Chapter Seven
1032 Words
Stephanie’s POV
The boardroom was already full when Stephanie walked in.
Everyone was present.
No delays. No excuses.
Even the screens were active early, each remote member logged in before the meeting officially began.
They were ready.
Or at least, they had decided to be.
Stephanie took her seat.
Set her tablet down in front of her.
Folded her hands.
And waited.
No one spoke immediately.
Brennan cleared his throat first.
“We’ll proceed with the vote.”
No introduction.
No recap.
No attempt to soften anything.
Good.
The secretary began.
“Brennan.”
“In favor.”
“Cole.”
“Against.”
“Whitmore.”
“Against.”
The rhythm settled quickly.
Name.
Vote.
Next.
Some votes came without hesitation.
Others took a second longer.
“In favor.”
“Against.”
“In favor.”
The room stayed quiet.
No side comments.
No interruptions.
Everyone understood what was at stake.
“Ellison.”
Victoria’s voice came through clearly.
“In favor.”
A slight shift moved through the room.
Not enough.
The names continued.
The gap narrowed.
Then held.
Stephanie didn’t look at anyone.
She remained still.
Her name was called.
“In favor,” she said.
Nothing more.
The secretary moved on.
One name left.
“Mr. Dennis.”
The room stilled.
No movement.
No sound.
Stephanie didn’t turn.
A pause.
Short.
Then—
“Against.”
The word settled into the room.
No explanation followed.
The secretary recorded it.
Closed the file.
“That concludes the vote.”
Silence.
No one rushed to speak.
Because there was nothing left to argue.
The decision had been made.
The project would not proceed under her leadership.
And without that, there was no project.
Brennan shifted slightly in his seat.
“We’ll communicate the board’s position to Hale Group.”
Cole nodded.
“Yes. We’ll handle it internally.”
Whitmore remained quiet.
Victoria didn’t speak again.
Stephanie stayed seated.
For a moment longer.
Not thinking.
Not reconsidering.
Just… still.
Then she stood.
Picked up her tablet.
Turned.
And walked out.
No one stopped her.
No one called her name.
No one tried to explain.
The hallway outside felt quieter.
Stephanie walked straight to the elevator.
Pressed the button.
Waited.
The doors opened.
She stepped in.
As they closed, she caught her reflection briefly.
Composed.
Exactly as she had been all day.
The elevator moved.
She didn’t check her phone.
Didn’t replay the meeting.
Didn’t go over the numbers.
There was nothing left to fix.
When the doors opened again, she stepped out and walked toward the exit.
The building moved around her like it always did.
People working.
Phones ringing.
Decisions being made.
Nothing had changed.
Except… everything had.
Outside, the car was already waiting.
She got in without a word.
The door closed.
And just like that… it was done.
On the ride home, they stopped at a traffic light and she saw a young couple walking their golden retriever.
They looked happy.
Comfortable.
Like nothing in their world needed to be proven.
Something in her, behind the composure and everything she had built around herself, wanted that.
Did they think she wouldn’t be married if someone came along?
Stephanie had been too occupied rebuilding her father’s company to make space for anything else.
While her mates were going on dates, getting engaged, starting families, she was studying economic growth, reviewing numbers, fixing problems that no one else could solve.
Doubling annual revenue.
Stabilizing operations.
Carrying decisions that affected more than just her.
All under her father’s watch.
And today, she watched him take it away from her.
She didn’t realize the light had changed.
Or that the couple had long disappeared from view.
The car moved.
Stephanie leaned back slightly, eyes forward now.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what they were asking.
She did.
She just refused to accept it.
Because if that was the condition, then everything she had built meant nothing on its own.
And that, she couldn’t agree to.
By the time they got to her building, she stepped out without hesitation and walked straight inside.
The greetings came as usual.
She acknowledged them and kept moving.
Inside her apartment, she dropped her bag on the table and took off her shoes.
The place was quiet, as always.
She walked to the window and looked out for a moment.
The city moved the same way it always did.
Unbothered.
Stephanie folded her arms loosely.
They made their decision.
She had made hers too.
Her phone buzzed.
She picked it up this time.
Mark.
She opened the message.
A short update.
The board had started formal documentation.
She read it once.
Then typed.
Noted.
She sent it.
Dropped the phone back on the table.
No follow-up.
No questions.
She walked into her room, changed into her house robe, and came back out.
She went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine while she was getting ready for the bath
Her tablet was still on the table.
She picked it up, opened the project files, and scrolled through a few sections.
Everything was still solid.
Still hers.
She closed it.
Then stood there for a moment.
They could stall.
They could vote.
They could justify it however they wanted.
But if the project moved elsewhere,
That wouldn’t be her loss.
Stephanie picked up her phone again, glanced at it briefly, then set it down.
She wasn’t chasing anything.
Not this.
Not anymore.
She picked up her phone and texted Mark.
“Clear my schedule for tomorrow and the next day. I won’t be coming in.”
For the first time in a while, she had time.
Taking the project off her hands had left a gap she hadn’t planned for.
She had no close friends, also courtesy of her work.
So it would definitely be a solo date if she decided she would go out.
She could go somewhere nice.
Maybe she would finally say yes to a date.
Or just shop.
Spend the money she had worked so hard to make.
She set her phone down, refilled her glass of wine, and went to soak in the hot bath she had prepared.
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