CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE – CHASING THE FUNDS

The buzz of the coffee shop was a stark contrast to the quiet satisfaction Karina had felt just days ago. Fenrir's pop-up had been a smashing success, but the euphoria had swiftly evaporated as reality slammed back down. The pop-up was a one-off, a fleeting taste of victory. Building a sustainable business required the bitter brew of cold hard cash. Karina stared at the spreadsheet on her laptop screen, the numbers mocking her with their harsh realities. Production costs, marketing expenses, rent – the list stretched on, a seemingly endless drain on the meager savings she'd managed to scrape together. John's offer still echoed in her mind, a tempting lifeline of financial support. But the stubborn knot of pride remained, an insistence on building Fenrir on her own foundation, a testament to her grit and determination. Suddenly, a voice broke through her reverie. "Working on world domination, are we?" Karina looked up to see Sarah, a fellow entrepreneur she'd met at a networking ev