Chapter 6 - The Lion’s Den
The corporate headquarters of Lombardi, Vance & Sterling occupied the top floor of a gleaming glass high-rise in the financial district. The reception area was opulent, lined with dark Italian marble, oil paintings of stern founding partners, and sweeping panoramic views of the city skyline.
When I stepped off the private elevator wearing a sharply tailored navy pantsuit, the receptionist blanched. She quickly reached for her intercom, but I walked past her desk before she could press the button.
I pushed open the double frosted-glass doors of the main boardroom without knocking.
The room froze.
Corbin was sitting at the head of the twenty-foot mahogany conference table, dressed in a sharp black suit. Beside him sat Walter, reviewing a thick stack of blue-backed legal documents, while Diane sat perched like a queen on the opposite side, sipping sparkling water from a crystal tumbler. Brielle was seated at the far end of the table, wearing an oversized beige turtleneck and heavy foundation makeup that failed to completely conceal the faint orange tint lingering around her hairline and cuticles.
“Claire,” Corbin said, recovering quickly and leaning back with an air of practiced authority. “I didn't expect you to show up in person. I assumed your lawyer would call to negotiate your surrender.”
“I prefer to handle garbage directly, Corbin,” I said, walking to the foot of the table and taking a seat. I didn't open my briefcase yet; I simply sat back, folded my hands, and observed them.
Diane scoffed, crossing her arms. “You can drop the icy scientist routine, Claire. The local news has already picked up the story. The Board of Health has received an official complaint regarding chemical contamination at your residence. Brielle has retained Walter to represent her in a twenty-million-dollar personal injury tort.”
Walter slid a three-inch-thick legal binder down the polished wood toward me.
“Here are our terms, Claire,” Walter said, his voice smooth, paternal, and utterly devoid of shame. “You will sign a quiet quitclaim deed transferring the residential property on Crestview Drive to Corbin as part of an uncontested divorce settlement. You will also execute this full liability release, indemnifying Corbin, Brielle, and my firm against any claims arising from the LuminaTech supplier restructuring. In exchange, Brielle will decline to pursue punitive criminal charges, and we will issue a joint press release stating that the incident was a tragic cosmetic reaction caused by an accidental product defect.”
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I looked at the documents, then up at my husband. “You really thought this through, didn't you?”
Corbin smiled, that same arrogant, dismissive smirk he had worn on my patio yesterday afternoon. “You’re smart in the lab, Claire. But out here in the real world, optics are everything. You have forty-eight hours before your company's board of directors votes to remove you to save their stock price. Sign the papers, walk away with your freedom, and let the real adults run things.”
