Harrison, excuse me.”
The man turned.
After a short conversation, he looked back at me.
“I have another meeting.”
“Of course.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.
“Come to my office Monday morning.”
I looked at the card.
“Will you be there?”
“Yes.”
“What time?”
“Come at nine.”
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
He walked away.
Benedicta looked at me.
“You got a meeting.”
“I noticed.”
“Angela, that's good.”
“It is.”
“You're not excited?”
“I am.”
She stared at me.
“You don't look excited.”
“I don't jump around when I'm excited.”
“You should try it sometime.”
I laughed.
We spent the rest of the afternoon meeting people.
Some were helpful.
Some weren't.
Some clearly didn't believe I could afford the expansion I was proposing.
I didn't blame them.
They didn't know me.
They didn't know how much work had gone into building my company.
They only saw a twenty-four-year-old woman standing in front of them asking for access to a market dominated by billion-dollar corporations.
Let them underestimate me.
It had worked in my favor before.
By the time I returned to my hotel that evening, I was exhausted.
I dropped my handbag on the chair and removed my heels.
My feet hurt.
My head hurt.
And I still had work to do.
I ordered dinner, opened my laptop and started reviewing the documents again.
Around midnight, I finally closed everything.
I walked to the window.
The city was still awake.
I smiled faintly.
I had no idea what Monday would bring.
I only knew one thing.
I had finally gotten my foot through the door.
And I wasn't going to let anyone close it.
Not even the most powerful man in Aurelia.
I didn't know yet that the man whose company I was about to walk into wasn't merely powerful.
He was the man everyone in this world feared.
And on Monday morning...
I was going to sit in his waiting room.
Waiting for someone else.
Not knowing that he had been waiting for me for three years.
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