Chapter 40: Chapter 36: Starting a Business

It was part plea, part coy wheedling.

In short, it wasn’t something a sober Shane Sterling would say.

’He’s really drunk,’ Isla Prescott thought.

“Give me a kiss, won’t you?”

His fingers traced her red lips, again and again. She wondered if it was because of the alcohol, but his gaze had grown so tender.

Isla Prescott felt the warmth of Shane Sterling’s fingertips ignite on her lips. The heat spread across her entire face, leaving her with a giddy, tipsy feeling as her own heart began to race.

“Miss Isabelle…” Mrs. Zane’s voice echoed from the hallway.

Isla Prescott jolted. She quickly pushed Shane Sterling away and scrambled out of his arms. Fortunately, he didn’t try to hold on to her. He just rolled over, facedown on the bed, and went still.

“Miss Isabelle,” Mrs. Zane said, walking into the bedroom with a bowl of sobering soup. “Are you hungry? I rolled some sweet rice balls earlier today. If you are, I can make you a bowl of sweet soup with them. You should eat before you go.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Zane, but please don’t trouble yourself.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

“I ate before I came, so I’m not hungry. I’ll be heading back now.”

“Alright. Be careful on your way home.”

Isla Prescott took a taxi back to campus.

On the way, Shane Sterling’s words—”Give me a kiss, won’t you?”—echoed relentlessly in her mind. She knew he was drunk, but her heart still felt like a shaken soda bottle, fizzing with an effervescence she couldn’t suppress.

This was a dangerous sign.

She quickly shook her head, telling herself that the most important thing right now was work.

Ever since Isla Prescott had resigned from the Meritopia Song and Dance Troupe, she had been contemplating her next career move. She’d thought long and hard about it, debating whether to focus on just making ends meet or to plan for long-term growth.

If she were only thinking about paying the bills, there were plenty of dance agencies in Meritopia where she could work as a teacher. But that career path felt like a dead end, and she wasn’t willing to settle for that.

After much deliberation, she decided on a two-pronged approach: work as a dance teacher at an agency to earn money, and simultaneously try her hand at creating social media content, using short-form video platforms to promote both dance and herself.

This path would undoubtedly be difficult, but Isla Prescott wasn’t afraid of hard work. What she feared was a future without hope.

While she was job hunting, Annabelle Leighton happened to contact her and ask what she’d been up to.

Annabelle Leighton had also been in a career lull since leaving the Meritopia Song and Dance Troupe. She didn’t have to worry about money, but she was the type who couldn’t sit still. Getting dolled up every day for afternoon tea and shopping with other socialites was starting to feel mind-numbingly boring—a total waste of her life.

Isla Prescott told Annabelle Leighton her plan to work while building a social media brand, and Annabelle was instantly obsessed with the idea.

“Isabelle, let’s start a business together! It’s better to work for ourselves than for someone else.”

Annabelle’s idea was for them to open a dance studio together, create their own brand, promote it both online and offline, and build it into a major success.

Isla Prescott had actually considered this path herself. However, launching an independent dance brand required a significant upfront investment, and she had no startup capital. That single obstacle had been enough to make her abandon the idea. But Annabelle Leighton was different. As the apple of the Leighton family’s eye, her monthly allowance alone was more than enough to fund a new business.

Having a partner like Annabelle Leighton practically fall into her lap was a godsend, and Isla Prescott was thrilled, but she didn’t want to take advantage of her friend’s generosity.

“Annie, I don’t have any money. At the start, I can only contribute sweat equity. Once the studio starts turning a profit or the social media accounts gain traction, I’ll take on half of the initial investment cost. I’ll pay you back for my share, and only after that debt is cleared will I start taking my portion of the profits. We’ll put everything clearly in a contract. Even if the business fails, I won’t run out on the debt. I’ll work and pay you back bit by bit.”

