Boardroom

Chapter 7

The boardroom smelled like expensive coffee, aged leather, and the faint metallic tang of fear.

I sat at the head of the long black table, fingers steepled, watching twelve of the wealthiest, most cutthroat people in the industry pretend they weren’t sweating under their tailored suits. The wall of screens behind me displayed live security feeds, flashing red alerts, and the stark reality of last night’s breach. Forty-three million dollars nearly vanished in six minutes. Someone in this room was either incompetent or a traitor. Possibly both.

Marcus Kane leaned back three chairs down, smiling like he could already see me bleeding out on the marble floor.

“Another breach,” I said, voice flat and controlled. “Forty-three million almost gone in six minutes. Someone explain why my security looks like amateur hour.”

Silence.

One of the older directors cleared his throat. “We’ve doubled the protocols, but the intruder knew exactly where the blind spots were. It’s almost like they had insider access.”

Marcus leaned forward, his smile widening. “We’re still tracing how the hacker got in so deep. Some of us are wondering if this is… internal.”

The room went dead quiet.

I met his eyes and smiled. The kind that ended careers. “Careful, Marcus. Accusations have consequences.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Smart man.

I stood up slowly, letting the silence stretch until it became uncomfortable. “The breach is being handled. Personally. Anyone wasting my time with speculation gets removed from this board. Today.”

Chairs scraped. People left fast, eyes down, mouths shut. Good.

Marcus lingered by the door. “You look tired, Damien. Everything alright at home?”

The question was soft. Poisonous. Testing.

I walked over until I was close enough to see the flicker in his eyes. “Touch what’s mine and you’ll regret it.”

He studied me a beat too long, then left without another word.

The door clicked shut. Alone, I let my shoulders drop. My hands were shaking. Not much. Just enough that I noticed. I pressed my palms flat on the cool table and closed my eyes.

Riven was still upstairs. Probably pacing the penthouse like a caged animal. Probably hating me. Probably half-hard just thinking about last night.

The vision kept flashing behind my eyelids. His finger on the trigger. His voice whispering my death like a promise.

I should have sent him away. Should have cut the contract and accepted the loss. Should have chosen the empire I spent fifteen years building with blood and code.

Instead, I pulled out my phone and typed:

Come to my office. Now.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then:

Riven: Why?

I stared at the screen for a long second before replying.

Damien: Because I said so. And because you’ll come anyway.

The dots appeared again. Stopped. Then one word:

Riven: Fuck you.

I smiled despite everything. Good. He was still fighting. That meant he hadn’t walked away yet.

I leaned back in the chair, staring at the empty boardroom. The empire I’d built was starting to crack at the edges because of one hacker I couldn’t stop touching. Marcus was circling. The board was restless. And every time I closed my eyes I saw Riven’s finger on the trigger.

The vision should have been enough to stop this.

It wasn’t.

I was already reaching for him again.