BXBX NOVEL Chapter 379 - Failing Miserably
Chapter 379 - Failing Miserably
"A businesswoman?" Rutherford questioned with a blank look on his face.
The father had never expected her to answer in this way so he was left stunned.
Yvonne could not make out any reaction from his present appearance.
There was neither any rejection nor any acceptance visible on his face.
'Is he confused about what that word means?' She wondered as this was also a possibility since people in this Kingdom did not use some words which were fairly common in her previous world.
"A female businessman." She explained to help him understand better.
Howard once again snickered when he heard her simplifying the word for their father which gained him a fierce glare from the other two present in this room.
'I will deal with you later!' The little sister scowled at the boy's audacious acts until now.
Turning back to her father, she found him looking at her with his eyebrows raised.
"I realize what a businesswoman means but why do you want to become one?" He interrogated in a serious tone.
Rutherford was not an idiot who couldn't make out what she meant but he was curious about why she had said so.
'Why else would someone want to become a businesswoman?' Yvonne tilted her head while looking at her father.
"To earn money." She stated her mind without hiding her innermost thoughts from him.
Sitting next to her, Howard recalled how she had promised that she would earn enough money to make it seem like his inheritance was pocket cash in her eyes.
Now that she had openly proclaimed her desires before their father, he turned his gaze towards the older man to see how he would react.
"And what makes you think that our family lacks revenue?" He retorted to her simplistic words.
This time, Yvonne almost rolled her eyes but stopped as she did not want to hear another lecture about being unladylike from him.
"That money belongs to the St. Claire family, Papa. I want to earn my own money." She defended her reason for wanting to become a businesswoman.
In her previous life too, she had more than enough money to spend her entire life just laying back and watching her brother earn money for their family.
However, she did not like the thought of doing absolutely nothing to contribute to wealth gain in their family.
'An independent woman is a happy woman.' She believed as she did not have to ask for anyone's financial support to gain what she wished for.
This did not mean that she did not like getting spoiled by her brother and grandpa in her previous life.
She just liked the idea of being financially secure enough to not have to hold her hand out before anyone.
'And I'm not looking down on the women here who depend on the men in their family, I just hope they realize that they too are perfectly capable of earning money to stabilize the wealth flow into their homes.' She hoped that one day this could be possible in this Kingdom.
Rutherford did not mock her for her idealistic words but chose to have a proper conversation with her.
"Do you even know what a businessman does? The troubles he has to undergo to set up a business? The manpower he would need to initiate any plans? Not to forget about the power to be able to control everything?" Rutherford interrogated her in an attempt to look at how she responded to them.
The little girl who was expecting her father to chide her straightaway for having such an absurd thought in her head was now at a loss for words.
'He wants to listen to what I have to say instead of snubbing me directly.' She realized and decided to make proper use of this chance.
Since she had been standing ever since she proclaimed what her dream was, Yvonne finally sat back down as she looked him straight in the eye.
"Selling any goods or services in exchange for monetary compensation is what a businessman does." She began answering his questions one by one.
Howard nodded as this was the right answer according to what he had learned in the Academy.
"Initial capital to be used as an investment will be needed along with a new and unique business idea which can guarantee the return of invested capital would be the foundation needed to start a business." She expressed her views on the next question.
Rutherford nodded his head as this was also the right answer.
"And where would you get that investment you spoke about?" He inquired with his brows raised as he was sure that she would come to him for that as well.
Unlike what he had expected, his daughter smiled widely and there was even a hint of pride in her eyes.
"Does Papa remember the bank card that Baron MacIntyre deposits the money into?" She reminded him and giggled when she saw the light of realization flash across his eyes.
Narrowing his eyes at his daughter, he leered at her.
"So that talk about not having pocket money like the other girls in society… Was that a lie?" He interrogated wondering what else his daughter had been hiding from him.
Yvonne coughed that he was so quick to catch up on her words.
"Not entirely but a part of the reason why I made that deal with the Baron was for accumulating some wealth." She muttered her answer.
'I am not telling him that it was all for the sake of gathering money to invest in my businesses.' She decided that hiding this part would be better for now.
"So have you also gathered manpower without my knowledge?" Rutherford inquired as his voice got colder.
How could he not be angry when his daughter whom he had considered to be throwing a tantrum because she lacked pocket money was in fact a ruse for her to earn this money for future investment.
The children too had noticed this change but unlike Howard who sat in silence as he was ignorant to most of what she was talking about, Yvonne remained vocal about her thoughts.
"I have not yet thought of any major details about my business nor have I done anything more than gathering my investment money coming from the sales of the cupcakes." She disclosed and this time it was the entire truth.
She had no manpower as she had not yet hired any employees.
She also did not have any power to control her business as there was no business set up yet.
"So all you have is money and nothing else?" Rutherford narrowed his eyes while leaning on his hand which was placed on the hand rest of the couch.
This languid pose of his in addition to the words he just spoke indicated that he was not invested in her plans.
'Why does this feel like I am pitching my business ideas to him and failing miserably at that?' Yvonne gulped her saliva as she thought of what she could say to turn this situation around.
It was true that she needed a solid business plan along with someone to work with whom she could trust.
Therefore, she used this as her excuse to turn things in her favor.
"Papa, I did say that I want to become a businesswoman but I never said that I want to do it right now." She huffed as she revealed this matter to him.
Raising his brows, the father sat upright and leaned forward.
"So you want to become a businesswoman in the future." He added to her statement with amusement written all over his face.
Though all Yvonne wished to do was scoff at him for looking so thoroughly entertained by what she was saying, she held her anger in.
"There's a lot of preparations that needs to be done before I can set up my business." She announced as this had always been her plan from the very beginning.
To start a business without proper foundations was setting it up for failure and that was not what she wished to do.
"You already know that my ideas work well..." 'in this world.' She swallowed the words which followed as that would cause unnecessary confusion.
Rutherford and Howard could not deny this as even the King was someone who had used her ideas in improving the policies of the previous King.
Noticing their lack of objection, Yvonne took this chance to use the big guns in her arsenal.
Fluttering her lashes, she twiddled her thumbs and blinked her wide amethyst eyes at him.
Rutherford for a second felt that he was looking at an oversized hamster due to her chubby cheeks and her wide eyes which she aimed straight at him.
"When I am ready, I wish that Papa can support me instead of standing against me." She muttered in a soft voice, apprehension, and nervousness apparent as she spoke.
Hearing her words, the father snapped out of his daze and shook his head to wipe away the sight of that adorable creature that had appeared in his mind.
Steeling his heart, he shook his head at her proposal.
"No matter how good your words might sound, a woman cannot own a business here." He refused her straightaway.
'Again with this patriarchal nonsense!' The little girl's brows were scrunched together and her eyes were narrowed, making it clear that she was not pleased with this outcome.
Rutherford sighed and decided to use a better tone to help her understand where he was coming from.
"Vonna, even if I were to accept your idea and support you… Do you think that the other men will be willing to work with a woman who is the business owner?" He shot this question for her to answer.