Vows & Vendetta

CHAPTER 2 - ZENITH’S POV

Actually I don't.

My heels clicked against the polished concrete as I paced from one end of the room to the other. I tugged at the collar of my fitted black blouse, suddenly too aware of the heat prickling beneath the fabric. The high-waisted trousers I'd tailored to perfection now felt like a noose around my waist.

Even my earrings felt heavier than usual, like they were dragging me down with every step I took.

Valeria stood on the opposite side of the table, clutching her phone like she wanted to throw the damn thing out the nearest window. Her oversized deep grey blazer stretched as she placed her hand on her waist, the fabric catching the late afternoon light and casting a silver sheen. She looked polished, perfect even. But her shoulders were tense. She was just as wrecked as I am.

I was running out of time, and for the first time in a long time, my confidence dropped lower than the Titanic's final descent. This can't be happening.

I snatched my phone from the edge of my desk - the screen cracked from earlier fury - and scrolled through the contact list, with trembling hands, until I found the number I was looking for.

The phone rang. Twice, before someone finally answered.

"We can't afford to lose you," I said, immediately I heard the beep. "Give us ninety days. I'll personally guarantee ROI. I'll even…”

Click.

The sound felt like a slap to my face and the silence that followed felt deafening. I lowered the phone, blinking rapidly. My hand started to tremble, and I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself.

Valeria exhaled sharply, "Unbelievable," and turned towards the far wall of windows.

She dialed with fury and her silver heels clicked softly against the floor and her blazer flared behind her like a cape as she paced.

I lifted the phone again, hoping that this call would give me some good news. My throat felt dry as I kept waiting for someone to pick up the damned phone. The second the line connected; I was already talking.

"You need us as much as we need you" I started, sparing every form of greeting. "Those infrastructure projects won't build themselves."

Did that sound like a threat? Maybe it is. Did I care? No.

They’ve sunk billions into smart cities and energy grids we're building from the ground up. Without us, those high-profile government initiatives stall. And without them, I lose one of the last pillars holding this company upright. They liked us when we were stable and profitable. But now?

"What do you mean..." my voice trailed off as the call ended, "political pressure is forcing your hand?" I whispered, my tone laced with utter disbelief.

That was it. There was no negotiation or assurance. Just a polite retreat wrapped in bureaucracy.

My heartbeat spiked— no, it slammed against my ribs, and suddenly it was the only thing I could hear. I was still holding the phone, even tighter this time like it might keep me upright.

Inhale.

Exhale. Repeat.

My grip loosened around the phone and the buzz in my ears began to fade slowly, letting the sound of the world around me peer through, and I finally looked up.

“Senator, I'll be blunt. Back us publicly and the next infrastructure package benefits your districts..." Valeria's negotiated across the room, walking around slowly until her demeanor changed and she inhaled sharply.

That couldn’t be good.

"Excuse me?" she muttered, scoffing as she turned around so fast that her hair whipped her face harder than necessary. "She hung up!"

I sank into my chair and let out a guttural groan, I would admit should be coming from a grown man.

"This can't be happening,” the disappointment leaked from my voice, and it filled the room like a light.

Valeria exhaled deeply as she sat down across from me, the fabric of her blazer creasing just so. She brushed a few stray hairs behind her ear and stared at me.

"Senator Ellis says she can't afford to be associated with a sinking ship." She made air quotes in the air.

"f*****g politician," I muttered, yanking the hair tie from my ponytail and letting my hair fall messily down my back. I raked a hand through my scalp to ease the throbbing.

Valeria leaned forward, tapping through the list we'd made earlier. With a heavy sigh, she dragged her finger down and crossed off another name.

"There goes all our options," she murmured. "We have nothing left, Zen." Her voice softens; threads of fatigue and worry stitched through every word.

"And you, my dear friend, gave yourself two weeks. How are you going to find a huge investor in two weeks? We have basically… no one."

I didn't respond. I just peeled my gaze from the stale coffee on my desk and toward the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the east wall.

Outside, the city pulsed like a living organism, totally oblivious to the panic in my mind - cars crawling like ants, drones hummed across shipping routes, and skyscrapers pierced the sky like they wanted to tear it open.

"My father would be so disappointed," the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. "This isn't how he would want to see his name represented."

"Don't say that."

"You've had this company running for five years. Since we left Harvard, I have never seen a woman more stubborn, or more-laser focused. And that's exactly who you are, Zenith Lancaster."

Her words hit hard like a fist to the sternum, and I inhaled sharply because she was right. We built this company together, me because I wanted my father's name to be known for something more than a mere millionaire, and her having my back because she didn't just want to be a ‘trust fund baby.’ Her parents had money - old money - but Valeria wanted more than that.

Together we had survived dorm room breakdowns, 3.a.m business pitch rehearsals, and the constant challenges of being women in male dominated spaces. She was there when I first scribbled this company's name on a cocktail napkin - barely twenty-one, drunk on ambition.

She was more than my Chief Operating Officer. She was my best friend. But right now, even knowing all that, I didn't feel like the woman she was describing.

"...The only problem is.." her voice snapped me back to the present, watching as she drew stick figures on her note pad. What a coping mechanism.

"We just don't know who is going to, you know, want to invest right now." She finished softly.

"We're going to have to figure this out," I said, shaking my head and searching every inch of my brain for a plan. "I’m not losing my company to f*****g Calloway."

"As if I would ever work with him."

We both let out matching exasperated chuckles as our eyes met.

"Just in," a reporter's voice grabbed our attention from the mounted television across the room, and we both turned to face the screen. The anchor's expression was appropriately grim, and his lips were drawn tight.

“Former Blackthorn Enterprises CEO, Harold Blackthorn, has passed away. His grandson, Ace Blackthorn has released a statement following his death.”

The screen shifted to show Ace Blackthorn in his element, his midnight blue suit tailored to perfection.. Thick, tousled curls framed his chiseled face, and his dark brown eyes cut through the screen like blades.

"This is a trying moment for my family. But regardless, we must go with my grandfather's wishes of being buried a week after his death.” His tone was indifferent but I could hear the sadness he tried to mask. “As he always said, the world keeps spinning no matter what."

"Dare I say, I have an idea?" My spine stiffened as Valeria slowly turned to face me, with a raised eyebrow and a wicked gleam in her eyes.

I know that look. I hate that look.

"I do not want to hear any of it," I immediately warned and she put up her hands as a sign of surrender. At least for now.

But the seed's already been planted. And I didn't like what she was thinking for any second.