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Chapter 20 - Chapter 20: The Investor’s Test

 

Alexander Knight's voice was maddeningly calm, as if he hadn't just detonated a bomb in her life.

"You'll handle part of the presentation tomorrow."

Lily Carter nearly dropped the files she was carrying. She spun toward him, eyes wide. "Wait. Me? Present? To… people?"

His gaze flicked up from his laptop, impassive. "Investors. Mr. Chen. From Singapore."

She clutched the folder like it might shield her from a firing squad. "Mr. Chen? As in the Mr. Chen? The one people say eats CEOs for breakfast and interns for snacks?"

Alex's brow arched ever so slightly, the only sign of amusement. "Colorful exaggeration. He doesn't eat interns."

"Good to know," Lily muttered, pacing in front of his desk. "So I'll just die of humiliation instead. Perfect. Love that journey for me."

She tried sarcasm to hide the panic rising like lava in her chest. She had been in dozens of meetings, yes, but always in the background—scribbling notes, fetching files, spilling coffee on multimillion-dollar contracts. Speaking in front of one of the most powerful investors in Asia? That was an entirely different planet.

When Alex didn't soften, she threw her arms up. "You want me to faint mid-sentence, don't you? Admit it. This is some kind of elaborate assistant hazing ritual."

"Don't faint," Alex said dryly, returning his gaze to his laptop. "Investors dislike weakness."

That night at home, Lily stood in front of the mirror in her tiny apartment, clutching her notes like lifelines.

"Slide one," she said, her voice wobbling. "Uh—projected growth in… um—projected something…" She groaned, pressing her forehead to the glass.

She tried again, straightening her shoulders. "Projected growth in Q4, showing Knight Enterprises' market expansion. Confident. Crisp. Totally not panicking."

Halfway through, she caught sight of her own reflection—wide eyes, sweaty palms, hair sticking out of its bun like a bird's nest—and groaned again. "Oh God, I look like a raccoon on trial."

She flopped onto her couch, covering her face with her notes. "Okay, Lily. You've survived worse. Like the time you spilled coffee on Alex's thousand-dollar suit. And the storm blackout. And—"

Her chest tightened.

Flashes. A staircase. Her father's voice shouting her name. The sickening sound of a body falling. Darkness swallowing everything.

She bolted upright, breath ragged, the papers sliding to the floor.

"Not now," she whispered, pressing her palms to her temples. "Not tonight."

But the nightmare fragments clung to her like cobwebs as she forced herself back to her notes, determined to push through.

____________________

By morning, Lily was running on two hours of sleep, three cups of coffee, and pure adrenaline.

The entire office buzzed with tension. Even the usually chatty accounting team whispered nervously about "the big investor."

Unfortunately, Lily was the bigger headline.

"Of course she's presenting," someone muttered near the elevators. "Knight's favorite."

"She'll probably trip over her own slides," another whispered. "But Knight will cover for her."

Melissa plopped down on the edge of Lily's desk with her usual grin. "So, Mrs. Knight Enterprises, ready to charm Mr. Chen?"

Lily groaned. "Don't call me that. And no, I'm not ready. I'm two seconds away from faking food poisoning."

Melissa leaned in conspiratorially. "Relax, rookie. You've got this. Just… you know, don't vomit on the investors, okay? They tend to frown on bodily fluids during presentations."

Lily let out a strangled laugh. "Wow, thanks. That's so reassuring."

As she scrambled to reorganize her notes for the twentieth time, a shadow fell across her desk. She looked up—straight into Alex's unreadable eyes.

His gaze flicked to her trembling hands. "If you're going to panic, do it now. Chen won't tolerate hesitation."

Lily gawked at him. "I'm not panicking. I'm… aggressively breathing."

For half a second, his mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Then it was gone, replaced with the usual marble façade. "Ten minutes. Conference room."

As he walked away, Lily stared after him. "Did he just—almost smile? Oh God, maybe I'm hallucinating."

Melissa smirked. "Rookie, if you survive this presentation, you're not just hallucinating. You're a legend."

___________________

The conference room gleamed with polished wood and expensive leather chairs. Lily sat at the far end of the table, trying not to hyperventilate as Mr. Chen entered with his entourage.

He was a man in his late fifties, sharp eyes behind rimless glasses, his presence commanding without raising his voice. He shook Alex's hand firmly, his gaze scanning the room like a hawk.

"Mr. Knight," Chen said in a measured tone. "Punctual. I like that. But…" He gestured at the coffee service. "The cups are mismatched."

Lily nearly choked. Mismatched cups?!

Alex, unruffled, replied, "Noted."

The meeting began, Chen scrutinizing everything—slides, charts, the order of agenda items. Lily sat stiff as a board, clutching her notes, her hands trembling so badly the papers rustled.

When Alex introduced her, her blood ran cold.

"Miss Carter will explain the marketing projections."

She stood on shaky legs. "Uh—good morning, Mr. Chen. I—uh—"

Her voice cracked. The room seemed to close in, every eye piercing into her. She fumbled with her papers, nearly dropping them.

