Grayson settled back in his chair, accepted the small porcelain coffee cup his assistant had placed at his elbow, and took a moment to choose his words carefully.
"Stan, before I get into this, I want to be upfront. What I’m about to discuss may feel like an intrusion into your personal life. I’d appreciate your patience while I explain why I felt it was something I needed to raise with you directly."
Stan set his own coffee down.
"Go ahead."
"It concerns Maya Zimmerman."
A slight crease formed between Stan’s brows.
"What about Maya?"
"I know the two of you are close. That’s hardly a secret. Between your work together on Ghost Signal, the publicity surrounding the film, and the countless photos and clips that have circulated over the past month, it’s widely understood, including by me, that there’s a personal connection between you. That’s why I’m bringing this to you instead of handling it quietly within Wanhai."
Stan met his gaze evenly.
"Is there something about Maya you want to tell me?"
Grayson let out a quiet breath through his nose.
"It feels strange even saying this aloud. As though I’ve somehow become a gossiping aunt instead of a senior executive. But before I proceed any further, I need you to clarify something."
"Then tell me."
"Maya approached me four days ago through her family’s connections. She brought me an investment proposal, and a proposal for a business partnership with the Wanhai Group." He paused briefly. "She’s planning to establish a cosmetics company."
Stan absorbed the information without any outward reaction.
"Are you bringing this up because her business would conflict with Wanhai’s cosmetics division?"
"At first glance, perhaps. But in reality, no. Even with the Zimmerman family’s backing, entering the market as a direct competitor would be extraordinarily difficult. Wanhai is a global operation. We could bury an early-stage startup like hers without even trying, not through malice, but simply through the weight of our market share." Grayson tilted his head slightly. "She understands that. She wouldn’t have come to me if she hadn’t done her homework."
"She studied the market carefully before approaching me. In fact, she structured her proposal specifically to avoid the obvious problem."
Reaching for a folder at the corner of his desk, Grayson slid it across to Stan.
"Her company intends to focus exclusively on the manufacturing side of the business. She has no plans to build her own retail or distribution network. That’s a deliberate decision, she’s positioning herself as a supplier, not a competitor. Wanhai’s cosmetics division, as you know, is built primarily around retail and distribution. The two ends of the chain don’t compete with each other. They complement one another."
Stan opened the folder and began turning the pages.
The proposal was clean and meticulously organized. The branding had clearly been handled by someone with a sharp eye for presentation, Maya’s aesthetic sense was evident on every page. The business model was tightly argued: specialized manufacturing, premium positioning, rigorous quality controls, and a clearly defined three-year expansion plan. The partnership structure offered Wanhai favorable supplier terms in exchange for access to its distribution network during the company’s formative years.
It was, Stan had to admit, genuinely impressive. Nodding, he continued turning the pages.
.... Meanwhile, Grayson continued.
"My first instinct, when the proposal reached my desk, was to decline. Bringing a new supplier into a mature distribution network always creates friction. Existing suppliers, companies we’ve cultivated relationships with over decades, notice these things immediately. They interpret it as a hostile signal. And some of those relationships are worth far more to Wanhai than a single new supplier agreement."
"That’s the part you wanted to discuss with me."
"Part of it."
Stan closed the folder and placed it back on the desk. "And the other part?"
Grayson met his eyes.
"After reading the proposal in full, I realized I’d been looking at it the wrong way. If her company succeeds, and with the Zimmerman backing and what I’ve seen of her business sense, I now think it has a real chance, Wanhai stands to become one of its largest customers, not one of its competitors. Treating her as a threat today could shut the door on a partnership that might prove extremely valuable five or ten years from now."
"You’re inclined to take the deal."
"I’m inclined to consider it. The supplier friction is real and would have to be managed carefully. But the long-term upside is substantial enough that I felt I should speak with you before making any decision. Particularly given the personal dimension."
Stan considered that in silence. He hadn’t known about the cosmetics company. Maya had never mentioned it, not back at her apartment, nor during any of the half-dozen moments over the past two weeks when she easily could have.
Which meant she had made a deliberate choice.
She had built the proposal herself, approached Wanhai through her family’s channels, and structured the partnership without involving him.
The reason wasn’t difficult to guess.
Maya possessed a quiet independence that had become increasingly apparent since the Ghost Signal publicity campaign. For weeks, she had found herself constantly linked to him, professionally and personally, and Stan suspected she had wanted at least one major achievement that was wholly her own, something built with her own judgment rather than under his shadow.
That instinct wasn’t a rejection of him. If anything, it reflected her pride.
She loved him enough not to lean on him unnecessarily. She wanted to stand beside him, not behind him.
And perhaps she still wanted to prove something to herself. The question before him was a practical one.
"You said the supplier relationships are the real risk."
"Correct."
Grayson folded his hands together.
"Wanhai’s existing suppliers would view a new entrant backed by us as a threat. Some would lobby internally against the arrangement. Some might withdraw preferential terms. And a few would likely retaliate directly against Maya’s company through their own channels. Any of those outcomes would damage Wanhai’s broader supplier ecosystem."
Stan nodded slowly.
"So even though her company wouldn’t compete with Wanhai itself, it would compete with Wanhai’s other suppliers. And if those suppliers see Wanhai openly supporting her, they’ll view it as a betrayal of long-standing relationships. That damages Wanhai regardless of whether her company succeeds."
"Exactly." Grayson didn’t say anything further. He didn’t need to.
Stan could already see the shape of the recommendation Grayson was deliberately avoiding. So he voiced it himself.
"Then I’ll invest in her company instead."
Grayson blinked.
"Privately," Stan continued. "Anonymously. No public connection to Wanhai."
He tapped the folder lightly.
"If her venture succeeds, Wanhai can establish a supplier relationship later, organically, on the same terms as anyone else. If the company fails, or if complications arise, Wanhai’s name was never attached. The friction with our existing suppliers never materializes."
For the first time since the conversation had begun, Grayson’s shoulders relaxed noticeably.
"That was the structure I hoped you would arrive at, Sir Stan."
"You couldn’t suggest it directly."
"No." Grayson smiled faintly.
"Wanhai’s leverage is precisely what makes the partnership attractive to her. And Wanhai is the leverage we cannot extend without consequences."
"But I can."
"Exactly."
"As a private individual with substantial capital, you can provide the support she needs without entangling Wanhai’s reputation. You provide the financing. Her family’s connections handle the introductions. And when her company approaches Wanhai again, in three to five years, as an established supplier rather than an unproven startup, we can evaluate the relationship purely on its merits."
Stan tapped his finger lightly against the folder.
The deeper reason for his interest, of course, was the system.
Maya’s favorability had crossed one hundred that morning.
He had entered the ten-times rebate tier with her.
According to the projections in front of him, the venture would likely require eight to twelve million dollars in initial capital. Even setting sentiment aside, the rebate alone made the decision almost absurdly attractive. Whether the business ultimately flourished or failed, the numbers favored him.
The system had a curious way of bending his choices toward outcomes that benefited everyone involved.
Spend money on women whose favorability was high. Receive multiplied returns.
In this case, the alignment was almost embarrassing. The investment made sense even without the system. The system merely added a cherry on top.