Chapter 93 93

Chapter 93 93
"About five minutes before I called you," Raymond answered. "I was going through some routine emails when I saw it pop up. I almost deleted it thinking it was spam because I couldn't believe the subject line was real."

I pulled him into another hug, this one less chaotic and more filled with genuine emotion. "We did this together," I said quietly. "This is as much your victory as it is mine. I couldn't have done any of this without you."

"Hey, don't get all emotional on me now," Raymond said, trying to pull away, but I could hear the thickness in his voice. "We're supposed to be celebrating, not crying."

"I'm allowed to be emotional," I protested, pulling back to look at him. "This is incredible, Raymond. Do you know how many companies were competing for this contract? How many proposals they must have had to review?"

"Seventeen," Raymond said, leaving me stunned. "I know this because I asked their assistant during one of our follow-up calls. Out of seventeen proposals from other established firms, some far better than ours, they chose us."

The significance of that wasn't lost on me. We weren't the biggest firm. We weren't even the most established, but we'd worked harder than anyone else, put together a proposal that was innovative and thorough, and somehow, impossibly, we'd beaten out competitors who'd been in the industry for decades.

"We need to celebrate," I declared suddenly. "We need to do something to mark this moment."

"Agreed," Raymond said. "What are you thinking? Champagne? Going out to dinner?"

"Both," I decided. "And we need to tell Sophia. She should be part of this celebration too. She's been so supportive of us since we reunited."

"Should we wake Belle up?" Raymond asked with a mischievous grin.

"Absolutely not," I said firmly, though I was smiling. "That child needs her sleep. We can tell her tomorrow morning. I have a feeling she'll be just as excited as we are, even if she doesn't fully understand what it means."

Raymond pulled out his phone. "I'm ordering champagne delivery right now. The expensive stuff. Tonight, we're not thinking about budgets or being practical."

He winked at me and I chuckled.

As he placed the order, I found myself sitting down in his office chair, the reality of what had just happened washing over me in waves. Meridian Global. We'd actually landed Meridian Global.

This changed everything. With a client of that caliber, we'd have credibility that would open doors to other major contracts. The revenue from this deal alone would allow us to expand faster than we'd originally planned, hire more staff, invest in better technology and resources.

More than that, it validated everything I'd been working toward since leaving London and starting over. Every late night, every difficult decision, every moment of doubt and fear, it had all led to this. To proving that I could build something significant on my own, that I was more than just the woman who'd been betrayed and humiliated by her jerk of a husband.

"Hey," Raymond said softly, and I looked up to find him watching me with a knowing expression. "You're thinking too much. I can see it on your face."

"I'm just processing," I said. "This is big, Raymond. This is really, really big."

"I know," he said. "And you deserve it. You've earned this, Claire. After everything you've been through, after all the work you've put in, you deserve to have something this good happen."

His words hit me harder than I expected, and I felt tears starting to form. "Thank you," I managed to say. "For believing in this. For believing in me. I mean, I'm always grateful whenever I remember that I left the company in a very capable hand like yours while I was away in London. Thank you for always having my back."

"Thank you for giving me the chance to prove that I am capable. Thank you for being the best sister I could ever ask for." Raymond replied, his voice filled with gratitude.

Shortly after, the doorbell rang, impossibly quickly, and Raymond grinned. "That must be the champagne. I paid extra for immediate delivery."

"Of course you did," I said with a laugh, following him out of the office.

As we headed toward the front door, I heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to see Sophia descending, looking curious.

"I heard shouting and laughing," she said. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is better than okay," Raymond announced, accepting the champagne delivery and tipping the delivery person generously. "We just landed the biggest deal in our company's history."

Sophia's face lit up. "Really? That's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"We're celebrating," I told her. "Please tell me you'll join us for a glass of champagne?"

"I'd love to," Sophia said warmly.

We made our way to the living room, Raymond working on opening the champagne while I retrieved glasses from the kitchen. When I returned, he managed to pop the cork with a satisfying sound, the bubbles fizzing over the top of the bottle.

He poured three glasses and handed them out, then raised his own. "To Meridian Global," he said. "And to new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," Sophia and I echoed, clinking our glasses together.

The champagne was crisp and perfect, and as I took that first sip, I felt like I was tasting success itself. Sweet, effervescent, and full of possibility.

"Please tell me everything," Sophia said, settling onto the couch. "How did this happen? When did you find out?"

As Raymond launched into the story, explaining the months of work that had led to this moment, I found myself smiling and occasionally interjecting with my own memories of the process. The late nights perfecting our proposal. The nerve-wracking presentation we'd given to Meridian's executive team. The agonizing weeks of waiting for their decision.

"I almost gave up hope," I admitted. "After the first month with no response, I convinced myself we hadn't gotten it."

"I never gave up hope," Raymond chipped in. "I knew our proposal was solid. I knew we'd offered them something unique. I just had to trust that they'd see it too."

"And they did," I said, raising my glass again. "They really did."

We talked and laughed for over an hour, replaying every detail of the journey that had led to this victory. Sophia listened with genuine interest, asking questions and celebrating with us as if the success was her own.

At some point, I glanced at my phone and saw it was nearly eleven PM. "We should probably get some sleep," I said reluctantly. "Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We'll need to start planning how to execute this contract."

"Work tomorrow," Raymond agreed. "Tonight, we celebrate."

As Sophia excused herself to go check on Belle one last time before bed, I was alone with Raymond again.

"This is going to change things," I said quietly. "In big ways."

"I know," Raymond said. "Are you ready for that?"

I thought about his question. Was I ready? Ready for the company to grow even larger? Ready for more responsibility, more pressure?

"Yes," I said finally. "I think I am. For the first time in a long time, I feel ready for whatever comes next."

Raymond smiled and pulled me into one more hug. "Then let's do this. Let's show the world what we're capable of."

As I slowly headed upstairs to my room that night, leaving Raymond downstairs, my heart felt lighter than it had in months. Yes, there were still concerns about Clara and Liam. And yes, there were a thousand other things to worry about.

But tonight, none of that mattered. I was going to celebrate this victory, hold onto this feeling of accomplishment, and let myself believe that maybe everything was finally falling into place.

Tomorrow will bring new challenges. But tonight, I was going to sleep with a smile on my face and dreams of the bright future we were building. And that felt pretty damn good.

“Claire?” I heard my name and stopped in my tracks.