Smith with an unexpected ease, each step carrying a confidence that seemed entirely foreign to the helpless woman Dorian had rescued the night before.
She had stealthily followed them towards the office, remaining just close enough to hear every word that had passed between them.
She had never intended to eavesdrop on their conversation, but curiosity had gotten the better of her.
More than that, she wanted to understand the predicament Dorian was facing and determine just how much help she could be to the man who had opened his home to her and her children when they had nowhere else to turn.
‘And you are?’ Mr.
Smith asked.
He turned fully towards her, his expression immediately shifting from confusion to curiosity as he studied the unfamiliar woman standing before him.
Dorian froze.
A sudden uneasiness seized him.
He had absolutely no idea what Brielle was about to say, and that frightened him more than he cared to admit.
He knew almost nothing about her past.
He didn’t know whether she had ever stepped foot into the world of business, let alone whether she understood the magnitude of the crisis his company was facing.
Not that he distrusted her.
At least, not entirely.
Their first encounter had hardly given him enough time to understand who she truly was.
He hurried towards them, desperate to prevent the situation from spiralling further.
‘She… is Brielle,’ he answered.
Mr.
Smith’s brows furrowed.
‘And who is she to you?’ ‘She—’ Dorian faltered.
What exactly was he supposed to say?
How could he explain that they had only met the previous night?
That he had brought her and her children into his home despite knowing virtually nothing about her?
That, somehow, this same woman now stood before a potential investor with an assurance that bordered on audacity?
Before he could find the words, Brielle stepped in.
‘I’m his partner.
Business partner,’ she said quickly.
Dorian’s eyes widened.
Mr.
Smith stared at her.
‘And as his partner,’ Brielle continued, her voice steady, ‘I can assure you that whatever you have invested in this company will be multiplied.’ Silence descended.
Mr.
Smith studied her carefully, as though trying to determine whether she was bluffing or whether there was something behind that unwavering confidence.
‘And what makes you so certain of that, if I may ask?’ Brielle didn’t retreat.
‘I know you no longer trust this company to recover, especially after the losses we are currently facing.
But, Mr.
Smith…’ She took a deliberate step closer.
‘This is business.
You and I both know that losses are inevitable in this world.’ ‘But—’ ‘Just give us three days.’ Brielle intercepted him before he could finish.
‘Three days, Mr.
Smith.
That is all we ask for.’ Her voice carried such conviction that even Dorian found himself staring at her.
‘Within those three days, you—and everyone else—will see this company rise again.
Not merely recover, but soar to heights greater than it has ever reached before.’ She spoke as though she wasn’t making a desperate promise.
She spoke as though she already knew the outcome.
Mr.
Smith said nothing.
For several long moments, he simply watched her, weighing every word she had uttered.
His brows knitted together as he contemplated the risk.
He was being asked to wait, to trust a company that was already sinking, and to place his investment in the hands of two people who had just promised him a turnaround within an almost impossible timeframe.
He could lose a great deal if they failed.
And yet, something about Brielle’s confidence made him hesitate.
Finally, he exhaled.
‘Fine.’ Dorian’s attention snapped towards him.
‘I will give you three days,’ Mr.
Smith continued.
‘Within those three days, I won’t call.
I won’t ask questions.
I won’t interfere.
I will simply wait for you to contact me once everything has been sorted out.’ ‘Thank you—’ ‘But let me warn you first.’ He cut her off.
The faint amusement that had been lingering in his expression disappeared, replaced by something far more serious.
‘If you fail to stabilize this company, I will not only pull my investment.
I will make sure you all pay triple the amount you promised me.’ His lips curved into a faint, almost unsettling smirk.
‘Consider it compensation for wasting my time.’ Dorian swallowed hard.
Brielle, however, remained unfazed.
Mr.
Smith turned towards Dorian.
‘Mr.
Wolfe, I will see you in three days.
I hope that by then, you and your partner will have sorted everything out.’ He gave them one final look before turning away.
‘Good day.’ With that, he walked out with his assistant, leaving the room in a silence so heavy that neither Brielle nor Dorian spoke.
Dorian remained rooted to the spot.
His mind was still struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
Mr.
Smith had agreed to give them three days.
Three days.
A man they had spent nearly a month trying to convince had just given them a final opportunity—and Brielle had accepted it without hesitation.
But that wasn’t what unsettled him most.
It was the certainty in her voice.
The absolute confidence with which she had made a promise that could cost them everything.
‘Earth to Dorian!’ Brielle’s voice finally shattered his thoughts.
Dorian jolted as though he had been struck by an electric current.
He blinked rapidly before looking around, only then realizing that Mr.
Smith had already disappeared with his assistant.
His gaze immediately fell on Brielle.
‘What did you just do?’ His voice was low, but anger was already beginning to rise beneath it.
‘I already told you about Mr.
Smith, yet you just dangled our lives in front of him by promising that we would somehow sort everything out.’ His frustration grew with every word.
‘And three days?’ he demanded.
‘How do you expect us to accomplish everything in three days?
Mr.
Norman and I have been trying for nearly a month, Brielle.
A month!
We’ve exhausted every option we could think of, and nothing has worked.
Yet you just stood there and promised him that everything would be fixed within three days!’ Brielle listened without interrupting.
She could understand the fear buried beneath his anger.
She knew he wasn’t furious simply because she had interfered.
He was terrified of losing the company he had spent years building.
But she refused to allow his fear to become hers.
‘I will do exactly what I told him I would do,’ she said firmly.
Dorian stared at her.
For the first time since Mr.
Smith had left, he didn’t know what to say.
There was something in Brielle’s eyes.
Something he couldn’t explain.
The woman standing before him no longer looked like the frightened stranger he had rescued the previous night.
There was a fire burning behind her gaze—a confidence so fierce that, despite every rational thought screaming at him that three days was impossible, a small glimmer of hope began to take root inside him.
Perhaps she knew something he didn’t.
Perhaps she had a plan.
Or perhaps… Dorian had never truly known the woman he had rescued.
His gaze remained fixed on her as that realization slowly settled into his mind.
He had thought he was saving a helpless woman.
But perhaps, without realizing it, he had brought something far more formidable into his home.
And in the next three days, Dorian was about to discover exactly who Brielle really was.