Chapter 94 94

Chapter 94 94
I turned around to see Raymond standing at the bottom of the stairs, his hand gripping the handrail. The celebration from moments ago seemed to have faded from his expression, replaced by something more serious, more hesitant.

"Yeah?" I responded, taking a few steps back down toward him. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Raymond ran his hand through his hair, a gesture I'd come to recognize as a sign he was uncertain about something. He looked up at me, then away, then back again, as if wrestling with whether or not to say what was on his mind.

"Raymond, you're starting to get me worried," I said, descending the rest of the stairs to stand in front of him. "What is it? Just a few minutes ago you were jumping around celebrating, and now you look like you're about to deliver bad news."

"It's not bad news," He said quickly. "At least, I don't think it is. I just... there's something I need to tell you, and I'm not sure how you're going to react."

I crossed my arms, studying his face. "Okay, now you're really scaring me. Just say it, Raymond. Whatever it is, we can deal with it."

He took a deep breath and gestured toward the living room. "Can we sit down and talk… about this?"

"That serious?" I asked, getting really worried, but I followed him back into the living room anyway.

We settled onto the couch, and I turned to face him fully, giving him my complete attention. "Alright, I'm sitting. Now tell me what's going on."

Raymond leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. "First, I want you to know that I am genuinely, truly happy about the Meridian Global deal. That's huge for us, and it's going to transform the company in ways we couldn't have imagined even a few months ago."

"I hear a 'but' coming," I said, sensing it.

"Not a 'but' exactly," Raymond replied. "More like a 'however' or an 'additionally.'" he added, jokingly.

"Raymond," I called out sternly, my patience wearing thin. "Just tell me what this is about."

He nodded and sat up straighter, looking me directly in the eyes. "There's another deal I've been working on. One that's actually even way bigger than Meridian Global."

My eyebrows shot up. "Bigger than Meridian? Raymond, Meridian is one of the largest international brands we could possibly partner with. What could be bigger than that?"

"That's the thing," Raymond said, his voice taking on a mixture of excitement and apprehension. "I didn't want to tell you about it before because I didn't want to get our hopes up. The chances of landing this particular client seemed so slim, almost impossible really, that I thought it would be better to just work on it quietly and only mention it if something actually came of it."

"But?" I prompted.

"But at the same time," Raymond continued, "I don't want to leave you in the dark about major issues concerning your company. You're the owner, Claire. You have the right to know about every significant opportunity we're pursuing, even if the odds of success seem low."

I felt my heart start to beat faster. "So you're telling me now because something has changed? Because the odds don't seem so slim anymore?"

"Exactly," Raymond confirmed. "I've been in preliminary discussions with them for about three months now. Very quiet, very discreet. I didn't want word getting out that we were even attempting to pitch to them because if it didn't work out, I didn't want it to look like we'd overreached and failed."

"Raymond," I said, leaning forward. "You're killing me here. Which company are we talking about?"

Raymond took another deep breath, and I could see the mixture of excitement and nervousness playing across his features. "WILCROFT Group of Companies."

For a moment, I just stared at him, certain I must have misheard. My jaw literally dropped open, and I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

"What?" I managed to whisper.

"Wilcroft Group of Companies," Raymond repeated, watching my reaction carefully. "I know, I know it sounds crazy—"

"Crazy?" I interrupted, my voice rising. "Raymond, WILCROFT isn't just crazy, it's... it's impossible! They're one of the most exclusive, most selective corporate groups in THE WORLD! They have operations in what, seventy countries? Eighty?"

"Eighty-three," Raymond said quietly.

I stood up abruptly, pacing across the living room as my mind tried to process this information. WILCROFT Group of Companies wasn't just big, it was massive. They were in everything from technology to pharmaceuticals to real estate to manufacturing. If Meridian Global was a huge deal, WILCROFT was astronomical.

"How?" I asked, turning back to face Raymond. "How did you even get a meeting with them? They don't just take proposals from companies our size. They work with established firms that have decades of proven track records."

"I know," Raymond said. "That's why I didn't mention it earlier. The whole thing started almost by accident, actually."

"By accident?" I repeated incredulously.

Raymond nodded. "Remember that conference I attended in Boston three months ago? The one about emerging trends in corporate consulting?"

"Vaguely," I said, still trying to wrap my head around what he was telling me.

"Well, I ended up sitting next to someone during one of the keynote speeches," Raymond explained. "We got to talking during the break, and it turned out he was one of Wilcroft's senior vice presidents. We had a really interesting conversation about some innovative approaches to stakeholder engagement."

"And he just invited you to pitch to Wilcroft?" I asked skeptically.

"Not exactly," Raymond said. "But he was impressed enough with our conversation that he asked me to send him some information about our company. I didn't think anything would come of it, honestly. I figured he was just being polite."

"But something did come of it," I said slowly.

"About two weeks later, I got an email from Wilcroft's acquisition and partnerships division," Raymond continued. "They wanted to schedule a preliminary discussion about potential consulting opportunities. I almost thought it was a scam email at first."

I sat back down on the couch, feeling like my legs might give out. "Raymond, this is... this is huge. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to get your hopes up," Raymond said earnestly. "Claire, you've been through so much. I've watched you build this company from the ground up while dealing with everything else in your life. I didn't want to add the pressure of a potential deal this massive if it was just going to fall through."

"But you're telling me now," I pointed out. "Which means something has changed."

Raymond nodded, and I could see the excitement starting to break through his cautious exterior. "I had another call with them yesterday. They want to move forward to the next stage of discussions. They're actually interested, Claire. Legitimately interested in working with us."

"Oh my God," I whispered, pressing my hands to my face. "Oh my God, Raymond."

"I know," he said, a smile starting to form. "I've been sitting on this information for almost twenty-four hours, trying to figure out when and how to tell you."

"And you decided to wait until after we celebrated the Meridian deal?" I asked.

"I didn't want to overshadow that victory," Raymond explained carefully. "Meridian is huge on its own, and we should celebrate it properly. But I also couldn't keep this from you any longer. Not when we're moving into more serious discussions with Wilcroft."

I stood up again, but this time not from shock. This time I was pacing because I had too much energy, too much excitement, too much anxiety all mixed together. "Raymond, if we land Wilcroft... I mean, do you understand what that would mean for the company?"

"I understand," Raymond said quietly. "It would put us on the map internationally. We'd go from being a successful regional firm to a globally recognized consulting company practically overnight."

"It would also mean massive expansion," I continued, my mind already racing through the implications. "We'd need to hire probably triple our current staff, maybe more. We'd need bigger offices, better technology infrastructure, partnerships with firms in other countries..."

"I know," Raymond nodded gently. "That's part of why I've been so nervous about this. It's not just about landing the deal. It's about whether we're ready to handle what comes after."

I stopped pacing and looked at him. "Are we? Ready, I mean?"