REBORN FOR REVENGE

CHAPTER TEN - THE TEST

Vanessa’s POV

With Carlson’s arm intertwined with mine, we stepped into Anderson’s corporation and I found myself looking around the company I had worked in for over seven years of my life. I had given my all to this place only to have it ripped away from me.

I barely recognized it now as I walked in, the entire reception had been remodeled, even the receptionist had been changed.

“Welcome Mr Carlson,” Mara stood in front of us suddenly, like she had been waiting. She was dressed in a white jumpsuit with a small smile on her face which faded as she saw me.

“I didn’t expect you to come with her when I invited you here to a private board meeting,” Mara said, emphasizing the word ‘private’.

Carlson smiled, holding me even closer. “Well, this woman here is my better half and I can’t go anywhere without her.”

“Yeah, Carly baby needs me,” I added with a smile, tugging on Carlson’s nose.

“I see,” Mara replied with an annoyed smile. “Let’s head upstairs.”

“Mr Grey, I am sure you are already aware that our stocks are already plummeting fast and we need help,” Mara asked after we got to the board room.

“And that is why I am here,” Carlson replied nonchalantly.

“So are you going to invest, you are already aware of the value of our shares. If you invest in Anderson, you will not regret it,” Mara said convincingly.

Carlson smiled. “I came here to talk about terms, if I invest in your company, I expect to be made a partner.”

“Done,” Mara replied immediately and I almost smiled at how desperate she sounded.

“I’ll invest,” Carlson said, “and we’ll stabilize the company together.”

Mara sighed in relief. “Good. Then let’s talk terms—”

“But,” Carlson cut in, “My earlier terms still stand, my investment is payment for a seat on your board and I want Vanessa to fill it.”

Mara froze in shock, and I smiled in satisfaction as her eyes flickered to me uncertainlu. “Her?”

“Yes,” Carlson replied calmly, leaning back in his seat.

“I am sorry but that is a condition I cannot fulfill,” Mara replied obstinately, “She isn’t even—”

Carlson suddenly raised a hand, silencing Mara immediately, “I don’t think you understand Mrs Rodgers, I am not asking.”

Mara blinked, clearly stunned. “What do you mean by that?”

Carlson smiled at her and turned to me, “ My love, please bring out the envelope,” he said and I agreed enthusiastically.

“Back when William was still CEO, I started acquiring shares of the company privately, just small enough to keep be undetected,” he said as I stood up, gladly placing the envelope right in front of Mara

Mara’s hands trembled slightly as she opened the envelope. Inside were certified documents: shareholder transfers, contracts, and legal confirmations.

“I now own 32% of Anderson Corporation,” Carlson said, calmly. “That makes me the largest single shareholder.”

Mara’s face turned pale.

“And as of this moment,” he finished, turning to me.”Vanessa is officially on the board of directors.”

I smiled as Mara turned to me—it was the kind of smile that she had given me the day she drove me off that cliff. The kind that said checkmate.

Carlson faced her, his gray eyes locked on hers. “You can try to fight it, Mara. But the company you’re so desperate to protect? It’s already mine.”

****

I resumed work at the company the following Monday, feeling optimistic. Dressed in a corporate white shirt and a designer black leather skirt wearing light makeup, I felt on top of the world. I felt like I was taking control of my life for the first time in forever.

Carlson had done his part of getting me into the company and now I had to prove myself to him and show him that I could also be useful.

“Miss Moreau?” the new receptionist called me as I walked into the office.

“Yes?” I turned to her with a smile.

“The CEO said that I should show you to your office this morning and you will be assigned an assistant later on.”

“Okay,” I nodded as we entered the elevator. The first thing I noticed was that she pressed six on the elevator when the eighth floor was the executive floor.

Maybe they have changed the office format, I chided myself.

We finally arrived on the floor and my office wasn’t near the main office, it was at the last corner of the floor and even before the receptionist opened the door, I already knew the room that had been assigned to me.

It was a storage room, filled with old documents, one small window with no air conditioning.

Mara had done this on purpose, to try and tell me my place in the company. Even though I had been made a board of director on paper, she was saying that she wasn’t going to treat me like one.

“A cleaner will come by later to sort out those documents,” the receptionist said as she handed me the key to the room and walked off, leaving me alone.

“Everyone, I would like to introduce you all to Miss Vanessa Moreau, and she will be joining you all as a director,” Mara said as she introduced me to other board members, in a meeting later that day.

I stood up awkwardly, looking at their familiar faces as they clapped for me. I remembered everyone here from back when I worked as a manager in the company. The fact that it was so easy for Mara to take my place meant that no one really knew me before.

“Thank you all for the warm welcome, I promise that we share the same objective and I will do my best to be a useful member of the company,” I said excitedly.

“You know, it is really good that you mentioned that, Miss Moreau,” Mara said with an unsettling smile.

“We have this client that has been quite unsettled since the explosion of our factory. Do you think it would be possible for you to manage him for now?” she asked me and I gave her a shaky smile, knowing that I couldn’t exactly decline.

“Of course,” I replied to her with a cheery smile. “What is the client’s name?”

“Harold Cooper,” Mara replied and the entire room went completely silent

My stomach settled in dread as I realised who the man was. He was the worst client that the company had to deal with and I could only imagine how terrible he was going to be now that he was ‘unsettled’.

I looked into Mara’s cold blue eyes realizing exactly what she was doing. She was trying to get rid of me, and with the way things seemed, she was going to succeed.