(Keifer's POV)
The meeting room slowly emptied after the negotiation between Watson Enterprises and J & Elvara Global ended.
Executives gathered their documents and left in small groups, continuing quiet discussions in the hallway.
I remained seated for a moment longer.
My notebook was still open in front of me, but my pen had stopped moving.
Something about these meetings didn't sit right with me.
Not wrong.
Just… unusual.
During the first meeting, I had mostly been observing.
That was my role for now.
Although I would soon become the CEO of Watson Enterprises, today I was simply part of the delegation—watching, listening, understanding how J & Elvara Global operated.
And that company was strange.
Very strange.
For a corporation with such enormous global influence, the leadership structure seemed unusually quiet.
The board spoke.
The executives presented data.
But something else controlled the conversation.
Something subtle.
Someone.
I noticed it the moment a woman sitting along the side of the table spoke.
She wasn't seated at the head.
She wasn't introduced as a senior executive.
But when she raised a simple observation about the financial projections, the entire discussion shifted.
Her correction about the expansion rate had been precise.
Not just theoretical.
Practical.
Strategic.
It was the kind of adjustment someone with real authority—or deep understanding—would suggest.
I had run the numbers myself.
She had been right.
But what interested me more was how the room reacted.
No one dismissed her comment.
No one challenged her position aggressively.
Instead, they quietly adapted to her suggestion.
As if her voice carried invisible weight.
At the time, I assumed she was one of the company's senior strategists.
But when the meeting ended, I noticed something else.
She left the room quietly.
No assistants.
No executives following her.
Just another employee.
Or at least that's what it looked like.
I wrote a short note in my notebook that day.
"Unidentified strategist — strong influence."
Then the second meeting happened.
And things became even more interesting.
The revised proposal had incorporated nearly all of the financial corrections suggested during the first meeting.
That meant the strategist's comments had influenced the entire negotiation.
When she spoke again about the investment distribution imbalance, the room responded in the same way.
Calm.
Attentive.
Accepting.
Again, the correction she suggested was accurate.
And again, the numbers supported her argument.
But this time I paid closer attention.
Her appearance was distinctive.
Heavy makeup.
Long eyelashes.
Gray eyes or maybe contacts .
It was the kind of carefully styled look people used when they wanted to stand out.
Or…
When they wanted to hide something.
Her voice was steady.
Confident.
Not nervous at all.
Most executives spoke cautiously in meetings like this.
But she spoke as if she already understood the outcome.
That confidence caught my attention.
After the meeting ended, I approached her.
Something about her presence felt familiar.
Not visually.
But instinctively.
"I don't think we were introduced," I told her.
She looked up at me calmly.
For a moment I tried to read her expression.
But it was neutral.
Controlled.
"What is your name?" I asked.
She answered without hesitation.
"My name is Roselia."
Roselia.
The name sounded genuine , but it matched her appearance, her accent, her hair , her grey eyes ...as if she truly belonged here ...in J & 'Elvara Global....in London.
But something about it still felt slightly… distant.
As if it were a name chosen carefully rather than naturally.
Still, there was no reason to doubt her.
She spoke confidently.
Her analysis had been correct.
And she seemed comfortable discussing financial strategy.
So I accepted the answer.
But as I closed my notebook and walked out of the building with the rest of the Watson Enterprises delegation, one thought remained in my mind.
Roselia was not an ordinary strategist.
That much was clear.
The way she analyzed risk.
The way the board responded to her comments.
The way she remained calm during negotiation.
It suggested experience.
Authority.
Or at least influence within J & Elvara Global.
But the company itself remained a mystery.
Unlike most global corporations, its leadership structure wasn't public.
The CEO rarely , not even rarely, she has never appeared in public reports.
And the internal hierarchy seemed unusually private.
Which meant one thing.
Somewhere inside J & Elvara Global, someone was controlling the company quietly.
And whether Roselia was connected to that person or not…
I couldn't say.
Not yet.
For now, she was simply a strategist I had met during negotiations.
But I wrote one final line in my notebook before closing it.
"Roselia — observe again if opportunity appears."
Because something about her still felt… unfinished.
And instinct rarely lied.
Still—
Whoever truly ran J & Elvara Global remained completely invisible.
....
Ok so how was the chapter please tell in the comments, and tell me one thing that should I skip Keifer's POV while he's in London bcz , like in the OG book , it is there , so it is actually very lengthy for me to write, and Jay Jay's POV also I'll write 5 or 6 chapters on it then I will skip it to when keifer will come to the Philippines, Jay Jay will after him , bcz I apparently can't wait , to write their POV in Philippines, like cancelling the engagement and all, do tell me if it is okay with you all .😄