Chapter 35
Nervous Energy
Elena
(Present_Time)
This wasn't happening I thought, nearly staggering.
It couldn't be.
Only that, it was.
"You're joking right?" I whispered, still shocked at Damien's words.
"Quite the contrary, I'm not," Damien smiled but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Me?" I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper. The weight of the situation seemed to dawn on me afresh. "I… I thought—"
"Enough, Elena," Damien interrupted me. He glanced at his watch, "No one knows the proposal better than you. It's time," Damien rose to his feet.
My heart lurched in my chest and I squeezed my hands together as nervousness wreaked havoc in my system. ,
"Calm down Elena," Damien paused in front of me and his calm steady eyes met mine, searching.
Could I even calm down? Could I? My pulse quickened and a ball of panic loosened in my belly.
I was going to present the proposal before the whole board, a few external supervisors, and their opinions could make or break the proposal.
What If I failed? I asked myself. What if…
"Elena," Damien's voice cut through my thoughts like a knife. "Calm…" he lowered his hand slowly and unconsciously I felt the tenseness ease from me. "Down," I exhaled slowly, and I nodded.
"Breathe," he said, his voice almost hypnotic.
I didn't realize when I had but I'd already begun to follow his directives as he spoke and I exhaled slowly.
"It's just a presentation," Damien said, his voice low. "It's something you can do, believe in yourself."
I nodded, a seed of belief sprouting within me. He was right, this wasn't beyond me. It was even an opportunity I thought, my eyes glowing with newfound determination.
An opportunity to prove myself.
Years ago I'd left home, a disgrace, armed with only hope and belief that when I was done. I would come back, work my way through the ranks, and make Father proud.
The chance had never come. I'd been married off to Damien the moment I came back.
Perhaps this was my chance but I wouldn't do it for Father I thought, I'd do it for me.
Damien observed my expression for a moment and he smiled.
"Let's go. They're waiting."
I swallowed hard, quickly grabbing all the files and I followed after him.
The meeting room wasn't far, and I tried to keep my mind carefully blank, focusing only on the project.
I had to make this work.
The directors were already seated when I walked in, and the atmosphere felt stifling, at least to me.
I felt a couple of sharp gazes the moment I walked in behind Damien and some of them had curious expressions.
"Good morning, everyone," Damien surprisingly took a seat to the left, leaving the head of the table vacant.
For me? My eyes widened slightly.
"Elena here will be presenting the proposal today," Damien leaned back into his seat, he had a relaxed expression.
A lump formed in my throat as a dozen pairs of eyes darted to me.
"Good af—afternoon," I stuttered, my cheeks reddening and I felt my mind go blank. I paused, trying not to panic and Damien's face came into my line of sight. He gave me an encouraging smile.
'Calm down, Elena,' his eyes seemed to say. You got this.
I steadied myself.
"So about Project Houston," I began, keeping the file on the desk. I wasn't going to need that anymore.
I'd done the proposal from beginning to end, I'd gone over it over and over again such that I could recite it with my eyes closed.
My voice traveled around the room and the directors remained silent, listening as I broke down the key details of the project.
"So with the projections for the markets and malleable nature of this project, the signs are good gentlemen," I finally finished.
I'd almost allowed myself to feel a sliver of relief. Almost.
Then came the questions.
Someone cleared his throat, I glanced to see one of the Directors, a gruff man in his sixties.
"Who are you?" He asked, his tone filled with disdain as he stared at me coldly. "What qualifications do you have to stand here and present this proposal?"
"I…" I hesitated, glancing over at Damien, his face was dark like a storm but he didn't intervene.
"Conor should be the one presenting this, what happened to him?" The man snorted coldly, glancing around the room. A few other Directors nodded in agreement.
"I took Connor off the team," Damien finally spoke up. His dark expression was gone, and he actually looked relaxed but I could notice the coldness in his eyes.
His words swept through the room and the gruff Director fell silent, he glanced at me with a cold gaze but he didn't say anything else.
I secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Another board member spoke up, this time it was one I recognized; Mr Ling Han, he was Chinese.
"Your proposal is ambitious," he praised, nodding his head. His voice was thick with a Chinese accent. "However," he suddenly changed tack and his expression became grim.
"What are the measures in place if it doesn't go according to plan?"
"I… there's a fallback option of the liquidity of the assets being marginalized…. There's… yes I have sir…"
The other Directors took turns to grill me, shooting multiple questions at me, all I could do was scramble the answers in my head and answer as best as I could.
"How do you intend to convince our investors about this?" The gruff Director spoke up again suddenly, his expression was more composed.
"Well," I paused, trying to choose my words but I could feel the cracks forming in my composure. Just as I was beginning to falter, Damien stepped in.
"That's enough," he said, his voice calm but commanding.
The room fell silent as all eyes turned to him.
"There's been enough questions gentlemen," Damien chuckled, but his tone made it clear he meant it. "I believe we're all smart and experienced enough to know a good deal when we see one."
I exhaled, mentally wiping away the cold sweat that had accumulated on my brow. Damien had intervened at the right time, I genuinely wasn't sure how many more questions I could take.
The board members exchanged looks, some clearly displeased, but no one dared to challenge him further. The meeting ended.
That was tough. I exhaled and I felt the tension ebb away as I walked out of the office, Damien just ahead of me.
"Thank you," I whispered, searching his face. "I was barely hanging on back there."
Damien didn't smile, simply nodding before he stared away. "You still have work to do," he muttered.
"Yes," I nodded, silently wondering if I said something wrong.
"From now on, you'll be my second assistant," Damien suddenly said, stopping in his tracks.
I thought I misheard. "What?" I couldn't believe my ears, surely he was joking.
"You'll work together with me till this project is over. Don't mess this up," he said, staring quietly at me. He didn't wait for my response before he turned on his heel and strode away, leaving me staring behind him.