Moving On To Plan B

The bell over the door of Daisy’s café chimed as Thea pushed it open. The scent of roasted beans and buttered pastries rolled out to meet her. She loved it, and almost missed the beautiful smell of this cafe.

She had sat in the back of her car in silence after signing the contract. Laying on her lap was the said contract, her finger vibrating slightly as the ride to Daisy's café continued.

She wasn't sure how to feel now that the Balmero Company was now hers. A part of her felt angry but she pushed it back. It wasn't time yet..

Clara was already there, sitting at a corner table near the window. Her neat bun and pressed blouse never seemed to have changed over the years. She had a notebook open but wasn’t writing; she was staring at the steam rising from her cup, lost in thought.

When she looked up and saw Thea, her face lit up. “Ms Thea, you actually came,” she said, rising halfway with a smile. “You sounded…urgent.”

Thea had called her to meet her at Daisy's cafe, they needed to break the news to her, to tell her what had happened.

“I did,” Thea replied. She crossed the room, her coat trailing behind her like a banner. Daisy appeared from behind the counter, wiping her hands on an apron, her braid swinging over one shoulder.

“You both want coffee?” Daisy asked, glancing between them.

“Yes,” Thea said. “And maybe your almond croissants. We’re going to need fuel.”

Daisy gave a mock salute. “Coming right up.” She vanished into the back, leaving them alone.

Thea slid into the chair opposite Clara and laid the thick folder on the table. Even shut, it looked like it weighed more than either of them. Clara eyed it warily.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“The reason I asked you here.” Thea flipped the folder open so that the signature page faced Clara. Her name, bold in black ink, gleamed under the overhead light.

Clara leaned in, frowning as she scanned the heading. Transfer of Majority Shares, Balmero Group. She read it twice, then sat back hard.

“No,” she breathed. “This can’t be real.”

“It’s real,” Thea said evenly. “Signed and effective immediately. All we need is the signature of a few board members and we're good to go.”

Clara’s gaze snapped up. “He gave you the company?”

Thea’s lips curved. “He begged me to take it.”

For a moment, Clara just stared. Then she let out a disbelieving laugh, hand flying to her mouth. “You’re kidding. Adam Balmero? The man who…”

“...disowned me, replaced me with Posy, and made me persona non grata?” Thea finished. “That one.”

Clara shook her head slowly. “I knew things were bad, but not this bad.” She reached for the folder again, flipping pages with quick, practiced fingers. Her eyes widened at each clause. “This isn’t just a symbolic transfer. This is full control. Majority shares. Emergency authority. You’re CEO, Ms Thea.”

“I know.”

“You’re CEO,” Clara repeated, almost giddy. “Do you have any idea what this means?”

“I do.”

Clara’s hands trembled slightly as she closed the folder. “You built half of this company with him. They took advantage of you, squeezed everything out of you, and then threw you aside. And now you’re back, sitting in the seat you should’ve had years ago.”

Thea leaned back, letting the words wash over her. “That’s the idea.”

At that moment Daisy returned with a tray balanced on one hand: two cappuccinos, a black coffee, and a plate piled high with croissants. She set them down, glancing between their faces. “I feel like I just walked into the middle of a coup.”

Clara gave a short laugh. “You kind of did. She’s CEO of Balmero now.”

Daisy blinked, then blinked again. “Wait, what?”

Thea took her coffee, blowing on it. “Adam signed it over this morning.”

“You’re joking,” Daisy said flatly.

“I’m not.”

Daisy dropped into the third chair, apron and all. “Oh my god. You…how? He hasn’t spoken to you in…”

“Months,” Thea supplied. “But Posy’s been running the company into the ground. He’s desperate. I’m his only chance.”

Daisy stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. “I knew you were planning something, but this…”

“It’s step one,” Thea said, tearing off a piece of croissant. “Step two will be more interesting.”

Clara raised an eyebrow. “Step two?”

Thea glanced out the window at the street, voice dropping. “Posy’s wedding to Runes Sterling is next month. His company is bleeding cash and after Seth cancelled their partnership, his next bet would be the merger with Balmero to save his company.”

