Chapter 6 — The First Test

The following morning, the city was already awake, but Elena felt as though the world around her had shifted overnight. The gala had ended hours ago, yet the echoes of whispered speculations and pointed glances seemed to follow her at every step. She could feel the weight of being Sebastian Vale’s fiancée pressing against her, a silent but constant reminder that she had crossed into a world she barely understood.

Sebastian appeared in the kitchen, dressed sharply in a tailored gray suit, reviewing his tablet. “Morning,” he said, without looking up.

“Morning,” Elena replied. “Did the supplier return your call about the Reynolds offer? His message to me was evasive.”

He glanced at her, eyebrows raised. “He called this morning. Reynolds has offered to buy part of his outstanding debt.”

Her stomach tightened. She had anticipated confrontation, but the idea of being a pawn in his schemes made her uneasy.

“He’s already started,” Sebastian continued, turning toward her. “Your supplier is weighing the offer. Victor wants them to stop extending credit to Hart.”

Elena’s pulse quickened. “He’s trying to sabotage me.”

“Yes,” Sebastian said simply. “The committee gave you a possible facility. Now you need enough time for it to clear approval.”

The supplier’s credit terms kept Hart’s medical deliveries moving. A lost agreement would affect patients as well as the balance sheet.

Elena gathered her reports and contracts. “I’ve compared their payment schedule with ours. I can offer a partial payment now and a shorter term on the next order. Not the price cut Victor is promising.”

“Will Hart’s board approve it?”

“It’s within my operating authority. Anything beyond that goes back to them.”

She checked the figures once more. “I want you outside the meeting. If he agrees, I need to know he’s agreeing to Hart’s terms.”

“I can wait in reception,” Sebastian said.

“Thank you.”

She took a deep breath. “All right. Let’s do this.”

The drive to the supplier’s headquarters was tense. Sebastian remained silent, offering no advice, no reassurance—only a firm presence beside her. Elena studied him, noticing the faint crease between his eyebrows, the way his fingers tapped lightly against his closed folder. He was calm, collected, and utterly intimidating.

When they arrived, the lobby was bustling with staff and clients. Elena stepped forward, her shoulders back, heart pounding. Sebastian stopped in reception. Elena went upstairs with the manager.

“Ms. Hart,” the supplier’s manager greeted. “Thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you’d want to discuss this in person.”

“Hart Industries values your partnership,” she said firmly. “I understand Reynolds Capital has approached you, but I want to make one thing clear—we have a long-standing relationship, built on trust and integrity. That doesn’t end because someone is offering better terms.”

The manager looked at the payment proposal. “Trust won’t cover our own payroll, Ms. Hart.”

“No,” Elena said. “This will cover part of it.” She showed him Hart’s cash schedule and a smaller immediate order, paid in part on dispatch. “We absorb the additional freight. You keep the hospital deliveries moving while the facility is reviewed.”

“That leaves us exposed if the loan fails.”

“Then limit the trial to two weeks. No indefinite commitment.”

The manager ran the numbers, then called his finance director. The answer took twenty minutes.

“Two weeks,” he said at last. “And we reserve the right to stop the next dispatch if your payment misses.”

Elena signed the revised schedule. She had bought time at the cost of margin, not secured a permanent victory. She checked the payment dates before gathering her papers.

Sebastian’s gaze softened slightly as they walked back to the car. “You handled that beautifully,” he said. “Exactly the way I hoped.”

Elena smiled, a mixture of pride and disbelief. “He didn’t ask to speak to you once.”

Sebastian glanced toward the upstairs offices. “He wanted a workable offer. You gave him one.”

She had expected him to take more credit. Hearing him give it to her made it harder to dismiss the pleasure she felt in his company.

In the car, Elena called operations and explained the revised order. The extra freight would hurt. Missing a hospital delivery would hurt more.

“Put the payment date on my calendar,” she told her assistant. “We don’t get to miss it.”

Sebastian watched her close the folder. She liked the attention more than she wanted to admit, but the signed schedule in her lap was hers.

That evening the supplier forwarded the Reynolds offer for her records. An outside advisory firm had prepared the paperwork. Elena noted the name, then put it with the report containing the omitted receivable. Neither proved misconduct. Both deserved another look.