Chapter 6 - The Lioness and the Board
The air in the room instantly turned sub-zero.
I instinctually tried to pull my hand back, but Adrian held tight, his grip firm and reassuring. He didn't look at all flustered by his mother’s sudden appearance.
“Mother,” Adrian said coolly, nodding toward the doorway. “You usually call my assistant before dropping by.”
Eleanor stepped further into the room, her designer heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. She appraised me with a cold, sweeping glance that made me feel like an uninvited insect in a museum.
“I don't need an appointment to visit my own son,” Eleanor said smoothly. She turned her icy blue gaze on me. “You must be Elena. The creative director who brought her toddler into an executive board meeting.”
“Ms. Vance is the most talented creative director this firm has hired in a decade,” Adrian interjected, his tone dropping an octave into a protective warning. “And her daughter is a delighted addition to this office.”
Eleanor let out a delicate, bitter laugh. “Don't be foolish, Adrian. The Kane family line does not absorb second-hand baggage from broken Southern households. The board is already whispering about conflict of interest. Richard Sterling is calling an emergency board meeting for Thursday to question your executive judgment.”
“Richard Sterling can question whatever he likes,” Adrian replied calmly. “He holds seven percent of the voting shares. I hold sixty-two.”
“He holds seven percent, but he has the backing of the European investment group!” Eleanor countered, her composure cracking slightly. “If you parade this woman around as your fiancée, you compromise the integrity of the upcoming merger with the Vance Logistics Group—”
She caught herself mid-sentence, but it was too late.
My head snapped up. “What did you say?” I asked, staring at Eleanor. “The Vance Logistics Group? As in… Gregory Vance’s family?”
Adrian’s eyes darkened instantly. He turned to his mother, his expression suddenly lethal. “Mother. What merger are you talking about?”
Eleanor smoothed her Chanel jacket, realizing she had revealed too much. “It’s simple business, Adrian. Sterling negotiated a preliminary buyout of Vance Logistics' distribution assets in Georgia last month. It’s a forty-million-dollar deal that secures our Southern supply chain.”
The puzzle pieces suddenly slammed together in my mind with terrifying clarity.
Gregory hadn't just accidentally seen me on a billboard. His family had been in secret negotiations with members of Adrian’s board for weeks. Gregory was using the merger leverage to track me down and force me back to Atlanta.
I looked at Adrian, panic seizing my chest. “Adrian… they’re using the merger. If Gregory finds out you’re involved with me, he’ll use the buyout terms to force a custody agreement!”
Adrian stepped toward his mother, his posture radiating pure authority.
“Cancel the Sterling buyout,” Adrian commanded quietly.
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“Are you mad?!” Eleanor gasped. “That deal secures our Q4 expansion!”
“I said cancel it,” Adrian repeated, his voice echoing through the suite like thunder. “And tell Richard Sterling that if he speaks to Gregory Vance again, I will personally strip him of his committee chairmanship before the sun sets today.”
