Chapter 1. Change Is Coming

The value of my suitors over their intentions towards me times the efforts they have been making for the past two months has a very low rating for a woman like me who's obsessed with lots of demands and desires in life.

For a Taylor Swift album? I can be called a "midnight rain" character who'll just chase the thrills in life and maybe won't settle anytime soon. I'm already 26, and I know I'm not getting any younger. So my demands are not getting any lower than $20,000 per three days.

Well, this bachelor I'm with might be different.

"If you supplied resources called money, in simple terms if you can't understand what I'm saying, and power for my business, in return I'll give you my personal calling card if the deal's fine with you," I said as I slowly walked back and forth in front of this handsome bachelor, who was obviously a good investment for my company. His money, I mean, just to be specific.

"Anything for you, my Rosie," he said dramatically while offering his hand in front of me.

"Just Rosie, not your Rosie," I corrected him.

"Yet."

He smirked before he held out a checkbook and wrote something on it. He held it out to me, and I slowly got it from his hand just to spice up the mood between us. Guys like him like this stuff; they dive into these kinds of scenarios because they are so full of themselves that they thought they could buy me this instant.

I just smiled sweetly as I saw the amount he offered. A hundred million, in euros. 

Actually, this kind of guy is one of my favorites. They're dumb, and once you consume the money they have, I'll just leave them when they're down. Well, that's a win for me. Of course, there are side effects. Side effects: I will see them waiting in front of the apartment building, or I will see him in my small company located on the 40th floor of the second tallest building in the city for the next six weeks sulking about the money they gave me, but they don't get to have it back anyway. Well, it's a legit deal between two business-minded people, so if they ever force me to pay back, they can kiss their asses goodbye to prison.

Who could have thought about it, right?

He took the small piece of paper from my hand, and he then leaned his face closer to mine. I swiftly tilted my head to avoid it, and he apparently just kissed me on the side of my lips.

Asshole. 

Kissing without permission.

Does he think it will look romantic? More like, I'm totally disgusted.

I moved away and walked towards the floor-to-ceiling glass window that has an overlooking view of the whole city. I took a sip from the wine glass I just got from the table.

Life could be really cruel for a woman like me, huh? Dealing with these kinds of guys. I just need to hold on for a little more, and then I'll be fine to live without any worries at all.

I came back to my senses when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around my waist. I can feel him breathing on the back of my neck. Gosh, I'm not even turned on by the way he touches my waist.

I made a fake, soft gasp when his hands traveled up, almost touching my underboob. I'm getting annoyed now. When I felt that he was about to kiss the side of my neck, I quickly made an excuse. I coughed a few times and moved away from him. I took my bag from the sofa and pretended that I was looking for a napkin.

"What's wrong, Rosie?" He worriedly asked.

"Nothing," I said, covering my mouth to cough again a few more times. "I just felt like my throat was a bit dry."

"Should I get you some water?" He asked.

Of course, you idiot. I'm literally coughing the snot out of me just to get away from you.

I nodded while I was still faking my cough. He immediately went to the kitchen and got me a glass of water. I drank half of it and took a deep sigh.

"Thanks," I said shortly.

Before he could even come close again, I took out the papers about the legal agreement.

"Here," I said, and I also took out a pen from my bag. "I can leave this document here tonight so that you can still think about our deal."

"Wait, you're not going to spend your night here?" He looked so confused.

"No, honey, that's unethical." I chuckled a bit. "Besides, I have some prior commitments tonight, so I'll just see you when I see you again, okay?"

He nodded and smiled at me before we both stood up. He walked with me up to the elevator, and while we were waiting, he quickly slid his hand into my ass and squeezed it softly.

"Not in here," I whispered.

He just chuckled, and I sighed in relief when the elevator door opened. I walked inside and immediately closed the door without even saying goodbye. That man just lost my patience tonight, and he's completely going to get squashed like a bug when he finds out what he just went into.

When I got to the ground floor, a few staff members in the lobby welcomed me again before they tactically made their way to sell products to me. I refused all of them with my cold, blank expression and just waited for my car outside.

"Have a great night ahead," the guard greeted me politely, and so I gave him a genuine smile.

