“And you didn’t think I deserved to know that?”
He stepped closer.
“Come on, Maya. Don’t turn this into something it doesn’t need to be.”
I shook my head.
“You lied to her. You lied to me. And today, she physically struck me because she believed she had a claim to you.”
He reached for my hand.
“We can move past this. You always forgive me eventually.”
I slowly withdrew my hand.
That was when I understood how confidently he expected me to accept whatever he decided.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message appeared on the screen.
The sender was Celeste.
Tomorrow, we get rid of her for good.
I looked at Julian.
He was
smiling at the message.
He had no idea that tomorrow’s meeting was going to be very different from what he’d planned.
The following morning, Hartwell Industries’ executive conference room was filled with board members and senior management.
Julian sat confidently at the head of the table.
Celeste stood beside him wearing an expensive cream-colored suit.
When I entered, her expression changed immediately.
“Security!” she called. “Why is this woman here?”
Julian looked annoyed.
“Maya, don’t start another scene.”
I kept walking.
Then Margaret Ellis rose from her chair.
“Good morning, Ms. Hart. We’ve prepared your seat.”
Celeste stared.
“Her seat?”
Margaret gestured toward the chair reserved for the controlling shareholder.
I smiled politely.
“Thank you, Margaret.”
Julian stood.
“What’s going on?”
Margaret opened a leather folder.
“For clarity, Maya Hart Bennett controls sixty-four percent of Hartwell Industries’ voting shares through Hart Family Holdings.”
The room fell silent.
Celeste stared at
me.
Then at Julian.
“That’s impossible.”
I sat down.
“Yesterday, you seemed very certain I was nobody important.”
She gripped the edge of the table.
Julian attempted a nervous laugh.
“Maya is my wife, of course. Naturally, she has some interest in the company.”
I looked directly at him.
“Some interest?”
He stopped smiling.
“I appointed you CEO, Julian. I trusted you to manage a company my father spent forty years building.”
