SUGAR BABY

Chapter 8: Boardroom Ambush

The headquarters of Vance & Sterling sat on the top floors of a glass tower overlooking the financial district.

Glory stepped out of the elevator into the marble foyer, holding a sealed black leather folder tightly against her chest. Alexander’s assistant, David, had picked her up from the penthouse an hour ago with quick instructions: Alexander needed his private financial binder for an unexpected board meeting, and David needed Glory to bring it directly to his executive suite.

As she walked down the silent, carpeted corridor toward Alexander's corner office, low, heated voices echoed from the double oak doors of the main boardroom down the hall.

"He's risking thirty per cent of our market capital over a high school graduate with a criminal debt background!" Victoria’s sharp, commanding voice cut through the quiet.

Glory froze near the heavy glass panels of the boardroom entrance. The blinds were partially drawn, but through the gap, she could see the long mahogany table filled with senior board members and lead investors. Alexander sat at the head of the table, his expression unreadable, his powerful hands folded casually in front of him.

"The tabloids are already sniffing around," Victoria continued, pacing behind Alexander’s chair like a predator. "If the press links Vance & Sterling to predatory loan sharks and deadbeat family debts, the merger with the European consortium collapses by Friday. I move that the board restrict Alexander's sole decision-making power until this personal liability is removed."

A murmur of agreement rippled across the older board members.

"Glory's family background is irrelevant to our balance sheet, Victoria," Alexander said, his voice dropping into a quiet, lethal register that made the room fall silent. "And my personal life is not open for board voting."

"It becomes open for voting when your companion's family owes fifty thousand dollars to underworld creditors!" Victoria shot back, throwing a printed dossier onto the centre of the table. "Her father was an incompetent gambler who signed away his life. She is a risk, Alexander. She doesn't belong in your world, and she certainly doesn't belong in this building."

Glory’s grip on the folder tightened until her knuckles turned white. Anger, hot and bright, washed over the lingering fear in her chest. Her father hadn't been a gambler—he had been a hard-working contractor who got sick.

Before her fear could pull her back, Glory pushed open the heavy boardroom doors.

The click of the latch echoed through the quiet room. Every head at the table snapped in her direction. Victoria paused mid-sentence, her icy blue eyes narrowing in pure disdain.

"Glory," Alexander said, his posture immediately shifting as he stood up from his chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Delivering your binder," Glory said clearly, her voice holding steady as she walked straight down the centre aisle of the boardroom. She didn't look at the staring board members or Victoria's sneering face. She kept her eyes fixed on Alexander.

She placed the black leather binder directly on the table in front of Alexander, then turned her attention to Victoria.

"You're right about one thing, Miss Vance," Glory said, her tone sharp enough to cut through the quiet room. "My father left behind a debt. But if you actually read the financial records instead of just using them for leverage, you would know that the fifty-thousand-dollar principal was fully paid off two years ago."

Victoria let out a cold, dismissive laugh. "The paper trail says otherwise, little girl."

"The paper trail you presented is missing the secondary ledger from the state registry," Glory countered, drawing on every late night she had spent digging through her father's desk files after his death. "The loan shark company operating under 'Apex Holdings' altered the interest rates retroactively—an illegal clause under federal banking laws. If Vance & Sterling drops Alexander's merger over an invalid, illegal debt, it won't be my background that ruins your reputation. It will be your legal team's incompetence for failing to spot basic fraud."

A heavy silence descended on the room. Two of the senior board members immediately pulled Victoria's dossier toward them, whispering urgently as they scanned the pages.

Victoria’s face flushed pale with rage. "You arrogant little—"

"Enough," Alexander’s voice thundered through the room.

He stepped around the head of the table, standing right beside Glory. His hand came up to rest firmly at the small of her back—a public, unmistakable gesture of total protection.

"Glory's presence is non-negotiable," Alexander said, looking directly at the board members. "And any further attempt to pry into her personal life or intimidate her will result in an immediate termination of your contract with my firm. Is that clear, Victoria?"

Victoria clenched her jaw, her knuckles white as she gathered her papers. "You're making a mistake, Alexander," she whispered furiously before turning and marching out of the boardroom.

As the doors closed behind her, Alexander looked down at Glory, a rare, faint trace of an approving smile touching his lips. "You handled yourself well."

"I told you I'm not a charity case," Glory murmured, her heart still hammering against her ribs.

Alexander’s eyes softened, but as he glanced out the glass window toward the hallway where Victoria had disappeared, his expression hardened again. He knew Victoria wouldn't accept defeat easily—and somewhere in the city, the loan sharks were still waiting for her call.