Chapter Ten
1122 Words
Stephanie’s POV
By mid-morning, the calls had already started.
Stephanie didn’t answer any of them.
Her phone sat on the table beside her, screen lighting up every few minutes before going quiet again.
She glanced at it once.
Brennan.
Cole.
An unknown number.
She turned it face down.
Across from her, a half-finished cup of coffee had gone cold.
She hadn’t noticed when.
The café was still calm, the low hum of conversations blending into the background.
For a moment, she just sat there, watching people move in and out, completely unaware of the tension building elsewhere.
Then her phone buzzed again.
This time, she picked it up.
Mark.
She opened the message.
Ma’am, Hale Group has scheduled a second session with Kline & Avery.
Stephanie read it once.
Then again.
Of course they had.
She typed.
When?
The reply came almost immediately.
This afternoon.
Stephanie leaned back slightly in her seat.
That was fast.
Not surprising.
She stared at the message for a moment longer, then locked her phone and set it down.
If they were moving forward, they weren’t hesitating anymore.
That alone said enough.
Her phone buzzed again.
Brennan.
This time, she let it ring.
Then stop.
Then ring again.
She picked it up on the third call.
“Hello, Stephanie,” Brennan said quickly. “We need to talk.”
She didn’t respond immediately.
“I’m listening.”
“We’ve received updates regarding Hale Group’s movements,” he continued. “They’re progressing discussions with Kline & Avery.”
“I’m aware.”
A pause.
“Then you understand the urgency of the situation.”
Stephanie looked out the window.
“I understood it yesterday.”
Silence.
“Stephanie,” he said carefully, “we may need to reconvene and reassess—”
“You already did that,” she cut in.
Another pause.
“That was before we had full visibility on—”
“You had enough.”
Her tone didn’t rise.
Didn’t sharpen.
It stayed exactly where it was.
Brennan exhaled quietly.
“We’re trying to correct this.”
Stephanie said nothing.
“Can you come in today?”
“No.”
No hesitation.
A longer pause this time.
“Tomorrow, then?”
“No.”
Silence.
“We need your input.”
“You had it.”
The words landed simply.
No emphasis.
No emotion.
Just truth.
Brennan tried again.
“Stephanie, this deal is critical. We can’t afford to lose—”
“Then you shouldn’t have treated it like it wasn’t.”
That was the first time her tone shifted.
Slightly.
Not anger.
Just clarity.
The line went quiet.
“We’re asking you to help fix this,” he said finally.
Stephanie looked at her reflection faintly against the window.
“I did.”
Another pause.
“Let me know when the board decides what they actually want.”
She ended the call.
No goodbye.
She set her phone down again.
This time, it didn’t buzz immediately.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then—
a message came in.
Mark.
They’re requesting a full board meeting. Emergency.
Stephanie read it.
Then typed.
Noted.
She sent it.
Nothing more.
Across the city, decisions were being made again.
But this time—
they were scrambling.
Stephanie picked up her cup, realized the coffee was cold, and set it back down.
She didn’t call for another.
She didn’t check her phone again.
Whatever they decided next—
they would carry it.
Not her.
The boardroom was full again.
But this time, something was off.
Stephanie’s seat was empty.
No one mentioned it.
Not immediately.
Brennan stood at the head of the table, flipping through a set of printed reports that no one was really reading.
“They’ve scheduled a second session,” he said.
Cole leaned back in his chair.
“With Kline & Avery?”
“Yes.”
A brief silence followed.
“That was fast,” Whitmore muttered.
“It means they’re serious,” another voice added from the screen.
Victoria.
Her tone was calm.
Too calm.
“It means they’ve moved on,” she corrected.
That settled heavier.
Cole exhaled.
“We haven’t lost the deal yet.”
Victoria didn’t respond immediately.
“Have we confirmed that?” she asked.
No one answered.
Because no one could.
Brennan placed the papers down.
“We’re still in position to recover this,” he said. “We just need to align internally and—”
“On what?” Victoria cut in.
The room went quiet.
“On what exactly are we aligning?” she continued. “Because from where I’m sitting, we’ve already made a decision.”
Cole shifted slightly.
“That decision can be revisited.”
“Based on what?” she asked.
No answer.
Whitmore leaned forward.
“We still have time.”
“Time for what?” Victoria asked again.
This time, her voice carried a bit more weight.
“To convince Hale Group that we’re not divided?” she continued. “Or to convince ourselves that this isn’t slipping out of our hands?
Silence.
Brennan stepped in.
“This isn’t productive.”
“No,” Victoria agreed. “What’s not productive is pretending we’re still in control of this situation.”
The words landed.
Hard.
Cole sat up straighter.
“We made a decision based on long-term positioning.”
Victoria nodded.
“You made a decision based on perception.”
A pause.
“And now we’re watching the consequences of it.”
Whitmore rubbed his temple.
“So what do you suggest we do?”
Victoria didn’t hesitate.
“You bring her back.”
Silence again.
Cole scoffed lightly.
“She’s not answering calls.”
“Then go to her,” Victoria said simply.
“That’s not necessary,” Brennan replied quickly. “We can handle this internally.”
Victoria’s gaze didn’t shift.
“No, you can’t.”
Another pause.
“You had the opportunity to handle it internally,” she continued. “You chose not to.”
Brennan’s jaw tightened slightly.
“We’re not going to beg for leadership,” he said.
Victoria held his gaze.
“Then prepare to lose the contract.”
No one spoke after that.
Because there was nothing left to argue.
They all understood it now.
This wasn’t a delay.
This was movement.
And they were no longer the ones in control of it.
Brennan finally exhaled.
“Set up another meeting,” he said. “Full board.”
Cole nodded.
“And Stephanie?”
A pause.
Brennan didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“Reach out again.”
Victoria leaned back slightly.
“That won’t be enough.”
Because now, it wasn’t about who was right.
It was about what they had already lost.
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