MTLNOVEL Chapter 218: Next Plan Requires Underwear
To be honest, the plan, on paper, had seemed airtight. Ruthless like it needed to be and very calculated to avoid being caught off guard. It was also precise and powerful.
Rachel had spent enough time with Darren so she knew him inside and out. At least, as much as he allowed her to know.
But she knew that what they had come up with was the kind of strategy Darren would've used to pressure an obstacle into submission.
Nevertheless, there was one big problem: They weren't Darren. And that fact became painfully, publicly clear.
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The next day, early morning as the sun illuminated the beautiful city of Los Alverez, giving light to the working people and the powerful companies, a group of female employees were doing something behind their employer's back.
But it was okay, because to them, they were doing it for his own good. And for the good of the company.
A small press announcement was sent out on behalf of Steele Investments, celebrating the upcoming rollout of Trendteller+ in secondary markets.
Kara had made sure it wasn't publicized or anywhere near mainstream, keeping it low but visible enough to legalize the act.
Rachel had framed it as a bold statement of expansion— subtle enough not to seem like provocation, but sharp enough that those in-the-know would recognize the signal: Trendteller wasn't waiting anymore. It was moving forward— with or without approval.
It was a brave move, logically protected and to the best of their knowledge, legally protected as well.
The second part of their plan involved a "soft" investor rally, fueled by hints dropped in a financial influencer's radio show. Sandy had contacted a few financial blogs anonymously, seeding whispers that Moon Enterprises had been suppressing competition through the Bidding Gate.
Rachel had even arranged a casual interview with a state publication — Lila appearing on the show, warm, eloquent, charismatic.
Throughout the interview, she danced on the edge of controversy, saying, "Some entities fear what they can't control. But innovation has a habit of leaking through the cracks."
The ripple effect of this action was swift. Too swift.
But it was working too. Trendteller was technically allowed to expand now.
Technically...
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That same afternoon, Rachel and Sandy were summoned to the Moon Enterprises satellite office in downtown Los Alverez. They were met not by security, not by a lackey— but by Tyler Mooney himself.
He welcomed them like a hotel concierge. Leaning on the polished marble desk with that too-white smile of his, he beckoned them in like old friends.
"Rachel. Sandy. You both look radiant. Stress must suit you."
Rachel's lips tightened. Sandy didn't even blink.
"You didn't see that one coming, did you?" Rachel said smugly. "The Bidding Gate might be controlled by your company, but you never imagined that we could argue that Trendteller was founded in another city. San Navarro to be exact."
Tyler smirked. "For a moment I thought this was Darren's doing but not very long after I realized that it was not. Pfft. I mean it was glaring to say the least."
Rachel and Sandy looked at each other, frowning. "What do you mea—"
"Your ill-advised PR blitz?" Tyler interrupted smoothly, clapping once with mock enthusiasm. "Brilliant! Had a nice kick to it. Pity it was dead on arrival."
He stepped aside and gestured toward a screen where Trendteller's status had changed again.
Status: "Suspended Indefinitely – Under Review"
Rachel blinked. "How? That wasn't even a legal move."
"Correct. It was political," Tyler said, walking past them and tapping his knuckles on the glass. "I know everything about Lila's company because they had initially attempted to get investments from Horizon Strategies, a company that we have files of. At least when they used to be our ally."
"Trendteller is a Los Alverez product through and through. So all your antics were a complete waste of time."
Rachel's eyes dilated. "You've increased the suspension... because of this?"
"Yes I have," Tyler brushed his collar. "Think of it as your punishment."
"You think this helps your reputation?" Sandy asked angrily.
"No. But it soothes my ego."
He turned back to them and, with a practiced flick of his wrist, pointed toward the door. "And Rachel, let Lila know she sounded wonderful in that interview."
Rachel narrowed her eyes.
"That's right," he grinned. "I listen to the radio."
Angry, frustrated and defeated, they left without another word.
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Everyone was in the meeting room later that evening.
They were slouched. Scattered. Defeated.
Amelia sat backward in a chair, arms crossed over the top rail. Kara sprawled on the long leather sofa, her boots kicked off. Sandy looked like she'd kill the next person who offered her another slice of humiliation pie. Lila, somehow, had managed to look both tired and embarrassed at once.
"I think we broke the Gate harder than Tyler ever did," Amelia mumbled.
"This is my fault, guys. I thought we were helping Darren and look at where that got us," Sandy grumbled.
Rachel sat at the edge of the table, her fingers steepled under her chin. "Don't beat yourself too hard. We all agreed to go along with it."
Lila groaned. "And he keeps flirting with me while tanking our launch. I've never felt so... objectified and useless."
"You mean Tuesday?" Kara teased.
"Kara!" Rachel scolded lightly, but the room chuckled.
"Honestly," Kara muttered, brushing a hand through her curls, "I wish we just had a girls night instead of all this. It'd have been more fun, and I wouldn't feel like a moron."
Amelia blinked. "Girls night would've been less catastrophic. We know better ways to enjoy stress than publicly faceplanting."
That's when Rachel's eyes widened slightly. The thought crackled across her brain like a flash of lightning.
"No," she said, standing slowly.
"No what?" Sandy asked.
Rachel spun around, suddenly energized. "That's it. We've been trying too hard to think like Darren. But we're not him. We're women."
Kara gave a lazy shrug. "...Thanks for the biology lesson."
"No, no," Rachel said. "Girls solve things differently. We don't always go corporate, we go dramatic. We get messy. Loud. Personal."
Amelia leaned forward. "Rachel... what exactly are you thinking?"
"Tyler. He'll be at that place tonight, right?"
Kara's brows lifted. "Oh... Velvet Echo? It's a Friday, so I'm sure he'll be there."
Sandy winced. "You mean that exclusive strip club he co-owns but pretends not to?"
Rachel smirked slowly. "You girls know your gossip."
She turned to the girls, her expression deadly serious but gleaming with mischief.
"How do you all look in underwear?"