I drove my car fast enough to go home within a 30-minute ride. I don't want to keep them waiting until 8 o'clock in the evening. I still need to prepare food and eat with them.

For the past five years, my routine has become stagnant like this. Of course, my small start-up company grew a bit, but my situation in my apartment never changed at all.

Well, it only became worse last year.

I could almost see the apartment building I live in when my phone rang; it's currently connected to the speaker of the car.

"When are you going home tonight?" A small voice of a girl immediately asked when I answered the phone.

"I'll be there in five minutes; you can wait for me in front of the doorstep," I happily answered before I hung up the phone as I was about to park my car in the parking lot in the basement.

I hurriedly got out of my car when I finally parked it and ran to reach the elevator that was about to close. Luckily, I got in.

I live on the 8th floor, so this will be an easy ride. When the elevator door opened on the right floor, I walked out and ran down the hallway, only to see my daughter sitting in front of our door.

Yes, I have a daughter.

"Dahlia!" I called her, and when she looked at me, her smile grew wider, and she instantly ran towards me.

A lot of people don't know about her. When we're accidentally seen outside, I'll just be happy if they assume that she's my niece. She's my precious one, and I'll do everything to give her the life she deserves. The life we both deserve.

"You're late, mommy!" She sounded like she wanted to scold me right away.

I pinched her cheeks and kissed her nose before I held her hand to enter our apartment.

"Nana let you have her phone again, hmm?" I said like I was suspecting her.

"No, I reached for it on the table and called you because I'm a bit hungry now," she explained as she jumped straight to the couch to lie down. I sat beside her to rest for a moment before I stood up again to go to my grandma's room. I opened the door and saw her reading her Bible again.

"Nana," I called her.

She looked up in my direction and smiled. Nana; she's been my hope since then.

"You went home, my child," she said, and she was about to stand up when I quickly walked towards the side of her bed and gave her a quick hug.

"I'll always go back home," I said with assurance.

I excused myself again when I told her that I should prepare food for them tonight. I went to my room and changed my clothes before I went back to the kitchen to cook something while Dahlia was busy watching television. I cooked a simple recipe of buttered shrimp and mixed vegetables while I prepared pancakes and chicken nuggets for Dahlia.

As soon as I finished preparing our dinner, Grandma came out of her room. I called both of them for dinner, and we just silently ate the whole time until I washed the dishes while they were already watching something. I couldn't join them afterwards as I saw my messy bag from a while ago.

I couldn't fix it earlier as I was busy escaping that room with that bastard. You know, the ratio of bastards like him nowadays to men with respect is definitely 100:0.

There's no way that there could still be a single man outside this apartment who would be good enough for a woman like me. It's not that I'm expecting some companionship from them; I'm just literally speaking the general facts about them.

Well, this is my life. Busy working outside these four walls of our small apartment and attending to everything my Nana and my daughter needed. Every single day, I'm like this. Not even a single soul came in to light up these dark holes, but what came were even worse diggers that will only drag me down even more.

Looking at my little family tears me up sometimes, but what can I say? I'm still content and satisfied with them. The only flaw we have is that we're still in the gutter, trying to climb up to live a wealthy life someday.

Someday. I think that's still a long journey to hang on to.

I excused myself again when I saw that my grandma and my daughter were already having fun in the living room. I locked myself in my room and sat straight in the swivel chair facing my study table. I took a deep sigh and closed my eyes for a bit. Lots of things happened today again, and I think there could be much worse than this for the next few weeks.

When I opened my eyes again, I also opened my laptop at the same time. I was busy looking for some minimal design for my next clients when I suddenly landed on a news article.

"The strongest competitor in the business world today is no man at all."

Wow, this statement totally caught my attention. Maybe this could be the highlight of my night tonight.

My eyebrows furrowed as I read the content of the article.

"Cadence Jess Malcolm, 27, a young entrepreneur who devours every single industry, has become the talk of the town's inspirational journey towards success."

The top business entrepreneur now is a woman.

Yeah, right. This might be a whole new change for the millennia.

Or maybe it will be harder for me.

Just like, how could I even get to deal with a woman?