Chapter 1

𝙆𝙮𝙡𝙚

"𝖬𝗋. 𝖧𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗓?" 𝖬𝗒 𝖺𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗌𝗁𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗌 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗈𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗍𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝖺𝗌 𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇. "𝖶𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖾𝖽?"

"𝖱-𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍, 𝗒𝖾𝗌, 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒," 𝖨 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗒 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗆 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖺 𝗌𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝗎𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝗈𝖼𝗄 𝗌𝗂𝗍. "𝖢𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖾𝗋." 𝖨 𝗆𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝖾.

"𝖤𝗑𝖼𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗆𝖾?" 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗌𝗂𝗅𝗏𝖾𝗋-𝗁𝖺𝗂𝗋 𝗀𝗎𝗒 𝖺𝗌𝗄𝗌.

"𝖲𝗈𝗉𝗁𝗂𝖺 𝖧𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗓 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗂𝖼𝗄, 𝖨'𝗆 𝖺𝖿𝗋𝖺𝗂𝖽. 𝖲𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖺𝖽, 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒." 𝖨 𝖽𝗋𝗈𝗉 𝗆𝗒 𝗀𝖺𝗓𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗌𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗎𝗉 𝗆𝗒 𝗅𝖺𝗉𝗍𝗈𝗉. 𝖬𝗒 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗆𝖻𝗅𝖾, 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗇𝖾𝖼𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗌 𝖺𝗌 𝖨 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗏𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖾𝗒𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗆𝖾.

"𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗍'𝗌... 𝖺𝗇𝗎𝗌𝗎𝖺𝗅," 𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗉𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗐𝗇. 𝖶𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗊𝗎𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗎𝗉, 𝖨 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗅𝖿 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌. 𝖠𝗇𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖺𝗅𝖿 𝗂𝗌𝗇'𝗍 𝖿𝖺𝗋 𝖻𝖾𝗁𝗂𝗇𝖽.

𝖬𝗒 𝗇𝖾𝗋𝗏𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖺𝖼𝖾, 𝖨 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝗐𝗂𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝗒 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗒 𝗉𝖺𝗅𝗆𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝗉𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗌, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗍 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗉. 𝖨 𝗅𝖺𝗎𝗇𝖼𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝖺 𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗁, 𝗍𝗋𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖼𝖾 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝗍𝗈 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖺𝗌𝗄 𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗇𝖽.

"𝖨 𝖽𝗈 𝖺𝗉𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗂𝗓𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗎𝗍𝖾 𝗌𝗎𝖻𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗍𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇. 𝖧𝗈𝗉𝖾𝖿𝗎𝗅𝗅𝗒, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗁𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗂𝗍 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍 𝗎𝗌," 𝖨 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍.

"𝖫𝖾𝗍'𝗌 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖺𝗒." 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗂𝗅𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒-𝗁𝖺𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗇𝗌 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗂𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗀𝖺𝗓𝖾 𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖾 "𝗂𝗆𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗎𝗌."

𝖡𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗇𝖾𝗋𝗏𝖾𝗌 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖿𝗅𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖿𝗎𝗋𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋, 𝖨 𝖽𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 , 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝖺𝗐 𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖺 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗐𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖼𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗂𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝖿𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗅𝗒 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗉𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗒 𝗌𝗈𝖿𝗍𝗐𝖺𝗋𝖾. 𝖲𝗅𝗈𝗐𝗅𝗒, 𝖨 𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖺 𝖿𝖾𝗐 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗇 𝗌𝖾𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗃𝗈𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗇𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇.

𝖬𝗂𝖽𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗆𝗒 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗋𝗎𝗉𝗍𝗌 "𝖬𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋..." 𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝖿𝖿 𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗐 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝗈𝖼𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝗉𝗂𝖾𝗋𝖼𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝖽-𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖾𝗒𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗆𝖾.

𝖨𝗇 𝖺 𝗌𝖾𝖺 𝗈𝖿 𝖻𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗆𝖾𝗇, 𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝖺𝗂𝗅𝗈𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝗄 𝗌𝗎𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖿𝗂𝗍𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝖺 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗄𝗂𝗇, 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗐𝖼𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝖺𝖽 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝗍𝗋𝗂𝗆 physique. Even seated, he's the tallest man in the room, and a dark, dangerous air to him that catches me off guard almost wolf-like.

"Oh... umm, Carter," I mumble, feeling heat flush my face.

"Mr. Carter," he starts again, shifting in his heat and adjusting his jacket. "Your stats are impressive and the data is sound, but why should we go with your company? In all honesty, you're much smaller than the other firms that pitched today and yesterday. "His tone is dismissive, like we shouldn't be wasting his time.

It makes me bristle, and I struggle to bite my tongue, knowing that losing my cool isn't going to win with bid "Mister?" I ask a, playing his game.

"Mr. Anthony," I say, I stand a little straighter. "You seem to think that our compaazny's size is a downfall. Sophia pick our clients as carefully as you pick birds. We are small by design. She would rather foster close-knit, long-term relationships with companies she believes that share our ideologies."

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