บททั้งหมดของ I Hired My Neighbor to Be My Girlfriend, Then Fell in Love: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

The next four days blurred into a whirlwind of strategy sessions, Nathaniel meeting with board members one by one over coffee and lunch, armed with talking points he and Everly had refined late into the night, framing every difficult moment of the past month as evidence of steady leadership rather than instability."How did it go with Harold Kessler?" Everly asked, when Nathaniel returned from his third meeting of the day, loosening his tie the moment he walked through the door."Better than I expected. He asked pointed questions about the extortion attempt, wanted to know how I'd handled it internally before it became a legal matter. I told him the truth, that I let our lawyers handle it immediately instead of trying to manage it quietly myself, that transparency with the board was part of the process from the start." Nathaniel dropped onto the couch, looking simultaneously exhausted and cautiously hopeful. "He seemed to actually appreciate that I didn't try to hide the mess from any

Aldridge opened the folder with deliberate slowness, clearly savoring the moment, and Everly felt her pulse spike as she watched him lay several printed pages across the table."Before we proceed with any further discussion of Nathaniel's fitness for this role," Aldridge began, his voice smooth and unhurried, "I think it's important the board consider his complete track record, not just the carefully curated version he's presented in his recent meetings with several of you.""If you have a specific concern, Gregory, I'd rather you state it plainly than dress it up as a preamble," Robert said from his seat near the head of the table, his tone carrying an edge that made it clear he already suspected where this was headed."Fair enough." Aldridge slid copies of the papers down the table. "Four years ago, Nathaniel spearheaded an international expansion that cost this company nearly eleven million dollars before it was quietly abandoned. I've heard remarkably little about this in any of t

Everly waited at the apartment the next morning, unable to focus on anything productive while Nathaniel met with Diane Kirchner, the final undecided board member whose vote would likely determine whether the entire month of exhausting preparation had been enough.She busied herself with her half-formed business plan, the one she'd sketched out on a grocery receipt weeks earlier, now filled out into something more substantial across several pages of a proper notebook. It helped, marginally, having something of her own to focus on that had nothing to do with boardrooms or reporters or the accumulated weight of everyone else's crises.Her phone rang just before noon, Nathaniel's name on the screen, and she answered before it had even finished its first ring."How did it go?""Better than I expected, though I won't know for certain until the actual vote tomorrow." Nathaniel's voice carried a cautious relief that made Everly's shoulders finally unclench slightly. "I addressed the merger ti

Chapter 37: The Celebration DinnerDiane's celebration dinner arrived faster than Everly expected, the guest list expanding almost daily as Diane's enthusiasm for the gathering grew, until what had started as an intimate acknowledgment of Nathaniel's victory had transformed into something considerably more elaborate."She's invited forty people," Nathaniel said, scrolling through the latest update from his mother with visible alarm. "Forty, Everly. I thought this was supposed to be small.""I think your mother's definition of small expanded the moment she realized she had an actual victory to celebrate publicly, after weeks of managing crisis after crisis quietly." Everly laughed, though she understood his apprehension completely, having learned firsthand how quickly Diane's gatherings could escalate beyond their original intent. "At least this time we're celebrating something instead of confessing something.""There's that, I suppose." Nathaniel set his phone down, something more ser

True to Nathaniel's prediction, Diane had already compiled a folder of venue options by Tuesday morning, delivered via courier with a note reading simply, *Just a few thoughts, no pressure at all, love Diane*, followed by enough exclamation points to make the "no pressure" claim entirely unconvincing."She works fast," Everly said, flipping through glossy photographs of ballrooms and vineyards spread across their kitchen table. "I love her, but we need to have a conversation about boundaries before this spirals into something neither of us actually chose.""Agreed." Nathaniel set down his coffee, surveying the pile with a mixture of affection and mild alarm. "What do you actually want? Not what looks good in a brochure, not what would make the best follow-up article for Sarah Chen. You, specifically."Everly considered the question seriously, sorting through the pile until she found herself drawn to a simple vineyard photograph tucked near the bottom, string lights woven through rows