Chapter 785 Take One Step, Look Several Steps Ahead, Grasp It Just Right

Chapter 785 Take One Step, Look Several Steps Ahead, Grasp It Just Right

"Sorry to interrupt — I was afraid everyone might be getting thirsty, so I brought some tea."

The door swung open, and in walked Raina.

The moment she stepped inside, every pair of eyes in the room snapped toward her.

And none of those looks were friendly.

Except for the family's most trusted butler, no one outside the inner circle was ever permitted to walk in on a serious discussion. This was the first time an outsider had interrupted one.

Gregory's brow furrowed — he wasn't pleased either.

But this was the woman who had saved his wife's life. And in the weeks they'd lived under the same roof, Raina had shown herself to be sharp and considerate. This was probably just a honest mistake.

"It's fine. Leave the tea and head out. You don't need to come back for refills."

Gregory made a point of adding that last part.

It was his way of giving Raina a graceful exit — and quietly signaling to everyone else in the room that she hadn't come in to eavesdrop.

Raina moved quickly, setting a cup in front of each person.

She was just about to slip out when she hesitated, her mouth opening slightly — like she was weighing something she wasn't sure she should say.

"I told you to leave. Why are you still standing there? Did someone put you up to this? Don't tell me the Day family sent you to spy on us."

Landon already had little patience for women in general. And seeing Raina — roughly the same age as Emily — he let his frustration find a new target, and the words came out sharp and ugly.

Raina didn't flinch. No wounded expression, no trembling lip.

She looked directly at Gregory. "Dad, I'm sorry — I wasn't trying to listen in. I just happened to catch some of the conversation through the door, since everyone was speaking pretty loudly. Is this about the joint project with the Day family? I don't know anything about the business side of it — that's not my place. But I know Emily."

Not knowing the project meant she hadn't been digging for information.

But Emily herself — that was a gap everyone in the room quietly shared. And it was exactly that uncertainty that had the whole table on edge about moving forward.

Gregory considered it for a moment. "Then say what you came to say. Tell us what you know."

The others leaned in. The Mitchell Group had other ventures tied up with the Day Group, and if the person now running the Day family couldn't hold it together, every one of those deals was at risk.

"Emily has a certain kind of talent — but it's always been about leveraging the right men. Back in Silverlight City, she made a name for herself by keeping several of them wrapped around her finger at once. Otto is a sharp man. So why would he hand over the reins so suddenly, and to her — practically writing off the daughter he raised for over twenty years? I don't think it's simply because she's his daughter. If I had to guess, I'd say it's something more personal than that."

Raina said it all without a trace of spite or theatrics. Just a calm, matter-of-fact delivery, as though she were reading off a report.

And then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "I only know what I've seen in the press. No personal history with her, no agenda. Just putting it out there for whatever it's worth. If that's all, I'll get out of your way."

She had the timing down perfectly. The moment the last word left her mouth, she was already turning for the door.

She made it look like none of it mattered to her — like she had no stake in whatever they decided next.

Of course, Raina wasn't above caring. Not by a long shot.

This was the setup. The seed she'd just planted in every mind in that room: Emily had no real ability of her own. She got where she was by getting close to the right men — in every sense of the word.

So that later, even if Emily pulled off something impressive, as long as her business partner happened to be male, these men would be the first to wonder. Was it her skill that closed the deal? Or was it something she'd whispered from a more familiar position?

That was how Raina played it — one move on the board, three moves ahead already planned.

The second move was simpler: engineer situations that kept Emily in close contact with men, specifically around business negotiations.

Given where Raina currently stood, arranging something like that — finding the right person, with the right influence, willing to play along — wasn't going to be easy.

But Axel could make it happen.

And so, the very next day, the project waiting on Emily's desk was a contract renewal with the Long family out of Emerald City.

The Long family wasn't at the top of Emerald City's social hierarchy.

But they were old money, and they had exactly what the Day Group needed.

When Bradley, her secretary, laid the proposal in front of her, he walked her through the basics. "This partnership is up for renewal — in the past, it's always just been a straightforward re-sign. But the Long Group's new point of contact is asking for a face-to-face meeting first. They want to revisit some of the terms."

Emily didn't think much of it.

She was new to the role herself, and renegotiating contracts that didn't quite make sense anymore was part of the job. The Mitchell Group deal was a perfect example.

"Got it. Find out what you can about the Long Group's new rep — preferences, interests, whatever's useful. We'll plan a dinner around that. I'll host it myself and we can talk everything through in person."

Emily gave a simple nod. No pushback, no hesitation.

"Of course."

Bradley was old guard — he'd worked closely alongside Otto for years, and his instincts were still razor sharp.

So when he came back in, the look on his face was tight with unease.

"The Long Group's new representative is the chairman's grandson. From what we can gather, he's the kind of man who gets bored easily — he chases the kind of experiences most people wouldn't dare try. Base jumping. Summiting Everest. Chasing the Northern Lights in Alaska. Extreme, high-stakes, off the beaten path."

He paused.

"He's also chosen the venue himself. Neon Lounge."

Bradley hesitated. Emily was a young woman, and the thought of sending her into that environment alone didn't sit right with him.

"There's one more thing," he added carefully. "Simon goes through women quickly. And he has a particular habit of... making them cry. He seems to enjoy seeing them that way."

That was not a small detail.

Emily found herself wondering, quietly, whether it had ever gone further than that.

"I'm walking in there as a representative of the Day Group. Even someone like him tends to keep things professional when there's real business on the line. I'll bring security either way — don't worry about that. If he's already locked in the venue, send confirmation. I'll be there."

Emily's voice stayed level throughout.

Another woman might have tensed up hearing all of that — might have started quietly dreading the whole thing.

But she just sat there, composed. Unbothered.

Bradley had spent enough years reading people to know one when he saw one. Whoever Otto had chosen to inherit this seat wasn't going to be ordinary. That much was obvious.

Calista had been the exception — and the mistake.

Back then, Otto hadn't had another option. He'd been prepared to play the long game, guiding her through it. But Calista had never trusted him. She'd seen his presence as a threat to her authority rather than a resource. The moment Otto stepped back, she cut him loose without a second thought.

"Understood."

Bradley gave a brief nod and left to handle the arrangements.

The next evening, as the sky deepened into night, Emily arrived at the bar exactly when she said she would.

She found the private room and pushed open the door.

Inside, the air was thick with smoke and noise — the sharp smell of alcohol, a tangle of voices, the low pulse of music bleeding through the walls.

Emily walked in dressed in a tailored blazer and slim-cut trousers, sharp and put-together in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with everything else in that room.

The contrast hit like a light switch flipping on.

The noise dropped. The air went still for just a beat.

Simon dragged his gaze over to her face.

Whatever mild irritation had been sitting there dissolved — replaced by something closer to surprise.

Then his eyes traveled down to her outfit, and a flicker of something like disappointment crossed his expression.

"Simon."

Emily kept her voice easy, unhurried — as if she hadn't noticed the way he'd been looking at her at all. She gave a brief nod of acknowledgment, then walked directly toward the empty seat beside him.