Fidelia walked into the restaurant, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on the reserved table.
There he was—Andrian, sitting comfortably, sipping his coffee with one hand and scrolling through his phone with the other. He looked completely at ease.
Fidelia smirked and made her way over.
He looked up just as she stopped beside the table.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, confused. "Don't tell me the meeting's been cancelled."
Fidelia slid into the seat across from him. "No, no, no," she said with a faint smile. "The meeting will proceed as planned."
"Good," he said, adjusting his tie. "So… where's the CEO of Topnotch Investments?"
She leaned back, crossing her legs. "You're looking at her."
For a few seconds, Andrian just stared—his expression frozen between disbelief and shock. His coffee cup hovered midair. Then he blinked rapidly, the pen slipping from his fingers and clattering against the saucer.
"You— you were the one?"
"Yes," Fidelia tilted her head, smirking. "Don't look so disappointed. Don't I look good for a CEO"
"I'm just surprised that's all. Now this make things more easy" Andrian smiled.
"Anyways you are the only that knows about this and for now I plan to keep it that way"
"Oh you want it a secret..I'll try"
Fidelia said calmly, reaching for the glass of water in front of her. "Cool, now let's get down to business."
Andrian chuckled awkwardly, still shaken. "It's a surprise twist…coming from someone who was just complaining about me keeping secrets."
Fidelia smiled faintly. "Exactly," she said. "Now you know how it feels."
They sat with coffee cooling between them.
"Well, I don't mind. Bring it on," Andrian said, chin up.
"You sure you can handle it?"
For a second he still looked surprised at her boldness, then set his cup down. "All right. I got nothing for now. Let's talk business."
Fidelia leaned forward, voice low and crisp. "First: thank you for sorting the couple's framing drama. Now that I have been cleared, it means a lot." She paused and looked at him. "How did you do it?"
Andrian looked directly at her and raised an eyebrow, hinting that she should understand how it works already.
"All right… as expected, you wouldn't spill."
Andrian gave a small, cool smile. "Now you're getting the hang of it. Although I'm surprised you know how to appreciate me."
"Don't get used to it... it's really rare. Normally I just act like nothing happened," she shot back. "Back to business. Let's talk about Silas. We haven't given him the hard hit yet. We sold Alisocial Tech Company to Damien and Silas has lots of shares. They recently rushed a product launch. Now if care is not taken, before the public starts buying, we need to launch a better product to crush them."
"About that—the new guy is a genius. I informed the company to provide him with all the resources he requested and shared our technology with him. Just overnight, he produced results."
"What results?" Fidelia asked.
"One major flaw we have been trying to fix in the smartphone was solved. Now we can integrate a small scale of AI into the phone."
Fidelia's eyes brightened. Just as she thought—the guy she recommended proved himself.
"Not bad. When will we be ready to launch?" Fidelia asked.
"Anytime soon. We still need funds to launch massively, for advertisement and all."
"How much is Topnotch Investments willing to invest?"
"Better question—how much do you need?" Fidelia asked seriously.
Andrian's eyes sharpened. "Let's be blunt. How much exactly are you looking to make?"
Fidelia's mouth curved. "I'm angry and pissed, actually. So here's how it's going to go: I'll go all out. I want a 50% partnership profit on this deal. Topnotch Investments will also help with promotions, ads, securing more partnerships. And like I said, I'll be going all out with my funds."
"And by 'all out' you mean—?" he asked.
"Everything." She paused, letting the word hang in the air. "One.. Billion… dollar in funds."
The restaurant seemed to pause. Even the ambient chatter felt distant.
Andrian's eyes widened in shock. Even Sarah, who was sitting in another seat, was able to read her lips—her mouth opened and her eyes widened in disbelief. Really, who was her boss?
He stared at his empty cup, then back at her. Several seconds passed.
'How can she pull of such money?' Andrian thought.
"Are you serious?"
"Im for real. You think you can pull it off?" Fidelia finished.
He glanced at the cup again, then back at her. He was still quietly thinking. "I'll be honest..Yes with such funds," he admitted.
"Good…But I still need to know: what is this product about? Tell me. I need specifics before I commit."
Andrian leaned back in his chair, looking seriously at her "You want specifics? Fine."
