Lust Meter System: Conquering Beauties-Chapter 113: Missing pieces 2

"This supplier," he said, pointing to a name on the screen. "How long have you been working with them?"

Her father glanced at the screen. "About eight months."

"And when did the complaints start?"

Her father’s expression darkened. "About six months ago."

Liam nodded, pieces clicking into place. "That’s your problem. This supplier is cutting corners. Either they’re using substandard materials, or they’re skimming product and replacing it with cheaper alternatives."

Her father’s jaw tightened. "How do you know?"

"Because the pattern fits," Liam said, gaining momentum now. "The complaints started shortly after you began working with them. And the shipments from this supplier consistently show higher shrinkage than the others."

Elsa spoke up. "Can we see the quality control reports for those shipments?"

Sarah pulled them up.

Elsa leaned forward, her eyes scanning the data with the kind of focus Liam had seen when she balanced the books at the store.

After a moment, she pointed to a section. "Look at this. The defect rate for products from this supplier is almost three times higher than the others."

Liam looked at where she was pointing and felt something settle in his chest. "Good catch."

He exhaled slowly, feeling the tension drain from his shoulders. They’d actually done it. Found something real. Something fixable.

Elsa was staring at the screen like she couldn’t quite believe what she’d just helped uncover. Her hands had stopped trembling.

Her father stood up and walked around the desk, looking at the screen over their shoulders.

His expression was complicated—frustration mixed with something else. He glanced at Elsa, and there was a flicker of something in his eyes that looked almost like surprise. Or maybe recognition.

"How did we miss this?" he said quietly, more to himself than to them.

"Because you weren’t looking for it," Liam said. "You were focused on the product itself, not the supply chain."

Her father was silent for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the screen like he was committing the numbers to memory.

Then he turned to Sarah. "I want a full audit of this supplier. And I want it done by the end of the week."

Sarah nodded. "I’ll get started on it right away."

She left the office, and her father walked back to his desk.

He sat down slowly, his expression thoughtful. "You found that in less than an hour."

"Yeah," Liam said. "Once you know what to look for, the patterns become obvious."

Her father studied him for a long moment, and Liam could feel the weight of that gaze—assessing, calculating. "You’re very good at this." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Thanks."

Her father’s eyes shifted to Elsa. "And you. You caught the defect rate correlation."

Elsa met his gaze, her chin lifting slightly. "I was just looking at the data."

"You were doing more than that," her father said, and his voice was softer now, almost careful. "You were analyzing it. Making connections."

Elsa didn’t respond, but Liam could see color creeping up her neck.

Her father looked down at his desk, then back up at them. There was that awkwardness again, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite find the words.

Finally, he spoke. "I have to admit, I’m impressed. Both of you worked well together."

He paused, then leaned forward slightly. "Liam, I’d like to make you an offer."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "What kind of offer, sir?"

"I’d like to invest in your consulting business," her father said. "Give you the resources you need to expand. Take on bigger clients. Build something significant."

Liam blinked.

He genuinely hadn’t expected this.

There was a pause as Liam processed the offer—the kind of offer most people starting out would kill for. Money. Connections. Credibility.

Then he shook his head slowly. "As much as I appreciate the offer, sir, I’m going to have to decline."

Her father’s eyebrows rose. "That’s a mistake, Liam. With my backing, you could grow faster. You could take on projects you wouldn’t be able to handle on your own. Build something real."

Liam met his gaze steadily. "Maybe. But it’s my mistake to make. That’s all part of becoming a businessman."

Her father studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

Then he scoffed lightly and leaned back in his chair, like he’d just been told something mildly amusing. "Alright. If that’s how you want to do it."

"It is," Liam said.

Her father nodded slowly, something that might have been respect flickering across his face. "Fair enough."

He stood up. "I’ll have Sarah send you everything you need for the audit. If you need anything else, let me know."

Liam stood as well. "I will. Thank you."

Elsa stood too, still looking a little surprised by the whole exchange.

Her father walked them to the door.

As Liam was about to step out, he paused and turned back.

"Mr. Hart," Liam said. "I think you should build something with your daughter before you try to build something with me."

The words hung in the air like a challenge.

