2025-07-06 05:14:04“Yes, I’m about leaving the house now. I’ll be there shortly,” Sophia said as she ended the call, grabbing her brown leather handbag from the dining table.
Today wasn’t just another working day, it was the day. The one that could change everything. Her heart fluttered, but not from fear, from the pressure of what this moment meant.
Since she took over Donovan Industries as the new CEO, today’s contract approval would be her first major deal. A single signature today could push the company into the front pages of the most influential business newspapers in the city.
It had been a week since Michael was chased out. His presence erased from their lives. His name never mentioned again.
Sophia had started to walk in her new role with pride—her name already buzzing in media articles as the rising face of Donovan Industries. But beneath the smile on her lips, a strange heaviness sat in her chest. It was quiet, unsettling. She couldn’t explain it, but it clung to her spirit.
She said a silent prayer under her breath. “God, let this go well.”
In the living room, Victoria sat lazily on the long couch, a half-filled wine glass between her fingers.
She watched her sister, dressed sharply in a cream-coloured suit, her hair neatly pinned back. Her eyes lit up with admiration.
“Sophia, you look stunning this morning,” Victoria said, swirling her wine slowly. “Honestly, I’m just glad we finally got rid of that brat called Michael. Imagine him trying to climb where he didn’t even plant a seed.”
Sophia chuckled, zipping her bag. “And you’re still sitting here drinking wine by 10am. You need to get a job, Victoria. You can always take a position at the company. There’s room.”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “You know I’ll always get whatever I need. I don’t have to run up and down like you. You’re the CEO now. I’ll just enjoy from the top.”
Sophia smiled faintly, checking her watch. “Alright. I need to go.”
***********************
By 10:07am, Sophia arrived at the headquarters of the Ainsley Group. The building stood tall and imposing, all glass and steel, as if it touched the clouds.
She adjusted her jacket and stepped out of her car, greeted immediately by the staff at the entrance.
Jordan, a young, courteous employee she had spoken with over the phone, stepped forward and bowed slightly. “Good morning, Miss Sophia. The President is expecting you. Please, this way.”
Sophia nodded, her heels clicking softly on the polished floors as they entered. The elevators opened swiftly, and she followed Jordan to the top floor.
They stopped in front of a door that bore a bold inscription in gold: ‘The President’s Office.’
Jordan turned to return to his own office.
Sophia took a deep breath. This was it. She whispered another short prayer. “Let this favour me.”
She knocked once, then gently pushed the door open.
But the moment her eyes met the figure seated behind the large executive desk, her feet refused to move further.
Everything around her blurred.
Time slowed.
Her heart stopped.
“Michael? What the hell?!” she gasped, her voice loud and sharp, bouncing off the walls like an alarm.
Jordan, startled by her outburst, rushed into the office, his eyes moving between them.
“Sir… is everything alright?” he asked Michael with concern.
Sophia turned to Jordan with disbelief written all over her face. “What is going on here? What is this brat doing in your President’s office?”
Jordan’s brows lifted slightly, confused by the question. “He’s the President of this company, Sophia.”
Her mouth hung open.
Her eyes widened.
She took a step back, shaken.
“What?!” she whispered.
Jordan nodded slowly. “Yes… the President.”
