Alle Kapitel von The Billionaires Greatest Regret: Kapitel 81 – Kapitel 90

POV: Vivienne Ashford"Cole Maritime Holdings just submitted their formal bid," Priya said, entering the boardroom with a printed copy already marked with her own preliminary analysis, her expression carrying the particular tension of someone delivering unwelcome competitive news. "They've undercut our projected pricing by nearly twelve percent, while somehow still meeting the technical requirements the Hellenic Maritime Authority specified."Roman studied the figures with obvious concern. "Twelve percent is a significant margin. How is he managing that pricing while still meeting the conversion timeline requirements?""That's precisely what troubles me," Priya said. "Based on our own cost modeling, a bid this aggressive either requires financial backing considerably more substantial than his public profile suggests, or it requires cutting corners somewhere in the technical execution that won't become apparent until well into the conversion process itself."Vivienne reviewed the compe

POV: Vivienne Ashford"There's a story running in the Financial Herald this morning that I think you need to see immediately," Marcus said, appearing in Roman's office with his tablet already displaying the article, his expression carrying the particular grim urgency that had come to signal genuine trouble rather than routine business coverage.Roman scanned the headline, his jaw tightening progressively as he read further. "'Ashford Group's Green Shipping Bid Marred by Alleged Personal Vendetta.' What is this?""The article claims our technical analysis of Cole Maritime Holdings' bid wasn't genuine competitive due diligence, but a deliberate smear campaign," Marcus said. "It suggests we investigated Cole's family background specifically to disqualify him, rather than evaluating the bids on legitimate merit."Vivienne, who had joined the meeting partway through, felt a cold, familiar anger settle over her. "Who's the source for this story?""Unnamed, as usual," Marcus said. "Though th

POV: Vivienne Ashford"I want everyone to see something before the construction crews break ground next week," Roman announced at breakfast, considerably more animated than his usual measured morning demeanor, spreading a set of architectural renderings across the kitchen table where Leo and Maya immediately abandoned their cereal in favor of examining the colorful ship designs."Is this the boat we get to visit?" Leo asked, tracing his finger along the rendered hull with obvious fascination."This is the first vessel scheduled for conversion," Roman confirmed. "The Athena's Pride, currently operating on traditional fuel systems, set to become the flagship demonstration of the entire initiative's technology once the conversion work completes.""It's going to look exactly the same, just with different insides?" Maya asked, studying the design with her usual practical focus."Mostly the same exterior," Roman said. "Though there will be some visible changes, new fuel storage systems, upd

POV: Vivienne Ashford"Grace said her first full sentence today," Roman announced, arriving home considerably later than usual but practically glowing with the particular pride reserved for exactly this kind of ordinary parental milestone. "Ms. Bennett called me at the office specifically to make sure I heard about it before dinner.""What did she say?" Vivienne asked, looking up from the bath she'd been supervising, Grace splashing happily in the water with her usual enthusiastic disregard for how thoroughly she was soaking the surrounding tile."'Leo's boat is mine now,'" Roman reported, laughing. "Apparently she commandeered his model ship from the shipyard visit and made her territorial claims extremely clear.""That sounds about right, for this particular family," Vivienne said, smiling as she lifted Grace from the bath, wrapping her in a towel while the toddler continued babbling with delighted enthusiasm about her recently acquired vessel. "Two and a half years old, and already

POV: Vivienne Ashford"I still can't decide between the blue linens or the gold ones, and Maya keeps changing her position depending on what mood she's in," Isabella said, laughing with the particular exhausted good humor of a bride three days from her wedding, sorting through fabric swatches at the kitchen table while Vivienne helped organize the final logistics checklist."Gold," Vivienne said decisively. "It photographs better against the garden's greenery, and it matches the string lights considerably more warmly than the blue would.""That settles it, then," Isabella said, relief evident in her voice. "I don't think I have any decision-making capacity left for anything beyond that particular question.""That's entirely normal," Vivienne assured her. "I remember feeling exactly the same way, days before my own wedding to Roman. Overwhelmed by details that felt enormously significant in the moment, most of which I couldn't even recall clearly a year later.""What do you actually re