Chapter 1
The day before Summerset Group filed for its IPO, I sold all my shares to Davis Eaton.
He asked me to think it through. "Summerset is already getting ready for the IPO. Are you sure you want to sell?"
"I'm sure," I replied.
I flipped to the last page of the contract, ready to sign.
Davis stood up and pressed his hand down on mine, stopping me from signing.
I frowned, clearly annoyed. "If you don't want it, I'll sell it to someone else."
Davis's jaw tightened. "You've been fighting for Summerset for seven years, Brianna."
Yeah, seven years. From washing dishes late at night to cover the office rent, to now owning an entire building as our headquarters.
"I don't want Summerset anymore," I said.
"Why?" Davis asked, confused.
I smirked, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. "You really don't know?"
Davis's expression faltered for a moment. "Is it because of Harlow? But didn't you and Gunnar agree to get married as soon as Summerset goes public?"
"I don't want Gunnar either."
I pulled the contract back and quickly signed my name on the signature line.
After signing the contract, I went straight to Gunnar Lawrence's office.
There was nothing I needed to take with me, except for the photo sitting on Gunnar's desk.
The photo was from the day we bought this office building. It was me and Gunnar, side by side.
The workers had set up the huge acrylic letters for "Summerset Group" on the lobby wall.
After the group photo, I took one more with Gunnar.
"Bria, we really made it." Gunnar held me close, his eyes brimming with emotion.
Yeah, we made it. From a cramped 100-square-foot office to a massive 300,000-square-foot building of our own.
From a nobody kid to making it big in Silverport, where every inch of land cost a fortune.
*****
There was a pot of sunflowers sitting on Gunnar's office windowsill.
Their bright yellow petals pressed up against the glass, basking in the sunlight.
"Harlow put them there. She said fresh flowers bring life, and they're better for the windowsill than anything lifeless." The assistant, Anna, who followed me in, kept her gaze fixed on the floor as she explained.
"What about the plaster figurine that used to be here?" I asked.
"Harlow put it away in the cabinet."
I opened the cabinet.
The plaster figurine was broken clean in two. It lay awkwardly in the file tray, one half slumped to the left, the other to the right.
The figurine had been made to look like Gunnar and me.
The crack split the two little figures apart, separating them right down the middle.
It didn't matter anymore.
I shut the cabinet door and turned to face Anna. "Mr. Lawrence is already at the office, isn't he? Where is he now?"
Anna shot a glance at me, and then dropped her gaze again. "It's Harlow's first day at MBA. Mr. Lawrence drove her there."
Her words tumbled out in a rush. But I caught every word.
Gunnar had used the company's train as an excuse to help Harlow get into the MBA program.
I brought up the idea of getting an MBA, too.
I earned my bachelor's degree through self-study.
After the company was finally running smoothly, I wanted to go for an MBA to make up for that gap in my life.
Gunnar refused. "Most MBA applicants come from top, prestigious schools. Your college is not famous. I'm not trying to belittle your education. I'm stating the facts."
Gunnar said that with my background, I'd end up being laughed at by my classmates if I went to MBA classes.
Back then, when we took the SAT, Gunnar easily qualified for one of those elite schools.
I barely scraped into a regular university.
I dropped out, spent my days making coffee in a coffee shop, and my nights washing dishes at a late-night food store.
But Gunnar didn't agree with my choice. "We could get student loans. We could work as teachers' assistants at school to pay for living expenses."
I shook my head. "College years are precious. You should pour all your energy into your studies and starting our company. Get through the tough times now, and life will get easier."
In winter, my hands would crack and bleed from the cold. My fingers were always covered in band-aids.
But I gritted my teeth, slipped on my gloves, and stuck my hands right into the freezing water anyway.
When Gunnar saw me, he turned away and wiped his tears like a kid who couldn't hold it in.
Once the company was up and running, I spent every waking hour building connections and chasing business.
I argued with suppliers over a two-dollar margin.
I drank so hard at business dinners to secure deals that I wound up in the hospital getting IV drips.
At the very start, when we weren't making any money, I still washed dishes at night to pay the office rent.
The moment I finally earned that bachelor's degree, I stood proud and tall, like a warrior returning from battle, scars and all, but victorious.
Gunnar hugged me and told me all my effort had finally paid off.
But now, in Gunnar's eyes, my degree wasn't worth much anymore.
When did things start to change?
It must've been the moment Gunnar first laid eyes on Harlow Summers.
From then on, everything was different.
"Bria, we've got a new secretary. Her name's Harlow Summers," Gunnar told me.
"That name actually suits our company," I replied.
"Yeah, and that's not all. She graduated from a top university and majored in business management."
Top university, huh?
His words echoed in my mind, but I kept my face neutral. "As long as she's got real skills, that's what matters. You hired her, so she's your responsibility."
Gunnar took care of Harlow's onboarding.
When clients were slow to pay, during a business review, I told the marketing team to keep a close watch on the contacts.
Harlow proposed, "We need to close the loop, build a top-level payment control system, and set up our strategic framework."
"Good point," I said. "Turn your ideas into a detailed action plan and send it to the marketing team tomorrow so everyone can review."