“Hey, don’t jinx it! We haven’t even started and you’re already talking about failure! We’re definitely going to succeed! And don’t you worry about the money. I couldn’t care less about it. I just really, truly want a business partner I can trust. If we get lucky and make a name for ourselves, I can finally show those family members who think I’m just a pretty face that I can be successful too!”

And just like that, the two of them hit it off. From the moment they woke up each day, they were deep in enthusiastic discussions.

Their trip to Nocturne today had also been to discuss their new venture.

—

After returning to campus, Isla Prescott took a shower and quickly cooled her head.

She felt ridiculous for letting a drunk’s nonsensical words throw her into such disarray.

Isla Prescott didn’t see Shane Sterling for the next several days. She threw herself into her work, going out with Annabelle Leighton every day to research the market and find a location for their studio.

They looked at several locations but weren’t completely satisfied with any of them. The only promising area, Corlane Street, was already fully leased.

It felt like a bit of an inauspicious start, but thankfully, both of them had a positive mindset. They agreed that starting a business was never going to be smooth sailing.

Without a studio location nailed down, they couldn’t move forward with the next steps of their plan.

Isla Prescott and Annabelle Leighton discussed it and decided to split up to cover more ground each day.

On Monday, Isla Prescott got an early start and viewed three commercial properties before noon, but still hadn’t found the right one. Her stomach was rumbling with hunger, and she was just about to grab a bite to eat when her phone rang.

It was Annabelle Leighton.

“Isabelle, I found a place that’s perfect for our studio! It’s over at Skysea Plaza. You have to come see it.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

Isla Prescott immediately hailed a taxi to Skysea Plaza.

The space Annabelle had found was a 230-square-meter unit on the second floor of Skysea Plaza with excellent natural light. It was not only conveniently located with easy parking but was also surrounded by schools and a community center. The potential foot traffic was everything they had hoped for.

“Annie, this place you found is absolutely perfect.”

The Skysea Plaza location was, by far, the best option they had seen.

“Of course it is. You have to consider who found it,” Annabelle Leighton said, winking smugly at Isla Prescott.

Both women were thrilled.

“Right, this place is so nice… is the rent going to be really expensive?” Isla Prescott asked.

“Nope, not at all. The rent here is actually cheaper than on Corlane Street.”

“Are you serious?”

“Totally serious! It’s because the owner of this place is Shane Sterling. I just called him, and he said that as a thank you for our help with Ezra’s situation, he’s giving us a fifty-percent discount on the rent.”

Hearing Shane Sterling’s name, Isla Prescott’s heart inexplicably began to race.

The memory of that night came flooding back, fresh and vivid.

Even though several days had passed, her cheeks still burned when she remembered his drunken words.

“Isabelle, what’s wrong?” Seeing her friend spacing out, Annabelle Leighton waved a hand in front of her face. “Do you see a problem with this?”

“I… I just feel like it might not be right for us to take such a huge favor from him.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like Shane Sterling is hurting for money. For him, the income from the entire Skysea Plaza is pocket change, let alone the rent from our tiny little spot. Don’t feel bad about it. When we start making good money, we can just offer to pay him the full amount.”

“Okay.”

With the location successfully secured, the next step was renovation.

Although they had outsourced the work to a renovation company, Isla Prescott went to the site every day to supervise, wanting to prevent the contractors from cutting corners and to ensure the final result matched the design plans.

Annabelle had originally offered to take shifts with her, but her grandmother had been hospitalized, so she couldn’t get away. That left Isla Prescott to manage it all on her own.

For ten days straight, Isla Prescott was on the same schedule as the construction crew. She’d bring her laptop to the site in the morning and spend her time working on the studio’s initial business plan and market positioning. Around noon, she’d work on curriculum development, and in the afternoons, she’d study social media strategies and operational management. She wished she could split every minute in two.

Her mind was completely consumed by work, leaving no room for any other thoughts. Naturally, that meant she didn’t think about Shane Sterling either.

Until the tenth day of the studio renovation, when they met in the elevator.

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