Three Months Later, Venus Parker woke up before sunrise. The soft glow of the city filtered through the curtains of the sixth-floor apartment.
She tied her thick, curly hair into a bun and reached for her favourite grey suit with the tiny silver pin at the collar—a gift from her late mum.
As she moved about the kitchen, her grandmother Katherine stepped out of her room wearing her floral robe and fluffy pink slippers. She poured herself some tea and raised an eyebrow at Venus.
"You're up early."
Venus grabbed her bag. "There's a crucial meeting at the office today. I might not come home early."
Katherine leant on the counter. "Mmm... sounds serious."
Venus smiled. "See why I said you should get a boyfriend to keep you company?"
Katherine chuckled. "I will, the day you announce your wedding."
Venus laughed. "Grandma! You threw the ball back to me. Anyway, I'll hire a good maid to assist you at home. You won't even miss me."
"You better, or I'll show up at your office with your baby pictures."
"That's a threat!" Venus said, laughing as she opened the door. "Love you."
"Love you more. Knock 'em dead."
Meanwhile...Raymond Copeland, dressed in a sharp navy-blue suit, adjusted his tie while walking towards the door.
His eyes looked alert, but the slight smile playing on his lips showed he was thinking of someone.
Pa Alfred, dressed in his neat butler uniform, met him at the door.
"You're heading out early," Pa Alfred said.
"There's a meeting I need to be at today. Big one. I'll see you later."
Pa Alfred nodded, but his sharp eyes didn't miss the way Raymond glanced at his phone as he walked away.
Later that morning at Copeland & Co. Headquarters, the office buzzed with quiet energy.
The office lights were still dim, with sunlight just beginning to stream through the blinds.
The soft hum of the AC filled the silence, interrupted only by the light tap-tap of Rose Williams' heels as she paced slowly in her office.
She stood by her desk, staring coldly at the glass paperweight in her hand, her lips curling into a smirk.
"I'm going to sabotage her today," she whispered to herself, almost too low to be heard. "Let's see how she dances when all the heads are watching."
She turned to her desk, flipping open a leather folder filled with schedules and reports. With deliberate hands, she scribbled fake information on the printed agenda meant for Venus.
Just then, from behind her cubicle partition, a voice spoke up.
"Rose… Did I just hear you right?"
Rose's eyes flicked up, narrowing. Tony, the young IT guy with his ever-present hoodie and curious eyes, stepped closer, holding a USB stick in his hand.
"Tony," she snapped. "Do you make it a habit of sneaking around and eavesdropping on people?"
"I wasn't eavesdropping. I came to update the system in your office like you requested," Tony said, his voice calm but firm. "But what you said… that's not right."
Rose walked toward him, heels clicking against the tiled floor. "Let me give you some advice, Tony. Stay in your tech lane and keep your nose out of things that don't concern you."
"But it does concern me if you're trying to sabotage someone in this company," Tony replied, not backing down.
"You know what she's capable of. You've seen it with your own eyes," Tony warned her.
Rose rolled her eyes and walked back to her desk. "She's just lucky. And luck runs out. Besides, I'm doing the company a favour by showing everyone who she really is."
Tony sighed, shaking his head. "This will come back to you, Rose. Mark my words."
"I'm shaking in my heels," she said sarcastically. "Now get out. I have work to do."
Tony looked at her one last time, disappointment on his face, then turned and walked out, leaving Rose alone in her plan.
She sat in her chair, crossed her legs, and leaned back with a smug smile.
"This is going to be fun."
Few minutes later, Venus arrived and headed to her office. Her assistant, Lucia Parker—tall, always smiling, met her halfway.
"Morning, Boss Lady."
"Morning, Lucia. Ready for the big day?"
"You bet. Everyone's excited."
Moments later, as Venus reviewed some documents, Rose Williams knocked but didn't wait for an answer and strolled in. Rose wore a crimson dress too tight for the workplace and heels that clicked like gunshots.
Oh, Venus," she said coldly, standing by the desk. "Quick heads-up—the focus of the meeting has been adjusted. CEO's orders."
Venus looked up slowly. "Adjusted how?"
Rose folded her arms. "They want a detailed solution to the performance gap in the Q3 logistics report. Not a general presentation. It came directly from the top."
Venus blinked. "Since when?"
"Just this morning," Rose lied smoothly. "You'll need to rework your slides if you want to stay relevant in that room."
