Chapter 9
After hanging up, I sat at my desk for a long time.
What did I really want?
Eight years ago, when I joined Holt Group, all I wanted was a job.
Later, it was all about one person.
Now, that person was getting married to someone else.
I quitted my job myself.
All that was left was me.
Starting over at thirty-four wasn't too late.
On the fifth day, I called Nathan.
"I'll take on that project," I said.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then he laughed.
"I thought you'd take longer to decide," he said.
"I've made a few changes to the terms," I said.
"Send them over," he replied.
"Drop the sixty-forty split. I want it fifty-fifty," I said.
"You really don't hold back, do you?" he said.
"You said it yourself, I'm just like my grandpa, never the type to get shortchanged," I replied.
Nathan couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, fifty-fifty it is. We'll sign the contract tomorrow," he said.
After hanging up, I got up and walked over to the window.
The city lights came alive, one by one.
It was a new beginning.
On the day of the signing, Nathan brought his legal team, and we went over the contract in a small conference room at his company.
The terms looked fine.
I signed my name.
"Ms. Symons," Nathan said, handing the signed contract to his legal team. "Looks like I'll have to start calling you that from now on."
"Don't. Just call me Evelyn," I said.
"Alright, Evelyn," he said.
He stood up and reached out his hand.
"Looking forward to working with you," he said.
I shook his hand.
"Looking forward to working with you too," I replied.
As I was leaving his office, I ran into someone I never expected in the parking lot.
It was Serena.
She was standing next to a white Porsche, and when she spotted me, her face shifted for a split second.
"Evelyn? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Just passing by," I replied.
Her gaze landed on the folder in my hand.
"What were you and Nathan talking about?" she asked.
"Just personal stuff," I replied.
Her expression flickered for a moment, but she quickly put on a smile.
Serena said, "Evelyn, did you get what I sent you? Why didn't you text me back?"
"Yeah, I got it. But I sent it right back," I replied.
Her smile froze.
"Evelyn, I mean it. I really want to say sorry. That day was totally on me," she said.
"Ms. Lewis, you really don't have to apologize," I said.
I looked at her.
"You know what you said that day, and you know exactly what you meant. You really think a bouquet and a necklace can just wipe the slate clean? What do you take me for?" I said.
Her face flushed red.
"That's not what I meant..." she said quickly.
"I don't care what you meant. There's nothing between us, and there never will be, period," I said.
I walked past her and headed for my car.
"Evelyn," Serena yelled from behind me.
I stopped in my tracks.
Her voice lowered, but every word hit hard.
"Just because you're a Symons, you think you're so special? You spent eight years at Holt Group and never showed your true colors. Either you've got some scheme going on, or you just don't have what it takes.
"Don't think Grandpa stepping in for you that one time means you've actually made it," she said.
I turned to look at her.
"Feeling the pressure, Ms. Lewis?" I asked.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Let's be real, it's not me you're afraid of. It's that board seat, isn't it?" I said.
She didn't say a word, but her nails dug into the strap of her purse.
"Relax. I couldn't care less about your wedding, and that board seat at Holt Group? I'm not interested," I said.
I opened my car door.
"But if you come looking for me again, I can't promise I'll say the same next time," I said.
I slammed the door and started the engine.
In the rearview mirror, she was still standing there, frozen in place.
I knew she wouldn't just let it go.
But that was a problem for another day.
Right now, I had my own business to focus on.
The first month of the project was even busier than I'd expected.
Everything had to be started from scratch: finding a location, building a team, sorting out the supply chain.
Nathan provided the funding and resources, but the actual execution was all on me.
Luckily, everything I'd learned at Holt Group over the years was finally paying off.
Admin work, client relations, and streamlining processes were all my bread and butter.
Back then, I was doing all this for someone else. Now, it was all for me.
It was a whole different feeling.
By the second week, we'd brought on eight new team members.
By the third week, we'd locked in the location for our first offline experience center.
By the fourth week, we'd secured two key partners for the supply chain.
During the video call, Nathan looked over the progress report and grinned.
"Told you I picked the right person," he said.
"Save the compliments. We're seven percent over budget, so you'll need to chip in more," I said.
"Send me the approval form," he replied.
After the call, I leaned back in my chair and stared up at the ceiling.
This office was only 320 square feet, a quarter the size of the CEO's office at Holt Group.
But it was mine.
My phone buzzed.
It was a message from Celine.
[Evelyn, just wanted to give you a heads up. Ms. Lewis asked me what you've been up to lately. I told her I didn't know. But she must've dug something up herself.
[Today at the office, she was telling everyone you started a small company, just playing around, won't amount to anything.]
I stared at the message, but didn't reply.
She thought I was playing around, which worked for me.
By the second month, the project was in full swing.
The experience center was almost finished with renovations.
I was clocking in at eight every morning and not leaving until ten at night.
One night, as I was leaving the shop, I spotted a familiar car parked by the curb.
Adrian was leaning against the car door.
"You haven't been picking up my calls lately," he said.
"There's nothing to talk about," I replied.
"I want to talk to you," he said.
"Adrian, your engagement with Ms. Lewis was last week, right? Congratulations," I said.
Adrian's expression darkened.
"About that..." he began.
"Does Ms. Lewis know you're here?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
"See? You can't even answer that," I said.
I walked toward my car.
"Evelyn, I broke off the engagement," Adrian said, his voice low.