No jewelry.
She looked exactly as she had at nine in the morning.
Good.
Rachel appeared at the door.
“You ready?”
“No.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow.
Willa picked up the iPad.
“Let’s go.”
Back in the ballroom, Garrett sat fifth row center.
Best available seat.
Tessa sat beside him.
Brad two rows behind.
Garrett's pitch deck was loaded.
At two o’clock, Prism Dynamics was scheduled to present.
He had rehearsed more than forty times.
Opening story.
Product demo.
Market size.
Customer case study.
Expansion plan.
Closing request.
Forty million dollars.
Ascend Capital was the target.
Garrett had memorized the fund’s portfolio.
Its investment pace.
Average initial check.
Board strategy.
He knew Willa Townsend’s name.
Of course he did.
Anyone fundraising at that level knew it.
He knew her reputation.
Quiet.
Analytical.
Difficult to access.
Founder-friendly once committed.