Chapter 2

The ballroom fell silent.

Mia covered her mouth as tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Adrian. I never wanted to embarrass you, but everyone has been killing themselves for this financing round. I can’t watch the people who did the work get erased.”

I kept my eyes on Adrian.

“Who contacted the six strategic partners?”

His jaw tightened. “You did.”

“Who negotiated with Whitmore Capital?”

“You did.”

“Who resolved their demand for additional collateral?”

After a pause, he answered, “You.”

The murmuring stopped. Several department heads avoided my eyes. They knew his answers were true, but no one wanted to contradict the CEO.

Mia quickly gripped Adrian’s arm.

“But the project team closed the transaction, right?”

Adrian looked at her and seemed to recover.

“Right. Elena introduced the resources. Mia and the team executed. Knowing the right people isn’t the same as completing an eighty-million-dollar financing round.”

“Introduced the resources?”

I had flown to New York twelve times to win over Whitmore Capital, boarded the Harbor Crown yacht after midnight to keep them from leaving the deal, and used Bellini Holdings’ credit to cover the collateral shortfall.

Adrian knew every detail.

In the company’s early days, he had waited in rental cars outside private clubs while I convinced investors to give him fifteen minutes. When I secured the seed money that saved our first payroll, he kissed me in our unheated office and promised that one day everyone would know I was the reason he had made it out of that room.

Back then, he had called it loyalty.

Now, beneath the ballroom chandeliers, he said, “A company needs people who can finish the work, not a socialite who occasionally brings home a phone number.”

His words hurt because he knew the truth and had chosen to bury it.

Emboldened, Mia signaled her assistant to reopen the contribution report.

“Then we should settle this now. The top credit goes to me. Elena leaves the financing project, and I take over strategic partnerships and all six accounts.”

Her gaze shifted toward my office.

“I’ll also need the lake-view office if I’m expected to host investors.”

She didn’t only want the credit. She wanted my title, my clients, my office—and my place beside Adrian.

“You don’t even have the personal numbers for four of the partner executives,” I said.

Mia stepped closer to Adrian and straightened his tie.

“Once the contracts are signed, personal numbers won’t matter. Business relationships belong to the company, not to one woman.”

“Then call Harbor Crown. Ask them to confirm tomorrow’s implementation meeting.”

Her hand paused.

“I don’t need to perform on command.”

“You demanded that I perform for the entire company. One phone call shouldn’t be difficult.”

Adrian stepped in before she had to answer.

“This isn’t about playing games with clients, Elena.”

He didn’t move away from her hand.

I looked at his tie. I had chosen it for him in Milan. It suddenly looked cheap.

“Do you agree with her?” I asked. “Do you honestly believe this company has nothing to do with me?”

“I recognize that you’ve helped us, but Cross Meridian can’t depend on your personal connections forever. It’s time for you to step back and let a real team take over.”

I nodded.

“Fine.”

I didn’t argue again. I took out my phone and messaged the family attorney.

[Withdraw every personal guarantee and all Bellini credit support attached to this financing round. Make it effective before formal closing.]

His reply arrived less than a minute later.

[Confirmed. All notices will be completed within thirty minutes.]

Formal closing was one hour away.