Chapter 4 - The Boardroom Coup
The emergency board meeting of Callahan Industries was scheduled for 9:00 AM, but the tension in the forty-second-floor boardroom could have sliced glass at 8:45.
Victor Harlan sat at the opposite end of the mahogany table, looking far too pleased with himself. Next to him sat Blair Prescott, her sharp, predatory smile masked behind a cup of imported black coffee.
When the heavy oak doors swung open, Grant walked in.
He didn't look like a man who had slept three hours. His dark hair was meticulously combed, his charcoal suit cut with razor precision, but his eyes were like chips of black ice. Every executive at the table instinctively straightened their posture.
"Grant," Victor began, clearing his throat. "We need to discuss the upcoming merger with the European shipping syndicate. The international board has concerns. Specifically regarding... your domestic stability."
Grant took his seat at the head of the table, folding his hands together. "My domestic stability is entirely under control, Victor."
"Is it?" Blair chimed in, leaning forward, her diamond bracelets clicking against the wood. "Word in the society columns is that your sweet little orphan wife packed her bags and bolted to Europe after overhearing a rather... revealing conversation at the hospital gala."
The room went dead silent. Even the air conditioning seemed to hum a notch lower.
Grant slowly turned his head to look at Blair. The look in his eyes made her smile falter for a fraction of a second.
"You talk too much, Blair," Grant said softly, his voice cutting through the quiet like a razor. "And you assume too much. Clara took a sabbatical. Marriages of our stature require space."
"Space involving forty million dollars in liquid escrow?" Victor scoffed, tossing a financial audit printout onto the table. "Our auditors flagged an emergency liquidity transfer from your personal holding account at midnight. Don't insult our intelligence, Grant. Your paper wife just took a very expensive bite out of your legacy."
Before Grant could retaliate, the boardroom doors swung open again.
May you like
A junior legal associate hurried in, clutching a white folder, looking terrified. He rushed to Julian Vance, whispered frantically in his ear, and handed him the document.
Julian’s face went completely pale. He walked over to Grant, leaning down to whisper: "Sir... you need to see this now."
