Break time struck, and the clock ticked louder inside the elite boardroom of Hillwood Investment Club Headquarters.
The members lounged around the luxurious table, sipping on imported espresso, but their restlessness showed. They were waiting for one person — Selene Parker.
"Do we really need to wait this long?" Sebastian muttered, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at the glass door. “This is getting ridiculous.”
"Relax, bro," Irene replied with a teasing grin. “She’ll be here soon. And I’m pretty sure the three of you,” she pointed at Sebastian, Clark, and Clint, “will be footing the bill for a pretty extravagant summer trip.”
Clint snorted, rolling his eyes. “How sure are you? She didn’t even show up early. Maybe she’s still scrambling for ways to survive this final test.”
"Nah, if you were with us in the parking lot this morning," Lucas said with full confidence, “you wouldn’t be saying that. She came in with a black GT-X, like she owns the road. Trust me—we're winning this bet.”
The room chuckled, some in anticipation, some with doubt. Kairo leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head, smirking. “I can already taste the Expensive Beach Vibe.”
Just then, the doors to the boardroom opened.
Selene walked in, composed, sharp-eyed, and dressed in a powder blue blouse and black slacks. Her calm presence silenced the room instantly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, placing her tablet on the table. “Got held up a little at my previous class.”
The club members exchanged glances. Even the ever-confident Sebastian leaned forward slightly.
"So," Selene said, looking at each of them. "How should I present my investment value or net worth?"
Sebastian, with folded arms, shot back sarcastically, “Simple. Just show it to us.”
Without missing a beat, Selene connected her tablet to the big screen on the wall. A few taps later, her investment dashboard glowed in front of them.
Everyone leaned in.
The numbers loaded.
$15,427,812 — in stock investments alone.
Gasps filled the room.
"So, as you can see," Selene said evenly, “that’s my current stock value. A little over fifteen million dollars.”
"Whoa…" Wendy’s jaw dropped. "You’re actually... rich-rich. Like, 'new money' on steroids."
Selene smiled faintly. “It’s an inheritance from my mother. She passed away when I was fifteen. Left me her portfolio. I’ve been managing it since. It grew because I didn’t treat it like a gift—I treated it like a responsibility.”
“And that car?” Clark asked, still visibly stunned.
“Just recently bought it,” Selene replied. "using my gold ang black credit card.”
"And this is just your stocks?" Maya asked, still trying to process the figure.
Selene nodded. “Yes. But there’s more. My mother also left me a restaurant chain — it started small, but I expanded it. Now we have six branches across different cities. That alone is valued at over twenty million.”
She glanced at the group.
“If you add the two, my net worth floats around thirty-eight million. Might be a little higher now — haven’t recalculated this week.”
Silence.
Then a slow clap.
Kairo stood up and clapped exaggeratedly. "Okay, okay. You win. I don’t care what bloodline you come from, you just made this recruitment legendary.”
The others joined in, erupting in applause and laughter — all except Sebastian, Clark, and Clint, who sat frozen in quiet disbelief.
Sebastian said nothing, but his clenched jaw spoke volumes.
"You all win," he finally muttered.
Clint groaned. “This is so not fair.”
“What’s not fair about it?” Irene grinned. “You guys judged her based on your guts. These guys bet on fact checking — or at least, on instincts better than yours”
"By the way Selene sorry for betting with this recruitement" Lana apologized
Selene gave a small bow. “No hard feelings. I expected some skepticism.”
Lucas pulled out a small black box and handed it to her. “Congratulations, Selene. Here’s your keyholder. That contains your digital access to the headquarters and your personal room upstairs in the right wing. Keep it safe — and don’t lose it.”
“If you scan the chip with your phone,” Kairo added, “you’ll get a unique access code, just in case. But it only works with one device. Later, we’ll register your fingerprint too — makes access easier.”
Selene nodded, scanning the keyholder and saving the code to her secure folder. “Got it. Thank you.”
"And since we won the bet," Wendy chimed in, “Selene, you get the honor of choosing the location for our summer trip.”
“Me?” Selene blinked in surprise. “But I don’t even know where to go.”
“You better start thinking,” Lana said with a wink. “Because this time, it’s all on them.”
The winning members laughed, excited and already planning. Clark and Clint sulked in defeat, but after a few nudges and jokes from the others, they eventually laughed along.
Minutes passed, and Sebastian finally stood up.
“I’ll head out. I’ve got class in a bit.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “It’s still two hours from now. What, no flings to meet?”
“Mind your own business,” Sebastian muttered, walking out with a slight scowl.
Once he left, Lana, Irene, Maya, and Wendy gathered around Selene to help her settle into her new room upstairs. They talked excitedly, already treating her like one of their own.
Meanwhile, the boys moved to the living room downstairs, watching a sports channel and planning their next club meeting.
Selene Parker had officially arrived — and it was only the beginning.