Bound by Business

CHAPTER 2: THE ULTIMANUM

I’ve always hated being in the hospital. I always felt uneasy whenever I was here and the strong smell of antiseptic always made me nauseous.

I usually come here for check-ups, charity visits, but walking down this hallway, knowing my father was inside one of these rooms was so heartaching. Everything was happening so fast, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like a CEO. I just felt like a daughter scared of her dad.

When I had gotten to his room door, i stood outside for a while but I could see my mom sitting beside him through the small glass on the door. Aria Lawson, always elegant, always collected, her soft brown hair was packed in a neat bun. But her eyes filled with worry.

I pushed the door open gently.

“Mom,” I whispered.

She looked up immediately, a bit frightened and then she stood up and pulled me into a warm hug. “Oh. My Stacy…”

I could hear the pain in her voice by the way it sounded, and that was all it took for me to hold back my own tears. It felt like there was a lump in my throat.

“He’s okay,” she said while brushing back my hair like I was her little baby. “The doctors said it was stress and exhaustion. His blood pressure dropped during the meeting, but he's stable now.”

My eyes darted to my father. Seeing him lying there, looking so pale and tired, with an IV line in his arm was so disheartening. He has always been full of life. Seeing him like this didn't feel real at all.

I walked closer to the bed he was lying on. “Dad?”

His eyes fluttered open, and when he saw me, he smiled. “Hey princess.”

I tried to smile, but my voice sounded the exact opposite. “You scared me.”

“I didn't mean to my darling,” he murmured. “Just got a bit… lightheaded.”

I sat at the edge of his bed, my hands gripped tightly in my lap. “Dad, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?” He asked confusingly.

“For all this stress. For the company. For…everything.” The words just came out before I could control or stop them. “Maybe if I had been better, all this wouldn’t be happening. Maybe you wouldn’t have had to__”

He cut me off gently. “Stacy.” His voice was soft but serious. “None of this is your fault. You’re doing everything you can and I know that. I can see it. The company’s problem didn’t start in your tenure.”

“But I’m the one in charge,” I said in a shaky voice, the tears I’ve been holding back already ready to burst out. “I’m supposed to fix it, not make it worse than it already is.”

He reached out for my hand, and I placed mine in his. “You will fix it. You’ve always been stronger than you think.”

I looked down, still fighting back my tears. “I just don’t want to loose you Daddy.”

“And you won’t my princess,” he said, his smile faint but steady.

“Now, go home and rest. That’s an order.”

I laughed weakly, he placed a kiss on my forehead before I stood up and left.

The next day passed by so quickly. I buried myself in work to kill time, anything to stop the guilt from eating me alive. By the time my assistant, Miranda informed me that my dad had been discharged from the hospital, it was already evening.

I drove to the Lawson estate just before nighttime. I could see the mansion I grew up in at he end of the long driveway. It’s so beautiful, even after all these years. Growing up here, I always felt safe but lonely. Having no siblings made childhood boring most of the time, but my best friend, Tiana was always at my house most of the time.

The front door blast open before I could even knock. “Stacy!”

My mom greeted me with a smile, her silk robe tied loosely around her waist. “You’re here. Finally. He’s been asking of you.”

“Oh really? How’s he doing?”

“Better,” she said. “But he’s been so restless since he came back. You know how your father is, the man doesn’t like it when anyone tells him to rest.”

I chuckled. “Where is he?”

“In his study.”

Of course he was.

“Okay I’ll go see him now,” I said to my mom.

“Alright darling, I’m gardening outside.”

Walking through the familiar hallways, my heels clicked against the wooden floor. The scent of old books filled my nose as I entered his study. He was behind his desk, paying very close attention to whatever it is he was reading, and his table was piled up with so many documents.

“You’re supposed to be resting,” I said, getting his attention

He looked up, a small grin forming on his lips. “You sound like your mother.”

“Well, she’s right,” I said, walking closer. “You scared us.”

He sighed, removing his glasses. “I know, sweetheart. But there’s something we need to talk about.”

I frowned. “Now? Can’t it wait?”

