Heir to an Indispensable Family

Chapter 8

As soon as those words left his mouth, the man turned and walked toward the exit.

Without wasting another second his entire team of investors got up from their seats and followed behind him like a parade of rejection.

Sarah felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach, but she forced herself to keep smiling. There were still plenty of other investors in the room. This was just one group.

“Thank you for your time,” she called out to the man's back, trying to sound graceful even though her voice was shaking.

“I'm sure many other people here have bought into the idea.”

But before she could even finish her sentence, another person stood up from a different section of the room.

“We are also not interested in your app anymore.”

This time it was a woman in an expensive business suit. She stood up with the same cold, professional expression and started walking toward the exit.

At that moment Sarah watched in horror as the woman's entire investment team followed her out of the room, just like the first group.

This was the same woman who had messaged Sarah first about Fashion Icon. The same woman who promised she would offer more money than even the Ross Group. She had been so excited about the app that she called Sarah three times in one day.

Why was she leaving now without even giving Sarah a chance to explain?

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, anything to stop what was happening, but before she could get a word out, several more group leaders stood up at the same time.

“We are not interested in the Fashion Icon app.”

“Count us out.”

“We're withdrawing our offer.”

One by one, they turned and walked toward the exits without even waiting to hear what Sarah had to say. Their teams followed behind them like a chain reaction of rejection.

Sarah's heart started pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears.

“Wait! You're all missing out on a business that could turn into a billion-dollar company!” Her voice got higher and more desperate. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime! Don't walk away from this!”

But nobody stopped. Nobody turned around. They just kept walking out the door.

Sarah was completely stressed out now, trying to figure out what went wrong. Were they all leaving because of that little drama with Hector? How could they be angry about something so small? It didn't make any sense to her, something is wrong, that poor thing Hector wouldn't be able to pull this off, the little drama earlier can't result to this either.

But then she looked around the room and realized who was still sitting there - the Ross Group.

“I guess I'm going to be doing business with the Ross Group then.”

As soon as she said those words out loud, something clicked in her brain. Maybe the Ross Group was the reason everyone else left. Compared to all those other companies, the Ross Group was a trillion-dollar empire. The rest were just a couple billion at most, and their connections were nothing compared to Ross Group's power.

At that moment realizing that could be the problem Sarah's face lit up with a bright smile. Of course! The Ross Group was simply showing her their supremacy. They probably made some calls and scared off the competition.

“I guess the Ross Group it is.”

“I guess the Ross Group it would be,” Sarah said again, her smile so big it looked like it might split her face in half.

At that moment seeing what was in front of him James was grinning just as widely beside her. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. They were about to partner with the Ross Group - the most powerful investment company in the country. Just having their name attached to Fashion Icon would make them billionaires overnight.

He tried to imagine himself as a billionaire, but his brain couldn't even process what that would feel like. Private jets, mansions, expensive cars, respect from everyone who ever looked down on him.

James's face darkened for just a moment when he thought about Hector trying to ruin everything with that stupid jewelry stunt. Thank God that loser didn't succeed in destroying their big moment. But James would definitely make sure Hector got the punishment he deserved once all this was over.

He turned back to face the Ross Group investors with his biggest smile.

“Just so you know the breakdown - I own 30 percent of Fashion Icon's shares, while Sarah owns 70 percent.” James's voice got more confident as he spoke.

“I don't mind selling part of my shares at this point, but I want to be hired by your company and given special bonuses before I agree to do that.”

James was saying exactly what his father had coached him to say before coming here today. According to his father's calculations, James's 30 percent share could be worth at least 500 million dollars to the right investor. And his family only needed 150 million dollars to save their business from completely collapsing.

This was the perfect way to get that money without having to pay any interest or deal with banks that might ask too many questions.

Both James and Sarah stood there waiting for the Ross Group to respond, their hearts racing with excitement and anticipation. This was it. This was the moment that would change their lives forever.

But instead of making an offer, the head of the Ross Group delegation simply stood up from his seat.

“The Ross Group hasn't made any final decisions about Fashion Icon yet.” His voice was cold and professional.

“This investment opportunity will be put on hold until we determine if we have any real interest in your product. We'll let you know if anything changes.”

With that, the man turned toward the exit, and his entire team of professionals followed behind him like a well-organized military unit.

Immediately Sarah felt like the floor had just disappeared beneath her feet. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She ran down from the stage as fast as she could, trying to catch up with the man before he left.

“Mr. Andrea! Wait!” Her voice was desperate and panicked.

“You told me not to sell to anyone else today because the Ross family would definitely make an offer on my product!”