Chapter 114

This was his show of good faith–and the clearest sign yet of the trust he placed in Noreen.
She felt a flicker of emotion. Carman had seen right through her
intentions, and she hadn’t expected it.
“I met with Mr. Selwyn from Monarch Capital today,” she said. “He told me the Al industry is evolving so fast that even a day’s delay could leave us behind. He asked me to really think it over.”
Noreen gripped the contract, her voice barely above a whisper. “Now I’m passing those words on to you. I hope you’ll really think this through.”
Carman picked up the pen on the table and handed it to her, his attitude firmer than ever. “I already have. This is my answer. Sign it.”
‘As she took the pen, Noreen’s eyes grew warm with unshed tears. “One last warning: if you sign, there’s no turning back.”
“Just sign it already!” Carman pressed, impatient as ever.
“By the way, when you first came to me, you didn’t exactly trust my skills, did you? You think I’m going to get left behind?”
When it came to his area of expertise, Carman was nothing if not confident.
Noreen didn’t hesitate any longer. She signed her name in a swift, practiced stroke.
Things went both better and worse than expected.
Every problem a startup could face, Noreen encountered–without exception.
But she kept her composure. After all, the past few years had toughened her up; she wouldn’t be crushed so easily.
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Chapter 114
She tackled it from both ends: pitching to investors while applying for
bank loans.
The loan process was a labyrinth–slow, tedious, and, in the end, not nearly as helpful as it seemed.
Watching the company’s funds dwindle day by day, the anxiety finally got to her.
After another fruitless visit to a bank, she slumped into a seat on the subway, exhaustion washing over her.
Right then, her phone started buzzing–again and again.
She didn’t need to check to know who it was.
Who else but Sophia?
Sophia had a habit–she couldn’t send a single thought in one message. What could be said in a sentence, she’d break into three or four texts.
Noreen opened her chat.
Sure enough, Sophia was venting again.
“Noreen.”
“Some people-”
“ Are just infuriating, you know?”
“Guess what?”
“Mr. Harcourt, just now-”
“Dropped a fortune for Director Lowell-”
“Bought her a villa in Laurel Heights!”
While Sophia kept sending message after message, Noreen’s mind went blank for a moment.
A villa in Laurel Heights–nothing there went for less than five million.
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Seth was certainly extravagant.
He’d always been generous with Bianca. Noreen was used to hearing about it.
It never bothered her to hear people talk about how good Seth was to Bianca.
But hearing that he’d spent five or six million on a house just for her? That… that got to her.
She’d been running herself ragged these past few days trying to get a loan for a few hundred thousand, while someone else could buy a luxury home on a whim just to please his beloved…
Some people really were born lucky.
Sophia was still going on: “Honestly, Mr. Harcourt is completely
bewitched by that femme fatale–at this rate, Aurelion Group is going to crash and burn under his spell!”
“So, I’m quitting!”
Noreen replied with a single question mark.
Sophia fired back: “Noreen, I heard you started your own business. Need
an assistant to fetch coffee?”
Noreen joked right back: “Three grand a month. You in?”
Sophia: “Deal!”
Noreen:
”
11 This update ıs available on.net
She laughed it off–Sophia was clearly joking. Just then, the subway pulled into her stop.
As she got ready to get off, WhatsApp flashed with a familiar name.
Seth: “What scandalous secret did you just delete?”
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