Chapter 2
623 Words
After taking over the mess in Varelia, I flew to four countries and pulled more all-nighters than I could count.
My due diligence team and I combed through the accounts of every partner and local project company. We uncovered two groups of company insiders colluding with outside partners and recovered 94 million dollars.
The news caused a sensation throughout Sterling Group. Everywhere I went, people were praising me.
Curled up on the sofa in my office, I scrolled through the intranet posts with a smile that kept growing wider.
Ms. Sterling is amazing!
Chairman Sterling is lucky to have her.
'Exactly. Keep praising me. Don't stop.'
I was savoring every word when my assistant, Amy Lawson, rushed in, pale with panic.
"Ms. Sterling, bad news! Ms. Crane attacked Mr. Weston downstairs!"
I shot to my feet.
Martin Weston represented the Westbridge Chamber of Commerce, and Sterling Group had just signed a partnership with them.
'Has Isabella completely lost her mind?'
By the time I reached the executive reception area, everything had descended into chaos.
Isabella stood in a linen dress and flat canvas shoes, pointing a finger at Martin and denouncing him as though she were the voice of justice.
"You heartless executives! When you buy a factory, do you ever think about the environment?"
Martin pressed a hand to his bleeding forehead. A smashed phone lay on the floor.
That morning, he had toured an old manufacturing plant that was being considered for acquisition. Back in the executive reception area, he casually remarked that the plant could become profitable again after a proper overhaul.
Isabella had come to have lunch with Dominic and overheard him. She flew into a rage, grabbed a crystal ornament from the table, and hurled it at Martin.
"Security!" I called, motioning to the officers nearby.
"I dare you to touch her!"
Dominic strode out of the private elevator and planted himself in front of Isabella. His gaze swept over the room before locking onto me.
"Camille, what exactly do you think you're doing?"
"What do you think?" I held his stare. "Ms. Crane assaulted one of our business partners in front of dozens of employees. Unless we give the Westbridge Chamber of Commerce a satisfactory explanation today, the partnership is over."
Dominic gave a cold laugh.
"That kind of factory ruins the environment. Bella was right to call him out!"
Martin trembled with rage, one hand still pressed to his head.
"Mr. Sterling, I've spent 30 years in business, and no one has ever treated me—or this chamber—with such disrespect. You've trampled its reputation for one woman!"
Employees and executives crowded around to watch.
Dominic looked over them and suddenly smiled.
"Reputation? The chamber earns respect by giving it. It isn't so fragile that a few blunt words can destroy it."
Standing in the center of the crowd in his immaculate suit, Dominic took control of the room with nothing but his voice. He somehow turned Isabella's reckless assault into a noble defense of the environment.
Goosebumps rose on my arms as I listened. It wasn't admiration. I was simply stunned by how easily he won the room over.
'He really can talk.'
Even the employees who had come to watch the spectacle began nodding as though Dominic had given them something profound to consider.
Martin's face turned a furious shade of red. He opened his mouth several times but couldn't get a word out.
Once again, Dominic had completely outplayed me. I could only watch as he wrapped an arm around Isabella and led her away.
He had shown me up yet again.
What Dominic didn't realize was that while he had won the argument, he had lost something far more important.
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