Yes-man 161

“It’s Yves from Monarch Capital.”

He moved fast–no wonder his company was thriving.

Noreen picked up, exchanging the usual pleasantries.

Yves got straight to the point: he wanted in on Noreen’s project. When would she be back in Rivercrest City? He wanted to meet her the moment she landed.

He even pressed for her exact return flight, as if he might show up at the airport to intercept her.

But Noreen would never give a direct answer at a time like this.

She simply replied that her travel plans weren’t set yet. Once she was back in Rivercrest, she’d be in touch.

Before hanging up, Yves repeated himself several times–she had to call him the minute she got

home.

He was waiting for her.

No sooner had Noreen ended Yves’s call than her phone lit up again–Mr. Quigley from Qunda Group.

Apparently, becoming a boss came with a sharp business nose.

Noreen stuck to her script.

She remembered a time, not so long ago, when she’d gone to them for funding. Back then, each of them had put on airs, giving her the cold shoulder.

Some had even gone out of their way to humiliate her at networking events, making things as difficult as possible.

Now, one by one, they were lining up for a chance to work with her. Funny how quickly people forgot.

Still, Noreen kept things professional. She didn’t bring up old grievances–just exchanged polite niceties, danced around the subject, kept it all surface–level.

That’s business, after all.

The world turns for profit.

It wasn’t just Mr. Quigley. Joyner, CEO of Evergain Capital, called as well. Then there were the investors who’d once rejected her, even those executives who’d made snide remarks to her face at those parties. Now they were all calling, eager to collaborate.

Each one was unfailingly polite.

But now, Noreen was the one calling the shots. When to start, whom to work with–that was her decision.

She was in control.

The calls kept coming, until finally, she had to power off her phone.

10.02

At last, a bit of peace and quiet.

Dylan let out a laugh. “Ms. Gilmore, am I going to need an appointment just to see you from now on?”

“Maybe,” Noreen replied with a conspiratorial nod.

They shared a quick smile.

The summit had turned out just as Noreen had predicted–an overwhelming success.

Even with a few unexpected twists, the outcome was perfect.

Carman, watching the playback, grinned. “You know, maybe this was a blessing in disguise. If I’d done the presentation myself, it might’ve been too technical–probably would’ve bored everyone to death. Honestly, it never would’ve made the impact it did.”

The best part? Noreen had leveraged Bianca’s PPT to elevate InnoCore to a whole new level.

She wondered if Jude knew that, by trying to sabotage her, he’d actually helped put InnoCore on the map. Would he lose his mind? She almost hoped she could see his face.

After the summit, Noreen politely declined the organizers‘ invitation to the after–party.

She’d already promised Carman she’d have dinner with him.

Dylan showed up unexpectedly, so Noreen naturally asked if he wanted to join them.

He agreed.

Carman hadn’t planned for a third wheel at his carefully arranged confession dinner.

Now he had no idea what to do.

He’d even ordered flowers and a cake. If those arrived while all three of them were dining together, it would be mortifying.

But there was no time to cancel–he’d have to play it by ear once they got to the restaurant.

The three of them took a cab over.

Halfway there, Jude called Dylan. Since he was in Harborcrest City, did he want to grab dinner?

Bianca and Seth were there too–it’d be a little reunion.

“I’m tied up,” Dylan replied. “You all go ahead without me.”

Jude wanted to ask what was so important that he couldn’t spare time for old friends, but Dylan hung up before he got the chance.

He didn’t even let Jude get a word in.

At the same time, Bianca and the rest of their group had just arrived at the restaurant. As soon as Jude ended his call, she looked over. “So, when’s Dylan getting here?”