Chapter 10 - The Secret Meeting
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Revenge was supposed to feel satisfying, but as the days ticked by, I realized it was just exhausting.
Late Wednesday evening, I was sitting alone in a dimly lit, high-end bourbon bar downtown. I had just finished reviewing the final absorption documents for Parker Industries. By Friday, the company would officially cease to exist, swallowed whole by Riverstone.
The stool next to me scraped against the floor, and the scent of expensive cedar and rain drifted into my space.
Julian Vance sat down, signaling the bartender for a whiskey neat.
“You’re working late for a woman who just conquered the world,” Julian observed, his hazel eyes catching the amber light of the bar.
“There’s always more paperwork when you buy a kingdom,” I replied, closing my tablet. “I assume you’re here to collect your shipping contracts?”
Julian chuckled, taking a slow sip of his drink. “The contracts are nice, but they aren't why I tracked you down tonight, Claire.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Should I be worried?”
“You shouldn't be worried about me,” Julian said, his expression suddenly turning serious. He leaned in closer, his broad shoulders shielding us from the rest of the room. “You should be worried about Daniel Parker. He reached out to me an hour ago.”
I frowned. “Daniel? He has nothing left to offer you.”
“He thinks he does,” Julian murmured. “He asked for a secret meeting. He said he has definitive proof that Ethan committed corporate fraud—falsified earnings reports to secure the initial Riverstone meetings. He wants to sell his own son out to me, hoping I’ll use the evidence to force you to give them back the house in exchange for not going to the feds.”
I stared at Julian, disgusted by the sheer cowardice of the Parker family. A father willing to send his son to federal prison just to keep a mansion.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked softly. “You could have taken the evidence. You could have used it to blackmail me into giving you a larger cut of the assets.”
Julian looked down at my hand resting on the bar. Slowly, deliberately, he reached out and covered it with his own. His skin was warm, his grip firm.
“Because I don't want a larger cut of the assets, Claire,” Julian said, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. “I want a partner. And I don't betray my partners.”
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I looked at our hands, then up at his face. The ruthless billionaire competitor was gone, replaced by a man looking at me with genuine, unguarded respect.
“Tell Daniel you’ll meet him,” I whispered. “But tell him to bring the evidence to my office.”
