Zelica learned fast. She devoured financial reports, studied property laws, and learned the fundamentals of agribusiness management.
Seek watched her. This client was different. She didn’t panic. She wasn’t greedy. She was focused. She was like a dry sponge absorbing all the information.
During those two weeks, Zelica also transformed herself. She cut her long, dull hair into a short, firm, elegant bob. She threw out all her old clothes with the help of a personal shopper hired by Seek. Her closet now contained tailored suits, silk blouses, and simple but classy dresses in strong colors—black, navy blue, burgundy. Reading glasses replaced her contacts. High heels replaced sandals.
But the biggest change was in her eyes. There was no fear anymore, only calculation.
“Are you ready to get back in the ring, ma’am?” Seek asked one afternoon.
“I’m ready,” Zelica said.
They didn’t go to a hotel. Under Zelica’s orders, Seek’s team had worked discreetly in Atlanta. They bought an old mansion in the Cascade Heights area. Not a flashy new McMansion like what Quacy liked, but a historic, solid, elegant building that emanated an aura of old Black power and generational wealth. The house was paid for in cash.
When Zelica walked into her new mansion, she was no longer the woman who had been kicked out of the apartment lobby. She was Ms. Zelica Okafor, CEO of Okafor Legacy Holdings LLC.
Meanwhile, in the penthouse at the Sovereign, Quacy and Aniya’s life was at its peak.
“This project, babe,” Quacy exclaimed one night while pouring champagne for Aniya. “This is going to change the game.”
After managing to kick Zelica out, he felt invincible. His construction business was frantically looking for new projects.
“I have inside info,” he said, eyes shining with greed. “There’s prime land—thousands of acres down in South Georgia—coming onto the market. They say it’s going to be opened up for a luxury development. I have to get the construction contract.”
Aniya, who was busy taking selfies with her champagne glass, was only half listening.
“Oh, yeah. Great. That means our wedding can be in Turks and Caicos, right? And I want that new Birkin bag, the crocodile-skin one.”
“Sure, whatever for you,” Quacy said.
But deep down he was a little anxious. To get such a big project, he needed a huge capital injection. He needed investors. His company honestly had quite a few debts here and there to finance their lavish lifestyle.