Alex cleared his throat lightly, interjecting. "Miss Carter has prepared a simplified overview for clarity."

It steadied the flow but didn't save her entirely. He left her standing in the fire.

Her heart pounded. She could either sink—or fight.

She sucked in a breath. "Right. So—while Knight Enterprises' growth charts may look intimidating, think of it this way. If Knight Enterprises were a… um… plant—like a sunflower—it's been growing steadily toward the sun."

A ripple of chuckles passed around the table. Chen's eyebrow lifted, amused.

Lily blinked. Oh my God. Did that… actually work?

_______________________

The sunflower analogy should have been ridiculous. It should have made her sound like an underprepared intern trying to bluff through data science with gardening metaphors.

But instead… it landed.

Mr. Chen leaned back slightly, folding his hands. "A sunflower?"

Lily gulped. "Yes. Sunflowers grow consistently toward the sun. Our growth projections aren't just numbers on paper—they're steady, reliable. Even in storms, sunflowers turn back toward the light. Knight Enterprises is positioned to do the same—adapt and still reach for growth."

A pause. Then Chen chuckled, a low, surprised sound.

The room seemed to exhale.

Encouraged, Lily pressed on, explaining quarterly projections with plain, engaging language. She compared their consumer outreach to planting seeds in new soil, their marketing campaigns to water that nourished growth. It wasn't textbook professionalism—it was Lily being Lily. Warm. Quirky. Relatable.

Chen's entourage nodded along, their stiff expressions softening. Even the sharp young associate beside him scribbled notes furiously.

Then Chen tested her. "If the market contracts in Europe again, how will your 'sunflower' survive without collapsing?"

Her heart stuttered. For a moment, the old panic surged. He's testing me. He wants me to fail.

She caught Alex's gaze across the table. He didn't move, didn't signal, didn't help. His cold eyes dared her to rise or crumble.

Lily inhaled. "Then we plant more seeds elsewhere. Asia and South America are our backup fields. We diversify. The sunflower doesn't put all its roots in one patch of soil."

The associate's pen froze mid-note. Chen tilted his head, then nodded. "Creative. Simplistic, but… memorable."

Lily's knees nearly gave out.

She somehow made it through the rest of her portion without fainting, each word gaining more strength. By the end, Chen was actually smiling.

And Alex—though his face was unreadable—hadn't looked away from her once.

________________________

The second the door closed behind Chen and his team, Lily collapsed into her chair, fanning herself with her notes. "Did I just… not die? Did that happen?"

Melissa, who had sat through the meeting, bounced up with a grin. "Rookie, you didn't just survive. You slayed. Chen smiled. I thought the man's face was physically incapable of it."

Another colleague chimed in, "Knight never lets assistants present. You must really be his favorite."

Lily sputtered. "No! No, no, no. I am not—there's no favoritism! I'm just… sunflower girl."

Melissa laughed. "Careful, rookie. Keep talking like that and they'll start calling you Miss Photosynthesis."

Around the office, whispers shifted. For the first time, they weren't just about Lily being "close to Knight." Some now muttered that maybe she was genuinely talented, a hidden asset. Others weren't convinced, but the tone was changing.

Lily tried to brush it off, still dazed with relief. She'd stood in front of one of the most intimidating men in business—and he'd complimented her answer.

She wanted to frame that moment. Or at least tattoo it on her arm: Did not fail.

________________________

She knocked hesitantly on Alex's office door later that afternoon, bracing for icy criticism.

He didn't look up from his laptop as she stepped inside. "You didn't fail."

Lily froze. Then blinked. "Wait. Did… did Alexander Knight just compliment me? Someone call Guinness. This has to be a world record."

Alex finally looked up, unimpressed. "Don't get used to it."

She grinned nervously. "Should I frame that? Put it on my résumé? 'Did not fail—Alexander Knight, CEO.'"

For half a second, his lips twitched—the ghost of a smirk. Then it vanished. "One good presentation doesn't make you competent. Don't get complacent."

Lily rolled her eyes, muttering, "Wow. And here I was hoping for a gold star."

As she turned to leave, her shoulders still buoyed with pride, Alex's gaze lingered on her longer than necessary. He told himself it was because he was assessing her progress.

But the image of her standing confidently in front of Chen, transforming nervous energy into charm, replayed in his mind far too vividly.

_____________________

That night, Lily lay in bed staring at the ceiling, exhaustion weighing on her limbs but her mind still buzzing.

She replayed every second of the meeting—her trembling hands, Chen's chuckle, the nodding investors, the moment she realized she'd won them over. For the first time, she felt more than just "the clumsy assistant."

She was capable. She had been seen.

Across the city, in his penthouse, Alex poured himself a glass of scotch. His evening was usually routine: contracts, reports, silence. But tonight his thoughts were distracted.

He saw again the way Lily steadied herself, the way she'd answered Chen with unexpected wit. Warmth. Connection. Things he didn't wield, but that had still impressed one of the toughest investors he knew.

It shouldn't matter.

But as he set his glass down, he realized his mind was lingering on her longer than it should.

And that unsettled him far more than Mr. Chen ever could.

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