The Unveiled Rose

Eric looked at the message he received from the reception desk, wondering why it was Sasha yet again.

He looked toward Zane, who said slowly, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Eric hesitantly replied, "Ms. Weston... is currently downstairs. Reception is unsure as to whether they should have security throw her out."

If this happened before yesterday, they could be very sure that Zane didn't like Sasha, and therefore, she absolutely could not be allowed upstairs.

But yesterday...

After Sasha had broken in, she'd ended up remaining in the CEO's office for the entire day without being kicked out. Thus, they weren't certain about his attitude toward Sasha. So, naturally, they didn't dare make a hasty decision. Zane explained calmly, "She's now Annalise's friend."

Eric understood immediately.

No matter how much Zane disliked Sasha, he could still put up with her for Annalise's sake.

Eric then replied to reception, typing, "Let her upstairs."

With nobody stopping her, Sasha made her way in unhindered.

...

When I felt the section of the couch next to me sink down, I turned and looked at Sasha, asking, "Why are you here?"

Sasha wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her chin on my shoulder.

"Of course, it's because I miss you!" she said with a smirk. She certainly didn't hide her feelings.

I continued to draw, a smile on my face.

Seemingly afraid of disrupting my work, Sasha released me and lay down lopsidedly on the couch, acting as if she were right at home. She turned her phone's volume down to the lowest setting. Then, she started playing games with a look of concentration.

Perhaps because I was quite practiced at drawing, but after a session of intense focus, I found myself finishing up earlier than ever before. I inspected the lineart, finally deciding to relax for a bit after determining that there were no problems with it. Stretching, I glanced Sasha's way. She had excitedly mentioned wanting to start her own career yesterday. If she had been successful, then she should have been pouring all her focus into her career at the moment and wouldn't have had the time to visit me. I asked, "What's wrong? Did you encounter some difficulties with your work?"

"How did you know?" Sasha responded, looking incredibly surprised.

I laughed lightly, replying, "I just guessed."

She said shyly, "I've indeed run into a lot of problems..."

She then went on to explain the project she'd chosen and the difficulties she encountered trying to move i forward.

I remained silent for a long while after she finished speaking.

She evidently felt a little afraid as she asked fearfully, "Why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell me this project is unsalvageable?"

"Your idea of starting a career is first asking your family for money, then dragging in a bunch of friends to..." I trailed off, feeling more and more incredulous, before finally ending with, "collaborate on it?"

As if she thought it was completely natural, she answered, "Isn't that how things are done?"

I gazed at her with a complicated expression. "I finally understand why children of wealthy families like you always fail to start their own careers."

She looked as if she'd taken a huge blow, uttering in confusion, "Huh?"

"First of all, your biggest problem right now is that you have zero understanding of the industry you're interested in," I declared, taking it upon myself to point out the problems for her.

"If you're serious about wanting to continue developing your business in this industry and not just doing this on a whim, then the best course of action is for you to find a company in a business similar to what you're aiming for and work there as an employee for some time. "Then, get to know how this kind of company continues to survive amidst fierce competition and how it solves the types of problems it encounters."

I patted her on the shoulder.

"It's not too late to ask your family members for capital, with which to start your business, only after you've managed to reach that step."