Chương 3 - the board's trap
By two o'clock that afternoon, a heavy rainstorm began to lash against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of Kane Enterprises, casting cold gray reflections across Adrian's private conference room.
Mia was sitting at the low glass coffee table, happily eating chocolate strawberries that Adrian's executive chef had delivered personally to the suite, while playing a game on Adrian's private tablet.
Claire sat on the leather sofa across from Adrian, holding a warm cup of tea. Her fair skin looked soft under the ambient lighting, though her eyes were filled with lingering anxiety.
The heavy double doors of the conference suite pushed open, and Julian Sterling—the fifty-eight-year-old senior chairman of the board—marched inside, flanked by two corporate attorneys in dark suits. Sterling was a ruthless, calculating man with slicked-back gray hair and a sharp, arrogant posture.
"Adrian!" Sterling barked, slamming a leather portfolio onto the table. "The board is demanding an emergency session! You abruptly canceled the autumn campaign presentation this morning to entertain a senior director and her child in your private suite!"
Adrian didn't stand up. He sat back in his leather chair, folding his broad hands over his dark black suit, his gray-blue eyes locking onto Sterling with razor-sharp intensity.
"My private schedule is none of your concern, Sterling," Adrian said smoothly, his deep voice dropping into an icy register.
Sterling sneered, looking down his nose at Claire. "Ms. Bennett brought an unauthorized minor onto the executive floor, violating corporate security protocol. Under section four of the ethics charter, I am moving to terminate her contract as creative director effective immediately!"
Claire gasped softly, setting her tea cup down as her hands began to shake.
Before Sterling could utter another word, Adrian stood up slowly. His towering broad frame, dark masculine presence, and terrifyingly calm aura instantly filled the room with suffocating authority. He walked up to Sterling, stopping two inches from the older chairman's face.
"Touch one hair on Claire Bennett's career in this company, Sterling," Adrian whispered, his voice carrying a lethal thunder that made the two corporate attorneys step back in terror, "and I will personally release the forensic audit of your offshore shell accounts in the Cayman Islands to the federal prosecutor before five o'clock."
Sterling's face drained of all color. "What... what are you talking about?"
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"I know about the two million dollars you embezzled from our European marketing budget three years ago, Julian," Adrian growled softly. "Leave this office. And if you ever speak to Claire Bennett in that tone again, you will spend your retirement in a federal cell."
Sterling stared at Adrian in absolute, stunned horror before grabbing his portfolio, spinning on his heel, and fleeing the suite alongside his attorneys.
