Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Brian's smile drops. "Let's talk in private, Meredith."
I shake my head. "Why? Afraid of airing your dirty laundry? You stormed into my building, my company. You had no problem making a scene when you came for me." With another smile, I take Cole's hand, lacing my fingers through his.
"Yes, I'm fucking my bodyguard. And you know what? You are not a tenth of the man he is. Yes, I’m fucking a man, Brian. And the thought of fucking you, Brian, leaves me as dry as dust, and gagging."
I step closer to Brian. "He doesn't tell me to shut up or patronize me. He doesn't tell me to lose weight because he cannot carry me. He doesn't say I should work on other skills because the office isn't where I belong."
Brian's face flushes. He opens his mouth, but I continue before he can speak.
"My father never wanted to work with you, even when you tried to force your way into Ashton Collective. You said you wanted me trained to be your wife. You really need to take a good, long look in the mirror, Brian."
I pause, then deliver the final blow.
"You're a twenty-eight-year-old man living off your father's name, desperate to marry into my family's business because you've never built anything of your own. Every achievement you claim is borrowed. Every connection you have is inherited. You're not a businessman, or whatever it is you try to call yourself. You're a trust fund baby playing dress-up, and everyone knows it, even that dirt under your shoe."
Brian stands frozen, his face purplish with rage and humiliation. Around us, employees watch in stunned silence. Some are trying not to smile. The board members look satisfied, even proud.
I turn to leave with Cole, head high. As I pass Brian, he reaches out and tries to grab my arm in a last desperate attempt to make his point. Cole's hand shoots out instantly, catching Brian's wrist. He grips it hard enough that Brian winces and gasps. He squeals an involuntary, “Ouch!”
"You touch her, and I'll break your fingers," Cole says, voice deadly calm and low. “One by one, slowly.”
Brian, trying to save face, sneers. "Is that a threat?"
Cole steps closer, gets in Brian's face. Brian, for all his earlier bravado, backs up a step instinctively.
"Buddy, I do not make threats," Cole says flatly.
Sandra steps forward, looking at Brian with contempt. "You need to leave this building. Now."
Brian tries to protest. "You can't—"
"You cannot insult the owner of this company in her own building and not suffer consequences."
Joyce adds, her voice cold, "Percy Media just lost a major partner. We're cutting all ties with your company, effective immediately."
Karen nods in agreement. "And I'll make sure the rest of the industry knows exactly why. Your reputation is finished."
Brian realizes he's lost. Publicly humiliated in front of my employees and board. Business relationships destroyed. He has no power here. He has no power over me.
He leaves, defeated and furious, trying to maintain dignity as employees watch him go, whispering among themselves.
After he's gone, there's a beat of silence in the hallway. Then someone starts clapping—one employee, then another. The applause spreads, not everyone joins, but enough.
Sandra squeezes my shoulder. "That's how it's done."
Joyce smiles warmly. "Welcome to the club. You're one of us now."
The other women nod. Employees return to work, but something fundamental has happened. I stand there, Cole beside me, and I realize I feel like a totally different person.
I'm no longer that woman who sat frozen in an attorney's office while my relatives decided my future for me.
Now, I'm the CEO who just led a board meeting, destroyed a man's reputation, and publicly claimed her relationship without shame, all within an hour.
The woman who shrank herself to make others comfortable no longer exists.
I've never been this person before. Strong, unafraid, powerful.
And I'm never going back to being small again.
6
COLE
Six Months Later
The light shifts through the blinds of Meredith's office as she speaks. Her voice carries through the room, clear and commanding, but I'm distracted by how beautiful she looks. Six months of watching her transform into this powerhouse, and still I find myself staring, unable to look away, often losing my train of thought.
"Listen, Marcus, I understand your concerns about the deadline, but the Tokyo presentation is in three weeks, and I need those projections by Friday. Not Monday. Friday."
I lean against the wall, scanning the room in the way that's become second nature. Even here, in the heart of Ashton Collective, I never let my guard down.
Force of habit.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Dex. I consider letting it go to voicemail, but with my brother, it's easier to deal with him immediately than suffer the barrage of messages that will follow.
I pull out my phone and answer quietly. "What?"
Meredith glances up from her desk, catches my eye. I mouth "Dex", and she smiles, returning to her call.