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Chapter 188: The Offer
Sophia did not sleep.She lay on her back in the hotel room, eyes open, the faint hum of the city filtering through the window like distant breathing. Each time she closed her eyes, the words from the call returned, steady and unavoidable.A permanent executive advisory role.Directly under Michael Ainsley.By morning, she was already dressed when the alarm went off.She moved through the early hours of the summit on muscle memory alone. She listened, responded, took notes, asked the right questions. No one could have guessed that beneath her calm, every step felt like she was standing on a fault line. She noticed Michael across rooms the same way she had learned to notice him years ago, without looking directly, without reaching. When he spoke, she followed the logic of his arguments, the rhythm of his thinking. When he paused, she already knew where he was going.That was the problem.It was why the offer terrified her.By midday, she made her decision to speak to him, not later
Chapter 187: Watching Eyes
The shift was subtle at first.It began with looks that lingered a second too long during corridor conversations, with pauses that stretched just enough to suggest unfinished thoughts. Meetings that had always been straightforward began carrying an undercurrent of calculation, as if every exchange were being quietly weighed for meaning beyond its surface.Michael noticed it without being told.He noticed it when a junior executive stopped mid-sentence and restarted with different wording after Sophia walked into the room. He noticed it when an investor laughed a little too easily at a comment that hadn’t been intended as humour. He noticed it when a liaison casually asked whether “alignment” at the summit had gone beyond projections and numbers.None of it was explicit. That was what made it dangerous.By the third day of the summit, the speculation had taken on a life of its own, moving not through formal channels but through the spaces in between, private messages, informal dinne
Chapter 186: The Soft Talks
The documents lay spread across the table between them, edges overlapping, corners curling slightly from hours of handling. The room had grown quieter as the night deepened, the distant sounds of the city reduced to a low, steady hum beyond the glass walls. Only a few lights remained on in the summit wing, casting long shadows across the floor.Sophia flipped through a printed report, pen tapping lightly against the margin as she read. Michael sat opposite her, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, eyes fixed on a column of figures on his laptop. Neither spoke for a while. The kind of silence that settles after exhaustion had begun to replace urgency.Sophia broke it first.“This section still needs tightening,” she said, sliding the paper toward him. “The wording leaves too much room for interpretation.”Michael leaned forward, scanning the paragraph. “They’ll push back if we narrow it further.”She shrugged slightly. “They always do.”He adjusted the phrasing anyway, fingers moving acr
Chapter 185: Pressure and Alignment
The call came just after dusk, cutting through the low hum of activity in the summit headquarters.Michael was halfway through reviewing revised schedules when his phone vibrated sharply against the table. He glanced at the screen, noted the caller ID, and answered without preamble.“Yes.”The voice on the other end did not bother with pleasantries. One of the consortium’s largest private investors had concerns, serious ones. Currency exposure. Political risk. A lack of assurance on phased returns. The tone was firm, bordering on final.“They’re threatening to pull out,” the liaison said. “If they do, others will follow.”Michael didn't respond immediately. He walked to the window, looking down at the dimly lit courtyard below, then asked a single question. “How much time?”“Until morning,” the liaison replied. “They want revised guarantees before market open.”Michael ended the call and stood still for a moment. Then he turned, already moving toward the conference area.Within minu
Chapter 184: Clarissa’s Clean Break
Clarissa signed the extension in a quiet office with no ceremony to mark the moment.The document lay flat on the table between her and the governor’s chief of staff, its pages already initialled where necessary. She picked up the pen, skimmed the final paragraph once more, and signed her name with a steady hand.No hesitation. No pause.The chief of staff gathered the papers, nodded once, and smiled. “We’re glad to have you fully on board,” he said, already rising from his chair. “This project will need continuity.”Clarissa returned the smile, professional and composed. “I’m aware,” she replied.When the door closed behind him, the room fell quiet. Clarissa remained seated for a moment longer, hands folded loosely on the table. She didn't feel relief in the dramatic sense people talked about. What she felt was clarity. The kind that arrived not with fireworks, but with stillness.She stood, collected her bag, and stepped back into the corridor where aides moved briskly between off
Chapter 183: What Was Never Said
The breakout room assignment appeared on the screen with no warning and no room for negotiation.Michael glanced at the list briefly as delegates dispersed into smaller groups, each assigned a specific focus area. Strategy alignment. Long-term viability. Risk mitigation. When his eyes moved down the column and landed on the names attached to his room, he did not react outwardly. He simply noted it, the same way he noted everything else that day, with a disciplined calm that had become second nature.Sophia noticed at the same time.For a fleeting second, her step slowed as she read the assignment on her tablet. Michael Ainsley. Strategy Room C. She inhaled quietly and continued walking, refusing to allow the coincidence to rattle her. This was not a trap. It was not intentional. It was logistics. She reminded herself of that as she entered the room and took a seat across the long, narrow table.The door closed behind them with a muted click.The room itself was unremarkable. Neut
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