The Cross Effect
1445 Words
LIORA’S POV
Two weeks later, we had a board meeting at the Holt Designs headquarters. I was angry when I discovered Damian had ambushed my board meeting.
“Mr. Cross, with all due respect, this is not the place for you to be…” I stepped, showing my authority in the company and disdain towards him, but he shunned me; it felt like he had already won the hearts of my board members.
“Respect?” Damian’s voice filled the room in that calm, heavy way he always used. “Respect is earned, Ms. Holt. And right now, all you have earned is doubt.”
A low wave of whispers moved around the table. Not only did his words piss me off, but the way he seemed to control my board members also did.
I sat at the head of the boardroom, gripping my pen so tightly my fingers hurt. Twelve board members watched me. Some with pity. Some with interest. Some with the look of people who could already smell blood in the water.
Damian stood against the wall like he owned the room. Relaxed. Confident. Too sure of himself.
“This is a private board session,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You were not invited.”
He gave a small, mocking bow. “And yet here I am. Amazing what happens when someone holds your debt papers.”
Mr. Graves shifted nervously. “Maybe we should hear him out, Liora. Considering the financial pressure we are under.”
“Pressure?” Damian let out a short laugh. “Call it what it is, Bankruptcy Holt Designs is weeks away from shutting down. Everyone in this room knows it. Your suppliers know it. The market knows it. And the public will know it too, unless Liora accepts my offer.”
My chair screeched across the floor as I stood. “You are bluffing. You would never make that public. How dare you come to my meeting to threaten me?”
His eyes met mine, calm and cold. “Try me.”
Silence spread across the table. Someone coughed. Another shifted in their seat.
“Ms. Holt,” one director asked quietly, “is this true? Are we really that close to bankruptcy?”
“Do not listen to him,” I snapped. “He is twisting everything.”
“I am telling the truth,” Damian said convincingly, “She is the one hiding it.”
He placed a folder on the table. “This is last quarter’s balance sheet. Negative thirty-four million in liabilities. No rescue investor. No partner. Unless I step in.”
Gasps filled the room. I could see the shock on their faces; the ones who stood by me lost faith in me, and the others now had justifiable reason to revolt. There was a very low punch that hit me where it hurt the most, but I remained determined.
“How did you get that? You stole that,” I said sharply.
He only smiled. “Information goes to people who know where to look.”
“Or people who pay others to break in,” I said.
He lifted one shoulder. “Call it whatever you want.”
The board members were already leaning toward him, drawn in by fear and desperate hope.
“I do not care what numbers he throws at you,” I said. “Holt Designs is not for sale. My father built this company; it is his legacy, and I will not hand it over to anyone.”
Damian moved around like a roaming lion, “Your father’s legacy was to borrow from dangerous lenders and pray for a miracle that never came. That is the truth you refuse to admit.”
My hand shook as I dropped my pen. “You know nothing about my father.”
He looked straight at me. “I know he left you drowning. And I know everyone can see it.”
His words hit me hard. Before I could speak, another director spoke up.
“Liora, if there is any truth to this, we need clarity. We cannot risk bankruptcy, that is, total collapse.”
“You think selling to him will save us?” I asked. “You think giving Holt Designs to a man who thrives on weakness is what my father wanted?”
Damian gave a short laugh. “This is why idealists lose. They cling to memories instead of facing reality. I am not here to bury Holt Designs. I am here to take control of it.”
My heart slammed painfully in my chest. “Over my dead body.” My voice shook, and I felt like I had no logical reason left to defend myself with.
“Careful,” he said calmly. “I do not bluff.”
The room fell apart into arguments. Damian gave me one last confident smile before walking out as if he had not just torn my authority into pieces.
By the time I reached my office, my head felt heavy. I leaned on my desk, trying to breathe. I did not even notice that someone was sitting on the sofa until she spoke.
“Liora?”
I turned quickly. “Mother? What are you doing here?”
“I needed to speak with you, it’s about your father.”
Her voice trembled, and I felt my stomach twist.
“Not now,” I said. “I cannot deal with anything else today.”
“This is something you cannot avoid,” she said. Her eyes looked worried and tired. “It is about Holt Designs. And your place in it.”
“I am fighting for it,” I said bitterly. “Every day, every hour, Damian Cross is circling me, and the board is ready to throw me aside.”
She looked down at her hands. “There is something you do not know.”
The air between us tightened. “What is it?”
“Your father agreed,” she said softly, looking around to see if there was anyone within earshot, “Years ago. Before he died.”
A cold feeling slid down my spine. “What kind of agreement?”
She took a slow breath. “He arranged a marriage contract. To secure a private investment. He believed it was the only way to save Holt Designs.”
My legs almost gave out.
“He did what?” My voice barely came out.
Tears gathered in her eyes. “He thought he would have time to explain it to you. But he passed too suddenly. And the contract is still valid. It says you must marry the man he chose, or ownership of Holt Designs goes back to the board.”
I let out a weak, shocked laugh. “You are telling me my father signed me into marriage to save the company? In this day and age?”
“It is in writing,” she whispered. “If you refuse, the board will take control. You will not remain CEO.”
I gripped the edge of the desk, trying to stay upright. “So, let me get this straight. Damian Cross is threatening me from one side, the debt is crushing us from the other, and now you tell me my father used me as leverage?”
“Liora, please listen…”
“Why did you not tell me sooner?” My voice rose, full of hurt. “Why let me walk into this blind?”
“I hoped it would never come up,” she whispered. “But the lawyers contacted me. You only have a few weeks.”
My chest tightened painfully. “I do not even know who this man is.”
“Then that is where you must start,” she said. “Find out who he is. It may not be as terrible as you think.”
I stepped back, shaking my head. “Mother, I am barely holding myself together. Damian wants to crush me. The board wants me gone. And now this.”
Her eyes softened with worry. “You are stronger than you think. But you cannot ignore this. If you refuse without understanding your options, Holt Designs will be lost.”
Her words hit me, another blow. The final crushing blow.
I pressed my fingertips to my temples, trying not to fall apart. It felt like my father’s mistakes were reaching out from the grave, pulling everything down with them.
I whispered into the quiet room, not even sure who I was talking to.
“How many more secrets are waiting to ruin everything?”
- Writer