"First — we're not just building another AI-integrated smartphone. We're building a smart system that learns its user — behavioral AI that adapts in real time, not just runs commands."
"Second — we'll integrate it with an ecosystem of connected devices watches, cars, smart glasses but with offline capabilities. No cloud dependency. Privacy will be our biggest selling point."
"Third — we'll launch with modular customization. The hardware will adapt. Consumers can modify the specs without changing the device upgradable chips, customizable shells, limited edition designs. It'll drive exclusivity and repeat sales."
"And fourth," she continued, eyes narrowing slightly, "we already planted a strategic decoy. A controlled leak that mislead Silas's team into launching an outdated version of our product — while we quietly launch the real deal first."
Fidelia listened and nodded understanding what had happened.
'Not bad' she thought and then she added
"I have ideas for new software integration that will set this apart," she continued smoothly. "Subscription models that create recurring revenue, launch timing that maximizes first-mover advantage. I'm not just throwing money at this, Andrian. I'll be involved—suggesting improvements, feature sets, monetization strategies. This product won't just enter the market. It'll dominate it."
"Whatever works to our advantage I don't mind. I think I do have a video of the product"
Fidelia's eyes lit up, but she kept her voice level. "Show me."
Andrian pulled out his phone, tapped through to a demo video. "Full AI assistant, on-device processing, no cloud dependency. Battery efficient. It's... it's exactly what we needed."
She watched the screen intently, her mind already racing through market positioning, competitive advantages, price points.
"Do you think this would take over the market?" Andrian asked bluntly.
Fidelia's smile stretched "It definitely will."
'This is future tech being brought early by them. The profit would be massive…more money!!!' She almost screamed out
Her eyes hardened. "It won't fail because I'm not operating on blind faith. I'm putting everything behind this because I need massive income—numbers that cover the fallout, the legal fees, and everything we're building toward. I've calculated the risks. I know what I'm doing." She leaned forward. "I'm willing to take the risk. The question is whether you're willing to match it."
The silence stretched between them. Andrian's fingers drummed once against the table, then stopped.
"Fifty-fifty," he said finally. "You provide capital and strategic input. I handle distribution, scaling, and execution."
Fidelia extended her hand across the table, her smile small and predatory. "Deal."
Andrian looked at her hand for a moment, then gripped it firmly. They shook—a silent agreement that sealed a billion-dollar partnership.
Across the room, Sarah sat quietly, her eyes tracking every gesture, every shift in body language. When Fidelia's gaze flickered toward her, Sarah gave a barely perceptible nod.
The deal was set.
And the real work was about to begin.
"Now that business is done, can we eat? I'm starving."
"Sure…I already ordered," Andrian said, smiling.
They waited while the waiter arrived and set down their dishes — just a light breakfast, nothing heavy. The steam curled from the plates.
"Mmm. Smells delicious," Fidelia murmured, leaning forward.
Andrian watched her, amused. "So — on a serious note — tell me. What got you so pissed that you're ready to invest a billion dollars?"
Fidelia pushed a fork through the toast, eyes distant for a beat. "You won't believe it," she said finally. "I met an old classmate the CEO of Norman Enterprises. I thought he'd be useful and become a good partner. I went in thinking it would be professional."
"And?" Andrian prompted.
"He humiliated me," she said flatly. "I went to his office, and—you won't believe who was sitting there." She paused, letting the moment hang. "Bridget."
Andrian whistled softly. "Bridget? Wow i didn't expect that"
"Seriously." Fidelia's mouth tightened. "He sat there smiling like they were lovers from a soap opera while I explained the proposal. Then—get this—he tells me he wants thirty percent. Thirty. For a tiny seed investment. He tried to rip me off."
"His greed his on another level…lucky for him he just made me mark him"
"He wanted to rip me off. God, I wish I'd shoved a pen down his throat."
"That's crazy." Adrian smirked. "Still, I'm more surprised you didn't."
"I was disappointed, but I kind of expected it, seeing that he had a crush on Bridget..." Fidelia trailed off. "....Bridget. Wait a minute."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"If Bridget is looking to use him, then that means..." Fidelia's eyes brightened, a grin spreading across her face. An idea was forming, and the thrill of it made her excited
She could crush them both. Ruin their relationship first, before turning her attention to Sylvester.