“It can’t,” he said firmly, his tone changing. He looked so serious, it made me scared a bit. “I’ve been talking to some of our former investors. There’s one potential solution left to save our company.”

My heart skipped a bear. “What solution?”

He hesitated, then said, “A merger…”

“Okay that’s not a bad idea,” I said looking confused because he made the situation sound like it was going to be a problem.

“With the Blackwoods,” he said, looking at me with no single emotion.

I blinked. No I think I died and resurrected back. “Blackwood? As in Ethan Blackwood?”

“Is there any other Blackwood you and I know?” He asked rhetorically. “His father and I have been in contact and they’re interested.”

“Interested?” I repeated the word with so much disgust. “Dad, Blackwood is our biggest competitor. They’ve been trying to take us— to take you down for years.”

“I know,” he said. “But they’re also the only ones with enough resources and liquidity to keep Lawson intact. If we merge the company survives.”

I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Stacy—“

“You can’t seriously be considering this. Blackwood doesn’t merge, they swallow. We would lose everything! And let’s not even forget what that Ethan Blackwood did to me in business school.”

“His expression softened. “Pride aside, sometimes, survival means compromise.”

“No,” I snapped. “Not this time. I won’t let our company become their trophy.”

I didn’t even wait for him to reply. I just walked out angrily. The anger boiling inside me was too much to contain and I had to walk out, before he could see the tears burning in my eyes.

Ethan’s POV

This city never slept. It was always so loud, cars honking, people moving. It was an endless cycle.

From the top floor of the Blackwood Enterprise building I could see everything happening. I leaned back in my chair, in my office. I was watching the news, talking about how Lawson Innovation was bleeding.

A smirk grew on my lips. I had been watching their fall for months. Rumors about investor withdrawals, boardroom chaos and all that. It’s sad, but I could care less.

I loosened my tie, lazily as I watched the city below. A knock interrupted my thoughts. Two short taps. Only one person knocks like that.

“Come in,”. I said.

My father entered, looking crisp. Black suit, silver cufflinks, expression unfazed. The air always seemed to change when Christian Blackwood walked into a room. He had built this company from the ground up with hard-work and precision, and he still carried that weight like a crown.

“Lawson Innovation reached out,” he said without any introduction or even greeting.

I arched a brow, sitting forward. “What do they want?”

He dropped a file on my desk. “Greg Lawson is desperate. Their board is losing faith. He’s requesting for a possible merger.”

“That’s insane,” I said confused while grabbing the document and flipping it open. Scanning the documents, the familiar logo stated back at me, the same one I watched my father loose a contract to fifteen years ago. Lawson Innovations.”

“If we handle the merger correctly, we’ll have control of their patents and tech sector within six months. You know what that means.”

I did. It meant the last remaining competition would crumble. It meant Blackwood Enterprise would have total dominance.

I paused. “And what about his daughter?” I asked, keeping my voice light, although i already knew her name.

“Stacy Lawson?” My father scoffed. “She’s the face of the company now. The girl doesn’t know how to run a company of that scale. A good face for press, nothing more. Why?”

I leaned back again, a smirk forming on my lips. “I’ll merge our companies… if she marries me. One year. A contract. No commitment.”

My father froze. “This is business, Ethan, not—“

“Exactly,” I cut in. “It’s business. The Lawsons are built on reputation. If we merge through a standard acquisition, it’ll look like a takeover. They’ll fight it, especially the daughter. But if it’s framed as a partnership, sealed through a marriage… it looks like a family alliance. It’ll give them more reason to say yes.”

He studied me. I could see the calculations in his eyes. “You’ve thought this through.”

“Of course I have,” I said nonchalantly.

He nodded slowly, as if approving what I had said. “I’ll make the call and inform Gregory.”

“Don’t let him know about the marriage plan yet, just invite them for dinner,” I said to my dad.

He nodded and left my office.

I smirked, turning my attention back to the city below me.

Marrying Stacy Lawson wasn’t just strategy, it was perfect checkmate.

She thought she could play in a man’s world. But soon enough she would learn.

The only way to survive this game was doing it my way.