Chapter 8 - Building a Real Empire
Eighteen months later.
The high-rise corner office on the forty-second floor of the Bell Tower in downtown Chicago was flooded with golden afternoon sunlight.
My name was painted on the frosted glass door in bold, silver letters: MEREDITH CARTER — EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & REGIONAL DIRECTOR.
Over the past year and a half, I had transformed my life entirely. Hails Logistics had been restructured under new management, renamed Carter Global Freight, and turned into a highly profitable subsidiary that I personally oversaw.
I bought out Grant’s share entirely for pennies on the dollar during his liquidation, turned the company around, and sold it to a national conglomerate for twelve million dollars.
Grant was now working as a junior car salesman in suburban Indiana, living in a small rented apartment, stripped of his social standing, his wealth, and his dignity.
As I reviewed the quarterly revenue reports, a soft knock came at my office door.
"Come in," I called out.
The door opened, and David Vance walked inside.
David was thirty-eight, six-foot-one, with dark, silver-touched hair, sharp blue eyes, and a broad-shouldered frame dressed in a impeccably tailored navy suit. He was the Senior Managing Partner of Vance Capital—the lead investment group that had partnered with my division on the multi-million-dollar Henderson expansion project.
David wasn't just a business partner. Over the last ten months, he had been the man who quietly restored my faith in what a real partner looked like.
"Am I interrupting the Vice President's quiet time?" David asked, a warm, genuine smile lighting up his handsome face.
"Never for you, David," I smiled, leaning back in my leather chair. "Did the investment board approve the acquisition?"
"Unanimously," David said, walking over to my desk and placing a small, elegant black velvet box on the mahogany surface.
I blinked, looking at the box, then up at him. "David? What’s this?"
May you like
David smiled, leaning his hip against the edge of my desk, his eyes searching mine with intense, unshakeable warmth.
"Open it," he murmured.
