Elena leaned back in her seat, the soft club lights brushing her skin with warm gold. Her smile held steady, calm but sure, as her fingers slid along the rim of her wine glass. She kept her eyes locked on Victor, studying him the way she studied contracts.
"I know money isn't the issue," she said, her voice smooth. "You're more interested in two other things."
Victor lifted his whiskey, wearing that lazy smirk he always brought to the table. "That sounds interesting. So, what are these two things you think I want? I am really curious to see if you can still decipher my thoughts?"
"You want to know if investing in my company is actually worth it," she replied. "And second, what exactly you stand to gain by helping me."
Victor chuckled and nodded, amused. "Always clever. Alright, you read my mind. I'm listening."
Elena tilted her glass and took a slow sip. She crossed one leg over the other, all poise and quiet confidence. Her gaze traveled over him, not with flirtation, but calculation. She looked like someone about to make the winning move in a long game.
"Let me brief you on the Moretti Foundation," she said, her tone shifting into business mode. "We are mainly distributors. We do not manufacture. We sell. We take other companies' products and put them in front of the right market. We work with the best ad agencies and hold the highest sales numbers in New York across several sectors."
Victor lifted a brow, a grin pulling at his lips. "Yeah, yeah. I know all that. Come on, Elena. Give me something I don't already know."
She narrowed her eyes a little, though a faint smile tugged at her mouth. She knew him well enough. Victor acted like a playboy, but under the charm was someone who understood power and numbers. If she wanted him in, she needed to give him the truth.
"Alright," she said quietly. "But this stays between us."
Victor leaned in, the grin still there but softer now. "Now you have my full attention."
She took another small sip and set her glass down with care. "Everyone gives credit to my father, Jude Moretti. Yes, he founded the company. But the real genius behind our growth was my mother. She was the smartest person I have ever known. Everything I know came from her."
Victor blinked in surprise. The noise of the club faded just enough for the moment to settle.
"Interesting," he said. "So what exactly did she do?"
Elena's eyes brightened, her voice firmer now. "She created the policy that made us untouchable. We only sign two-year contracts. After that, if a company wants to renew, our interest rate goes up by ten percent. No bargaining."
Victor leaned back with a low hum. "Sounds bold."
Elena smiled. "It is. But here is the twist. If they walk away, they struggle. Our brand is so strong that anything we reject loses value almost instantly. Other firms pick up the pieces, but no one matches our reach. So sooner or later, they come back."
Victor's brows lifted. "How do you even pull something like that off?"
Elena leaned forward now, eyes glowing with confidence. "Because while everyone else follows trends, we set them. Our analytics, our marketing strategies, the influencers we choose. It is all calculated. My mother built a system that not only predicts customer behavior but shapes it. People do not even know they want something until we tell them they do."
Victor let out a long whistle and placed his glass down. His eyes swept over her with new weight.
"Damn. And here I thought you just looked good in a dress."
Elena let out a soft chuckle.
"I do look good in a dress. But I also know how to flip a market."
Victor gave her a slow, impressed nod. The playful smirk stayed on his lips, but there was real interest behind his eyes now.
"Alright. Now you have me curious. What's next?"
Elena's fingers curled lightly around the stem of her wine glass. The glow from the table lamp caught the edge of her profile, sharpening the shift in her expression. The fun drained out of her eyes, replaced by frustration and a quiet disbelief she had been carrying for weeks.
"Here's the catch," she said, her voice steady but low. "I have been the one handling all those deals. The contracts, the terms, the negotiations. No one else understood the real engine behind the Moretti Foundation's growth. Except maybe Chloe."
Victor raised a brow.
"Chloe? Your best friend turned backstabber?"
Elena nodded. Her jaw tightened as if she were holding back a bitter taste.
"She knew just enough to be dangerous. Not everything. But enough to pull a fast one on me. And it still surprises me. She outsmarted me. For the first time."
Victor tilted his head, interest sharpening.
"Hold on. Are you saying no one else in the company knows how these contracts actually come in?"
"They know the routine," Elena said with a faint smile. "They can follow procedures. But they don't understand how to make it happen. There is a big difference between following a system and creating one. My mother built that system. I perfected it."
She paused for a breath, letting the weight of her words settle.
"Clifford, the current CEO, was the only person my mom trusted enough to keep close. But he was not chosen for his brains."
Victor gave a short laugh.
"That bad?"
"No," Elena said, shaking her head. Her tone softened for a moment. "Clifford is brilliant in his own way. He has one real strength. Leadership. He can rally a team, keep people focused, and make operations run like clockwork. But strategy, forecasting outcome, negotiating critical contracts? He is clueless. He doesn't even understand why my father favored him so quickly. It wasn't because he was exceptional. It was because he could follow instructions and get an entire room to follow with him."
