Chapter 46

When Ari strolled into Elodie’s office for their second official meeting, she was surprised. She had braced herself for the usual Wall Street circus: lawyers in power suits, analysts with more spreadsheets than a squirrel has nuts, and enough caffeine to fuel a small rocket launch. But Ari? Nope, just him and his charming smile (which, honestly, could probably close a deal faster than any PowerPoint presentation). Turns out, Ari didn’t need a posse to play investor. As soon as the meeting began, he started grilling her on profit margins, debt ratios, and cash flow like a culinary connoisseur dissecting a soufflé. ‘RevPAR,’ ‘GSS,’ ‘OTA,’ ‘yield management’—he tossed around industry jargon like spells from Hermione Granger’s textbook, proving he wasn’t just some trust fund kid playing dress-up in a suit. Elodie appreciated the intellectual tango, a language she spoke fluently. Ari’s questions were razor-sharp harpoons: ‘Financial state? Milestones? Competition? Operational hellfires?’ Wi