Understanding flickered in Clara’s eyes. “If you control Balmero…”

“…I control the merger,” Thea finished. “And if there’s no merger, Runes is finished. And Posy’s little fairy-tale wedding becomes a financial disaster.”

Daisy let out a low whistle. “Killing two birds with one stone.”

Thea smiled without humour. “Exactly.”

Clara leaned forward, elbows on the table. “You’re sure about this? Because once you pull that trigger, there’s no going back. Posy will come for you with everything she’s got.”

“I’m counting on it,” Thea said. “She’ll be too busy clawing at me to see what’s really happening.”

Daisy frowned, fiddling with her spoon. “What’s really happening?”

Thea didn’t answer right away. She sipped her coffee, eyes distant. “Let’s just say,” she murmured at last, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this. They thought they could throw me away. They forgot who built their empire.”

Clara and Daisy exchanged a glance. They had both seen that look before back when Thea was still at Balmero, staying late, solving crises no one else could. It was the look of a woman with a plan.

“I want you both with me,” Thea said suddenly.

Clara blinked. “With you?”

“You know the company inside and out,” Thea said to Clara. “You worked under me and under Posy. You know where the bodies are buried.”

Clara’s mouth curved slowly. “And you’re offering me what?”

“Chief of Staff,” Thea said. “Direct access to me. Full authority to keep things running while I finish my degree. I need to meet someone at Zean business school and I'm yet to run into her just yet.”

Clara didn’t hesitate. “I’m in.”

Thea turned to Daisy. “And you. Your café may be your heart, but your head for marketing is better than half the executives Adam hires. I want you as a consultant on the rebrand.”

Daisy’s eyes widened. “Me? In Balmero?”

“Think about it,” Thea said. “Flexible hours. High pay. And you’ll get to watch me take Posy apart piece by piece.”

Daisy let out a delighted laugh. “Okay, now you’re speaking my language.”

They clinked coffee cups like conspirators sealing a pact.

“First things first,” Clara said, already pulling out her notebook. “We need a communications plan. The board has to be told before Posy leaks some sob story to the press. We need to reassure the investors.”

“Draft me a memo by tonight,” Thea said. “I’ll send it out tomorrow under my signature.”

“And the merger?” Clara asked.

Thea’s eyes glittered. “We let Runes dangle. Tell him nothing. Posy will assume it’s business as usual. Then, at the last possible moment, we pull the rug out.”

Daisy raised her brows. “Savage.”

“Necessary,” Thea said.

For the next hour the three women sat hunched over the table, croissants forgotten, sketching out a plan. Clara pointed out a few board members that need major convincing. And Thea, having worked in Balmero for years, she knew these men and what exactly they wanted to hear. The one person she needed to talk to was Sakisma Reed and she schooled in Zean business in an exclusive program. She owned major shares in Balmero and she was the main reason Thea decided to attend Zean business school to begin with.

Thea knew she would have to try harder to find her in that damned school and she'd do everything within her power to make sure she runs into that woman.

At one point Clara paused, looking at her. “You’re calm, Ms Thea.” she said softly. “I expected you to be…angrier. Or at least triumphant.”

Thea’s pen stilled. “Anger is for later,” she said. “Right now, I need to be clear.”

Daisy tilted her head. “Clear about what?”

“That Balmero doesn’t just survive,” Thea said. “It thrives. And everyone who tried to break me learns what a mistake that was.”

A shiver of something, excitement, fear, admiration, passed over Clara’s face. “You sound like Mr Adam,” she said.

Thea’s eyes met hers. “No,” she said quietly. “I sound like myself.”

Silence fell, heavy and charged. Outside the window, the city went about its day, unaware that its business landscape had just shifted.

Daisy reached out and squeezed Thea’s hand. “We’ve got you,” she said.

Clara nodded firmly. “All the way.”

Thea looked at them both, her allies, her witnesses. She felt the weight of the folder between them, not as a burden but as a weapon she had just picked up.

“Then let’s begin,” she said.