Victor leaned back, letting that sink in.
"So what you're saying is that without you, the company has no brain."
A cold smile, sharp and confident, touched Elena's lips.
"Exactly. And Chloe knew it as well. That is why she didn't bother trying to keep the company. She couldn't pull the strings, so she cashed out and ran. It was the only smart move she had."
Victor narrowed his eyes, finally treating the conversation like the serious matter it was.
"You are really serious about this collapse thing, aren't you?"
"I did the math," Elena said. Her tone shifted into something clear and precise. "The Moretti Foundation will lose its crown within a year. By the third year, it will be just another company trying to stay relevant."
Victor let out a low whistle and set his glass aside.
"Damn."
Elena kept going, her voice calm but cutting straight to the point.
"Two of our biggest contracts, the ones I personally secured, are ending soon. One in three months, the other two months after. If they do not renew, and they won't without someone like me negotiating, our projected profit margin of sixty percent will drop to fifty or less. In our circle, that kind of fall is loud."
Victor watched her in silence. His gaze was steady now, no jokes left in him. He looked both impressed and slightly unsettled.
"And this is where I come in," he said slowly.
Elena nodded once.
"Yes. I need someone with deep pockets and deeper connections. Someone who can legally acquire those shares, back me up, and help steady the company until I am in a position to take back full control."
Victor rubbed his chin, the familiar smirk slipping back into place. It was softer now, more thoughtful than teasing.
"You know… I came here thinking you just wanted to mess with me a little. Flirt, drink, maybe make me chase you around a bit. But what you're really offering is a stake in saving an empire."
Elena leaned forward, her voice dropping just enough to force his attention.
"Not just saving it, Victor. Reviving it. Bigger, smarter, and ten times more profitable."
She shifted her glass slightly, the dark wine catching the balcony lights.
"One of those contracts is tied to a company that sells electric cars. The other deals in high-end kitchen appliances. Together, the products linked to them are worth five hundred million. That is the amount you will be investing."
Victor almost lost his drink.
What the hell, You got to be kidding me right? His eyes widened in shock. "You expect me to buy all of it?"
Elena lifted her hand, a slow chuckle escaping her lips.
"Relax. I know it sounds insane, but there is a reason for it. Buying that stock is the only move big enough to snap the board awake. And once you do, they will offer you something they've never given to an outsider. VIP shares. That is twenty percent ownership of the Moretti Foundation and its a big move. It comes with voting rights and a seat at the table. You will enter board meetings, pitch ideas, and actually influence decisions."
Victor leaned back slowly. The weight of it all was written across his face.
"Alright… but what am I supposed to do with the stock once I buy it?"
She gave him a knowing smile, one that told him she had already run every scenario in her mind twice.
"You won't need to do anything. The company will do the selling for you. At first, everything will look normal. But once the contracts expire, those firms will look for new partners because they will reject the ten percent increase in renewal terms. They will shop around, but no one can offer the reach we did."
Victor frowned as the picture slowly came together.
"And that's where things start breaking apart."
"Exactly." Elena nodded, her voice steady.
"The Moretti Foundation won't know how to win them back. But when they realize someone, meaning you, has already made a massive order tied to those products, they will panic. They will rush to renegotiate and accept whatever terms those companies demand, just to keep you satisfied. A private investor placing a half-billion order? That kind of loyalty shakes any boardroom. They will do anything to keep you close."
Victor crossed his arms, studying her with new eyes.
"So I shake the table, get my seat, and make them dance."
She let out a mischievous smile.
"And I will be right beside you, guiding every step."
He went quiet. The noise from the club below faded into a low hum as he weighed everything she had said. When he finally looked at her again, the playful spark returned to his expression.
"I trust you can pull this off, Elena. You are brilliant. But I want to know what I gain from this. What is in it for me?"
Elena did not look away. Her voice softened, steady and sure.
"What do you want?"
He didn't pause.
"You. I want you."
Her lashes lifted in surprise. Just for a second. Then a slow smile curved her lips.
"That is not too much to ask."
Victor's smile matched hers, warm and bold.
"Then we have a deal," Elena said. "Your reward comes once the first phase works."
"I am patient," Victor replied, lifting his glass. "I don't like rushing things."
Elena let out a light laugh, tension sliding from her shoulders.
"Good. Then we wait. Let the contracts expire. After that, we move."
Their glasses touched with a soft chime, sealing their partnership.
Neither of them noticed the lone figure seated a few tables behind them. The dim lighting kept the stranger half-hidden, but his gaze never left the pair. Quiet, steady, and far too interested to be harmless.