Chapter 37 Ms. CEO
ANNA'S POV
“Congratulations, I knew this wouldn’t be a hassle for you,” Dan said as he came up from behind me, his voice carrying that usual playful confidence, like he already knew exactly how everything would turn out.
“Honestly, I expected more pressure,” I replied, letting out a small breath. “Even though I acted calm, I was preparing myself in case something went wrong. But thankfully the guests weren’t as tough as I thought.” I added a small shrug, thinking back to the polite smiles, the soft handshakes, the nods of approval. It was almost suspicious how smooth everything had been.
“Alright, Ms.. CEO,” Dan said, dragging out the title like he was still trying to get used to it. “You do know you’re coming to the office next week, right?”
“I know,” I said, nodding. “I’ll make out some time for that because I still need to make sure everything at the warehouse I’m gonna get goes perfectly. I don’t want any mistakes in the early stages.”
“I guess it’s now that you’re truly gonna get busy,” Dan said jokingly. “The holidays and trips are over, time to hustle.”
The moment he said that word — hustle, something inside me paused. I hadn’t heard that word in years, at least not directed at me. It felt foreign now, almost distant. I think I might have gotten carried away with my new life and almost become lazy without realizing it. I guess that’s what happens when you have billionaire parents who make everything too convenient. It’s easy to slip into comfort when everything you need just appears.
But what some people don’t know is that even the rich hustle. Some of us hustle even harder just to maintain the position we have. Wealth doesn’t stay if you relax too much, and I knew better than anyone that comfort could ruin you if you let it. I need to work harder and grow my wealth even more. There shouldn’t be a time when I look at myself and think I’m rich enough — no. There’s no limit to the amount of wealth I desire. No limit to where I want to reach.
Besides, how hard can it be to run three businesses at the same time? Stressful, yes. Impossible, no. And if anyone could do it, I believed I could.
Speaking of business, I was also happy that Dan came with us to the ceremony today, because he was going to play a very important role in the little plan forming in my mind.
“I might need a little favor from you,” I said, turning slightly so I could see his face clearly.
“I’m not gonna help you manage any of your businesses, Anna,” Dan said almost immediately, like he already predicted what I was about to say. He lifted his hands up as if preparing to shield himself from responsibility.
“That’s not the favor,” I said, rolling my eyes a bit. His posture instantly straightened the moment he realized he had guessed wrong.
“Have you ever bought company shares from a company before?” I asked.
“Only in stock trading,” he replied casually. “I buy shares in Apple and Nvidia basically all the time.”
“No, I’m not talking about stock trading,” I said. “I’m talking about buying actual shares in a company. Like becoming a silent investor or part-owner.”
“In that case…” Dan paused, thinking. “Don’t think so. Why are you asking?”
“Well, I’m thinking of investing in a couple of companies,” I said slowly, watching his reaction, “but I have one particular company in mind I’d like to buy some shares in.”
Dan gave me a confused stare. “You know, sometimes I ask myself what really goes on in that mind of yours, because I’m confused as to why you would want to buy shares in a company. It’s supposed to be the other way around. People are supposed to buy shares from your company, since you’re the new CEO.”
“I have my reasons,” I replied simply.
And I did. Very solid reasons. But I wasn’t ready to explain all of them yet.
“Okay, so what do you need me for?” he finally asked.
“Well,” I said, lowering my voice a little, “I don’t want the company to know that it’s me who’s buying the shares. I want it to be like an unknown investor suddenly bought into the company. And that’s where you come in.”
Dan blinked. “Me?”
“Yes,” I said. “I want you to take the identity of the unknown investor. Everything will be under your name, but it’s my money and my decision.”
“Hmm,” he hummed, thinking about it. “That’s not much, actually, so okay. I can do that. What’s the name of the company you want to buy the shares from?”
“I’ll send you the details once we get home,” I said. There was no need to discuss it here, especially not in a place filled with people’s ears and eyes.
Dan was about to reply, but his phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and after a few seconds said, “So… Ryan is here. He just sent me a text that he has arrived.”
“Isn’t he supposed to be grieving?” I asked, surprised. Ryan had just gone through something heavy, something most people would still be recovering from emotionally.
“Well, a normal person would be grieving,” Dan said with a shrug, “but Ryan isn’t normal. Besides, he’s not here alone.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Isabel joined him on his way here,” Dan said. “That’s why she said she was going to come late. She wanted to join Ryan.”
“Does she like him or something? Or are they together?” I asked.
Dan let out a small laugh. “Nah, they’re not in a relationship. But Isabel does have a huge crush on Ryan. She’s had it for years. And I’m sure Ryan knows about this, but he just doesn’t see Isabel that way.”
His tone was so casual the conversation almost felt like gossip, but I knew it wasn’t. It was just Dan being Dan — straightforward, unfiltered, and often correct about people’s intentions.