There was a beat of silence.
Rose lingered, expecting confusion or panic, but Venus just smiled calmly.
"You don't really know me, Rose, nor understand where I'm coming from. If you did, you wouldn't cross my path," Venus whispered.
If looks could kill, Rose Williams would've been on trial for murder that morning.
Venus didn't panic. She didn't call anyone. Instead, she pulled out her laptop and began reviewing the project proposal she'd worked on for weeks—the one she kept under lock and key.
She had just one hour.
One hour later at Conference Room A
The long mahogany table was surrounded by department heads, men and women in crisp suits and focused expressions.
A screen at the end of the room showed staff from Conference Room B watching via live stream.
Venus entered, poised and confident. She greeted everyone politely, then walked to the front. Even Raymond Copeland was there, sitting quietly, observing her.
She connected her laptop and turned to the room. "Good morning, everyone. Today, I want to show you something we've all been trying to solve for months."
She clicked the remote, and the first slide of her presentation lit up the room.
Graphs, analysis, fresh angles, Venus's ideas flowed like music.
She stood at the front of the conference room, confident and composed. "Let's talk numbers," she began, clicking to the first slide. A chart popped up. "As you can see, our logistics hiccups aren't a mystery. They're more like badly timed dance steps."
Light chuckles rippled across the room.
"But if we sync our regions, we'll turn chaos into a dance," she continued.
Nicholas Adamson, the newly-returned Deputy Director, leaned forward. "So, how exactly do you plan to fix the timing issue between Region A and Region B?"
Venus smiled. "Good question. Think of Region A as an early riser and Region B as that coworker who hits snooze five times. My solution? Automated reminders and buffer schedules. Everyone wakes up on time—or at least pretends to."
Laughter broke out again.
Venus clicked to the next slide. "By introducing a rotating dispatch calendar and predictive analysis based on our past three years' data, we reduce overlap and stop playing hide-and-seek with inventory."
Mr. Daniel, head of finance, frowned slightly. "Sounds great. But how do we fund this without bleeding?"
Venus nodded. "We reallocate from underperforming ad campaigns—ones with high spend and low return. It's not about cutting budgets; it's about smarter spending. Basically, we stop buying loud megaphones and invest in better maps."
"Brilliant," Daniel muttered.
Then came a question from Rose. Her voice was cool, smug. "What if the automated system crashes? Won't the company suffer more damage relying on tech?"
Without missing a beat, Venus replied, "Then we reboot, just like we do when your Wi-Fi dies during Netflix. It's not the end of the world—it's a five-minute delay."
The room erupted in laughter. Even Raymond cracked a smile.
But it was the CEO who leant forward with the real test.
"One question, Miss Phillips," he said, his tone serious. "Why should we trust your strategy when we've had experts trying to solve this for months?"
The room fell silent. Even Rose smirked slightly, expecting Venus to freeze.
Venus paused… then grinned.
"Well, sir, sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes. Other times, it takes a woman who's been underestimated and given the wrong meeting information."
Everyone burst into loud, spontaneous applause.
People stood to clap. Nicholas Adamson gave a slow, admiring nod. Even Raymond stood.
Rose's smile dropped.
Venus added, "And to be honest, I'd rather be the underestimated underdog who brings results than the loudest voice with empty charts."
Thunderous applause followed. Cameras zoomed in for internal broadcast. Lucia and Junior were practically dancing in their seats.
Junior whispered to Melanie, the quiet researcher with glasses, "She's killing it."
Davis, the short analyst with dreadlocks, nodded. "I'm taking notes for real."
Even Lucia, the fashion-forward assistant, leant forward in admiration.
By the time Venus finished, there was a moment of silence.
Then it happened.
A thunderous applause filled the room. People stood. Even the staff in the second conference room clapped, cheering. Her team beamed with pride.
Raymond smiled, a rare and genuine expression.
"That was brilliant," one of the department heads said. "Exactly the innovation we needed."
Another added, "Where did this even come from?"
Raymond stood. "Yes, Venus, how did you come up with this idea so suddenly?"
Venus smiled cheekily. "Honestly, an enemy unknowingly gave me the key to unlock this solution."
They all burst into laughter.
"Miss Williams," Raymond said smoothly, turning to Rose, "Would you kindly give the vote of thanks on behalf of the company?"
All eyes turned to her.