Chapter 2

2

That evening, calls flooded in one after another.

They were all major seafood wholesalers and fleet managers I had personally partnered with, asking what was going on.

"Did those ungrateful locals give you trouble? We only buy from that village because of you! If they're making you miserable, just leave!"

"Exactly, Brenna. You should have taken the senior analyst job at the Department of Marine Resources in the first place instead of wasting your time out there."

"By the way, the commercial GPS positioning system you helped install on our deep-sea trawlers worked wonders! Thanks to your tech upgrades, our fleet's shipping losses dropped by seventy percent!"

After chatting with them, I hung up and hummed a cheerful tune as I walked down the harbor path.

Along the road, I crossed paths with several fishermen who usually greeted me with wide smiles and warm waves.

Tonight, their faces were icy, their eyes filled with deep resentment.

When I arrived at my rented cottage, I found a large crowd of villagers blocking my front porch.

The moment they saw me, they swarmed forward, shouting in fury.

"Brenna! We trusted you with our entire livelihood, and you took advantage of us! It's fine to take a broker fee, but you're plain greedy!"

"We risk our necks out in stormy waters every single day, and the bulk of the cash ended up in your pocket! Where is your conscience?"

"If Cassidy hadn't stepped in and taken over the paperwork, we would still be in the dark! Cassidy actually cares about working-class folks and doesn't rip us off!"

"Damn right! Don't you dare think you can buy our catch ever again!"

Looking at the agitated mob, the picture instantly became clear.

I gave them a cold smirk. These people looked well-fed and wore brand-new winter jackets.

They seemed to have completely forgotten that their comfortable lives were entirely thanks to me.

When I first arrived in this miserable village, they couldn't even afford fresh beef on their tables.

They used to haul their fresh catch to the county market and dump it for pennies just to scrape by.

I was the one who introduced artisanal curing and packaging, and I used my own high-end commercial contacts to open lucrative distribution channels across the region.

My commission had been minimal, well below the standard market rate for an export broker.

Since they truly believed I was fleecing them, they were more than welcome to let Cassidy sell their stock.

The crowd hurled insults at my door for over half an hour. When I refused to give them any reaction, they finally dispersed.

Later that night, the harbor night guard brought a message to my door with a sour face, saying I had an urgent call from the city.

It was my mother.

"Brenna, tell me the truth. Are people mistreating you out there? I told you from the start, if you didn't want a desk job at the Department of Marine Resources, you could have worked at the family shipping company. Why did you insist on suffering in that backward fishing port?"

Her voice was brimming with motherly worry.

Warmth flooded my chest, and I chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm having fun. By the way, can you send me one of those new Motorola brick cell phones?"

High-end mobile phones were still rare luxury items back then, but for someone with my mother's connections, getting one was child's play.

The villagers were hostile now, and they would soon cut me off from the harbor landline.

"Consider it done. I'll have a courier bring it over tomorrow. If things get too messy, just pack up and come home. How much can a little harbor co-op even make anyway? If you really love the seafood trade, your father and I will set up an international logistics firm just for you."

Hearing her casual offer, I burst out laughing.

"Look at you, laughing without a care in the world! I should have sent your father over earlier to see if anyone dared cross you!"

When I stepped outside the office, I ran straight into Vernon.

He marched over, fuming with impatience.

"Where the hell have you been all afternoon? Why hasn't a single new client signed on? We have a mountain of cured seafood sitting in storage, and state officials are arriving in a few days for an inspection! We need this inventory sold immediately!"