Her father’s expression shifted. The awkwardness from earlier returned, but this time it was mixed with something heavier. Realization, maybe. Or shame.

He looked at Elsa, and for a moment, neither of them said anything.

Elsa was staring at Liam, her eyes wide.

Her father cleared his throat. "I... I’ll keep that in mind."

Liam nodded and walked out.

Elsa followed, still looking shell-shocked.

---

They didn’t speak until they were in the elevator.

As soon as the doors closed, Elsa let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh.

"Oh my God," she said.

Liam looked at her. "What?"

"We actually did it," she said, her eyes wide with something between disbelief and exhilaration. "We actually found the problem. I thought—I thought for sure we were going to look like idiots in there."

"We didn’t."

"No," Elsa said, shaking her head slowly. "We didn’t."

She looked at him, and there was something like wonder in her expression. "Liam, do you realize what just happened? We just solved a problem his entire team couldn’t figure out."

"Yeah," Liam said, and despite everything—despite the stress, the fear, the doubt—he felt himself smile. "Yeah, we did."

Elsa turned to face him fully. "Why did you say no?"

Liam looked at her. "To the investment?"

"Yeah."

Liam was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Two reasons. First, I came in here believing we could actually do this. And we did. We solved a problem his entire team missed."

He looked at Elsa. "Taking his money right after proving that? It sends the wrong message. Like we need him when we just showed we don’t."

Elsa nodded slowly, understanding dawning on her face.

"And second," Liam said, his tone harder now, "the whole time we were in that office, your father barely looked at you. He acknowledged you once, and even then he seemed surprised you could think."

Elsa’s jaw tightened.

"If I take his money, I become the person he invests in. The person he respects. And you?" Liam shook his head. "You’d just be there. In the background. Again."

He paused.

"I’m not doing that to you."

’Also, I can always ask Elena to invest instead’

Elsa’s eyes were wide. "You turned down an investment because of me?"

Liam scratched the back of his head, suddenly finding the elevator buttons very interesting.

He could feel heat creeping up his neck. "I mean... yeah. Partly."

His face was definitely warming now, and he knew she could see it.

"But the first reason stands on its own too," he added quickly, trying to recover some semblance of composure.

Elsa stared at him for a long moment, something unreadable crossing her face.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out into the lobby.

They walked toward the exit in silence—not the awkward kind, but the kind where both people were thinking too much to speak.

Once they were outside on the sidewalk, Elsa stopped and turned to him. "Thank you."

Liam glanced at her. "For what?"

"For bringing me today. For letting me help. For... what you said to my dad."

Liam shrugged, uncomfortable with the gratitude. "You earned it. You caught that defect rate issue."

He turned and walked to the other side of the car, opening the door and sliding into the driver’s seat.

He looked through the window at Elsa, who was still standing on the sidewalk looking thoughtful.

"Are you getting in?" he called. "I’ll drop you home."

Elsa shook her head. "I’m not going home. I promised Mr. Sam I’d still come in today."

Liam leaned back in his seat. "It’s fine. I’ll drop you at the store then."

"You don’t have to," Elsa said quickly. "I know you have somewhere to be right now."

Liam didn’t deny it. He had a follow-up session with Shay across town—more pain disguised as training.

"Trust me, I’m not in a hurry. I can still drop you," he said.

Elsa gave him a small smile. "Really, Liam. Don’t worry about me. Just go."

Liam studied her for a moment, reading the determination in her expression. Arguing wouldn’t change her mind—he was learning that about her.

"Alright," he said finally. "But text me when you get there."

"I will."

He nodded and started the engine.

As he pulled away from the curb, he glanced in the rearview mirror.

Elsa was still standing there, watching the car move down the street.

’Today must have been a lot for her,’ he thought as he merged into traffic. ’Facing her dad like that. Being in that building again. Maybe she just needs some time to process everything. Some space to think.’

He understood that. Sometimes after something heavy, you just needed to be alone for a bit. Or maybe being around familiar things—like the store—helped ground her.

He turned his attention back to the road, his mind already shifting to whatever fresh hell Shay had planned for him.

---

Elsa stood on the sidewalk, watching until the car disappeared around the corner.

Then she let out a long breath and turned toward the bus stop.