Chapter 1053:
“Wish me luck today, will you?” Millie asked quietly.
In the end, Anika returned the nod and reached out to give Millie’s shoulder a squeeze of support.
“Good luck,” Anika said, though her eyes still reflected worry. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Taylor stayed close on Millie’s heels as they climbed the stairs together, finally reaching the reception area on the upper floor. Millie grasped the door handle and pushed it open, stepping inside with confident purpose.
The scene that greeted them was remarkably different from the chaos they’d witnessed just days earlier. Today, the space felt almost empty by comparison.
The stark difference was immediately noticeable.
Millie caught Taylor’s eye, and they exchanged a meaningful glance.
“Miss Bennett, thank goodness you’ve arrived,” Foley said as he personally came forward to greet them.
His usual energy seemed diminished somehow, and there was a defeated quality to his posture.
Millie arranged her expression into a warm smile and approached him, extending her hand for a professional handshake.
“Is everything alright? You seem troubled about something today,” she observed gently.
“No, everything’s fine.” Foley shook his head, perhaps a bit too quickly, and then gestured for Millie to follow him toward the conference room. As they walked, he continued speaking with obvious disappointment. “I just wasn’t expecting the turnout to be so small. So many investors expressed strong interest in our project when we first announced it…”
Millie glanced at Foley’s anxious profile but chose to keep her thoughts to herself.
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They arrived at the conference room entrance, and Foley reached for the door handle. Before he could turn it, the door suddenly swung open from the other side.
A man emerged, cell phone pressed to his ear, clearly in the middle of an intense conversation.
He was muttering urgently, “Yes, yes, I understand completely. Don’t worry about anything. I’m leaving right now and heading back to the office…”
When he noticed Millie and Foley standing there, he gave them both a curt nod of acknowledgment before hurrying past them down the hallway.
Millie observed Foley’s growing anxiety with each passing moment, but she maintained her professional silence and simply followed him into the room.
The conference space was impressively large, with polished wood furniture and sophisticated lighting. Roughly twenty people had scattered themselves throughout the seating area, their conversations creating a low buzz of background noise.
Millie selected a vacant seat for herself. When she looked up, she discovered Babette sitting directly across the table. Several seats down from Babette sat Reuben, his posture relaxed but his eyes alert.
Foley excused himself to wait for any final arrivals, leaving the assembled investors to their own devices. Small clusters formed as people engaged in quiet discussions.
“So, Millie, exactly how much capital did you bring with you today?” Babette asked, her smile carrying a sharp edge beneath its surface friendliness. “You do understand there will be verification of funds, correct?”
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