The Merciful Female Boss Chapter 08
People had been asking about the gear ever since Kevin’s team started winning.
But after Renzo’s shout-out today, custom gear had officially gone viral.
I called Mike.
“How are the technicians doing?”
“They’re ready. We can add ten more custom production lines easily.”
“Good. Keep one line private-only for me.”
“Start production on the others immediately.”
“Copy that, Boss.”
The company officially opened for custom orders.
With only ten lines, the waitlist grew instantly.
Within hours, we were booked through the end of next year.
The average factory price was thirteen thousand dollars a set.
Renzo called me, sounding frantic.
“Sophia, I heard the waitlist is a year long. Can I get in line for our next sets? Is it too late?”
I laughed.
“To thank you for the free PR, I kept a private line for our team.”
“Our orders go through whenever we want.”
I could hear the whole team cheering through the phone.
“Thank you, Miss Moretti!”
Snow corrected them. “Don’t be so formal. Thank you, Sophia!”
A few days later, Kevin messaged me. The old team wanted to meet.
I went.
Our old hangout no longer had any of Kevin’s stuff.
He looked hollow.
“I can’t climb anymore. I’ve handed the captaincy to Lily.”
“Sophia… everyone wants you to come back. To help the team.”
Lily grabbed my hand gently.
“Sophia, we’ve been together for two years. Don’t let one person’s lies tear us apart.”
“Come back, please?”
I looked at them and felt… absolutely nothing.
“I wasn’t the one who listened to the lies. You were.”
“I wasn’t the one who kicked me off the team. You were.”
“Did you really not know I was losing money on every set I gave you?”
They stayed silent.
I turned to leave, but Nick spoke up, desperate.
“Can we at least order gear from your company?”
“Sure. Get in line with everyone else.”
“But we used to get it in ten days…”
I smiled.
“Like you said. That was ‘used to.”
“Do you really think I’m keeping a production line open just for you?”
Lily looked down.
“And the price…”
“Your order volume is small. You’ll pay retail. Nineteen thousand a set.”
Their eyes nearly bulged out.
“Nineteen thousand? That’s insane!”
“You only charged us twelve hundred before…”
I let a smirk touch my lips.
“You called twelve hundred expensive back then, too.”
“It’s fine. If it’s too much, you can always go find someone who sells it for two hundred.”
I turned and walked out.
Eventually, the team fell apart.
Without Kevin, their performance went down the drain.
Lily and the others were used to paying twelve hundred. They couldn’t afford-or weren’t willing to pay for-
the good stuff.
Without the gear, they couldn’t win.
Without wins, the sponsors vanished. Without income, they couldn’t sustain the sport.
One by one, they quit.
Meanwhile, my company’s profits soared as the custom lines took off.
Renzo was an absolute beast on the wall, leading us to victory after victory.
The sponsors were thrilled. Our funding jumped to five hundred thousand dollars.
When Renzo’s team tried to pay for their new gear, I offered them a twenty percent discount.
“The Captain made me so much in prize money, I’d feel bad not giving a discount.”
The team refused.
“Your gear is why we won that money. We’re paying full price!”
Looking at their genuine, smiling faces, I finally understood.
Friendship is a two-way street. And only the ones who walk it with you are worth keeping.
