Chapter 47
There had been no progress on the project for the past few days. Cordelia and Annie had not even managed to get into the Bayer Group.
Annie, feeling defeated, squatted on the road, her energy drained by the hot, scorching sun.
Cordelia, ever the optimist, brought her a bottle of water with a smile. “Let’s have lunch somewhere. We’ll try again in the afternoon.”
Annie sighed, her voice heavy with discouragement. “It’s useless, Cordelia. Seems like Jesse was telling the truth. Conquering the Centrolis market is tough. We’ve been here for days, and we still haven’t been able to meet with anyone from Bayer, let alone Mr. Bayer himself! Maybe we should just give up…”
Cordelia shook her head, determined. “Don’t say that! You’ve been in sales for two years now, so you should know that closing a deal with just one meeting is impossible. Once we get the slightest chance to present our proposal, it’ll be a huge step forward!”
“But we don’t even have the chance to do that!” Annie’s voice was almost pleading.
As Annie finished her complaint, a black luxury car rolled up to the building’s entrance, catching their attention. Several security guards quickly perked up and rushed to greet the person getting out.
A young man stepped out of the car, exuding the kind of arrogant confidence typical of someone from a prestigious family.
Annie’s eyes widened in excitement. “It’s Mr. Bayer!” she exclaimed, her tone almost reverent. “Wow, he’s even more handsome than in pictures. He’s so cool… Hah, seems like Jesse was right about that too!”
Cordelia rolled her eyes at her. Unlike Annie, she wasn’t interested in fawning over celebrities. She knew this was the chance they’d been waiting for.
If they could hand the proposal directly to Mr. Bayer, it would be far more effective than trying to schedule countless appointments.
With determination, Cordelia gritted her teeth and sprinted toward him.
However, the tall security guards immediately blocked her path. They were used to dealing with overzealous fans and assumed she was just another girl trying to get close to their boss. They created an impenetrable wall between her and Mr. Bayer.
“Sir, I have something urgent to discuss with Mr. Bayer…” Cordelia tried to explain.
“Miss, everyone who comes for Mr. Bayer says the same thing,” one of the guards replied dismissively.
“No, it’s not like that!” Cordelia flushed with panic, realizing she had to convince them quickly. “I have a sales proposal. It won’t take much of Mr. Bayer’s time—just five minutes! I can even do it in three minutes, and if he doesn’t want to look at it, I can explain it to him instead!”
The guards exchanged glances, clearly unimpressed. They moved in unison, gently holding her back from advancing any further, before letting go just as she stumbled, almost falling to the ground.
Annie immediately rushed to help her up, angrily confronting the guards. “What is this? Are you seriously going to treat her like this?”
The guards remained unbothered. “Miss, please stop. This trick is so old. Try something new.”
“Nowadays, all the girls want to marry rich,” one of them teased. “If you’re really looking to marry into money, the Hamertons are holding a wife-search dinner tonight. There’ll be plenty of rich men there. Our boss will be there too. Don’t miss it!”
Cordelia, still stunned, hobbled over to the guards, barely suppressing her anger. “Where is the dinner?” she asked, determined.
The guards looked at her with a mix of pity and mockery. “The Splendor Dynasty! Hah, best of luck, young lady!”
Ignoring their sarcasm, Cordelia took the hotel’s name to heart, committing it to memory. She squeezed the proposal tightly in her hand and a determined smile returned to her face.
Meanwhile, Josiah, who had heard the commotion from behind, instinctively turned his head just as he was about to step into the building. The moment he looked, his mind went blank. He froze, unsure of what to make of what he saw.
“W-What happened?” he asked, his voice tinged with confusion.
“I think those two ladies wanted to see you,” his assistant explained softly. “But the guards chased them out…”