Boardroom rules

Chapter twelve

Damien

9:00 AM. Hale-Chen Dynamics.

New name on the door. New logo on the wall.

Same sharks at the table.

Minus Vance. He's in federal custody.

Plus Elise. Minus three of his old allies.

And Maya.

At the head of the table.

Not beside me.

In my chair.

CEO.

My wife.

My boss.

I liked it.

"Good morning," Maya said.

No tremor in her voice. No sign of the woman who cried in my arms on a plane 12 hours ago.

Boardroom Maya was back.

"Q3," she said. "We're not acquiring. We're building."

Click.

Screen lit up.

Chen Analytics' AI patent. Hale's distribution network. Combined.

"Project Aegis," she said. "Launch in 60 days."

Silence.

Then: "Impossible."

"Budget?"

"You're new—"

"I'm not new," she cut in. "I've been in this building for three years. You just weren't listening."

She looked at me.

I nodded. Once.

"Mr. Hale is Chairman," she said. "He advises. I decide."

The board hated it.

Good.

Elise leaned forward. "Mrs. Hale. With respect. You married into this company 11 days ago."

"Correct." Maya didn't blink. "And in 11 days I liquidated a patent, survived a blackmail attempt, fired your former Chair, and doubled our valuation."

Mic drop.

Literally. She clicked off the deck.

"Questions?"

No one had any.

Meeting adjourned.

They filed out.

Until it was just us.

Maya exhaled.

Hard.

She dropped the CEO mask.

"f**k," she said. "My hands are shaking."

I walked to her.

"Here." I took them. "Steady."

"They think I'm sleeping my way to the top," she whispered.

"Let them think it," I said. "Then show them you're smarter than all of them."

She looked up at me.

"You're not mad I took your chair?"

"No." I kissed her knuckles. "I'm proud you did."

Her shoulders dropped.

"Damien, what if I fail?"

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you didn't fail me."

Her breath hitched.

I pulled her into my lap. Right there in the boardroom.

Door locked.

No cameras.

"Damien, we can't—"

"We can," I said. "For five minutes."

I kissed her.

Not CEO. Not Chairman.

Husband. Wife.

Her hands in my hair. My hands under her blazer.

"Mrs. Hale," I said against her mouth.

"Don't start," she said, but she was smiling.

"Too late." I stood. With her in my arms. "Conference room's empty."

"Damien—"

I set her on the table.

Not the desk. The table.

Where they just sat.

"Rule #12," I said, unbuttoning her blazer.

"What?"

"Never let them see you weak."

I slid her blazer off.

"Then why—"

"Because you're not weak with me." My mouth at her throat. "You're mine."

She broke.

Fast.

Because she was stressed. Because she was powerful. Because she needed me to remind her she was still human.

I did.

Clothes half off. Mouth everywhere. Her saying my name like a prayer.

No tie. No clock.

Just us.

Five minutes.

Exactly.

We fixed our clothes.

She fixed her lipstick.

I fixed my tie.

The door opened at 9:17 AM.

Jenna.

She stopped.

Saw us.

Not touching. But close. Too close.

Hair down. Blazer on wrong. My tie loosened.

"Sorry," Jenna said. "I—"

"It's fine," Maya said. CEO voice back. "Jenna, I need the Aegis numbers by noon."

"Right. Noon." Jenna left. Fast.

The door closed.

Maya looked at me.

"Did we just—"

"Yes."

"In the boardroom?"

"Yes."

She covered her face. "We're insane."

"We're married," I said. "And in love. And powerful."

I pulled her to me.

"So let them talk," I said. "Let them watch. Let them choke on it."

She laughed.

Against my chest.

"Mr. Hale," she said.

"Mrs. Hale," I said back.

We walked out together.

Hand in hand.

No hiding.

Rule #12 of the boardroom: Never let them see you coming.

They didn't.

Because we were already here.

Together.