Chapter 70

"Mr. Jones of Elderford International Trading is hosting a private dinner tonight. He controls the entire high-end fabric supply chain in the region. If Cloudweave wants to scale, he's the one gatekeeper you absolutely must win over." Juliet's hands froze. She knew the name all too well. She and Ariane had tried to secure an audience with him just yesterday and had been turned away at the door without so much as a greeting. Landing this contract would slash Cloudweave's raw material costs by at least 30 percent. "I'll go," Juliet said, her gaze firm and determined. Zachary didn't look surprised. He had expected this. He knew that a woman striving to break free from the confines of her domestic life was at her most ambitious. Leaning forward slightly, his long, elegant fingers tapped a steady rhythm against the tabletop. "You can go. But there's a catch. Mr. Jones is old-fashioned. He's traditional and notoriously hesitant to do business with single women. And at a function like t