The Untouchable Aunt: Rise of the Apex Queen

Chapter 4: The Unreachable CEO

Half a year had elapsed since the anniversary party night, and though I’d long ago come to expect how much Seraphina was capable of changing, she sometimes struggled to remember the woman who once said sorry for things she didn’t do. Now she rode in the back of a black sedan as she scanned the latest financial reports from Valerius Enterprises, which revealed a massive downward spike in their quarterly earnings.

Half a year since Julian had been trying to take care of the business all on his own, and the disasters—financial and otherwise—were stacking up, and he was trying desperately to get a meeting with the Apex Group CEO now, not knowing that the company he was running to with his begging for help was owned by the very woman he had thrown down the stairs. Marcus sat opposite her, glanced at his watch and said,

"Julian has fired off three more emails this morning begging for a private audience with CEO Thorne, and this time he’s even trying to offer selling the family’s private estates just to buy a seat at the table, but he still doesn’t know that you’re the one who’s been blocking his calls and making his life a living hell in the market of shares."

“Let him wait, let him get more desperate because I want him to feel the walls closing in just like I felt when he was flinging those divorce papers in my face,” Seraphina said as she pulled at her sleeve and looked out the window of the private club they were coming up to. “I’m far more interested in this Gabriel Valerius meeting than anything else, because if the rumors are true, he despises his nephew as I do and is the only person who has enough family influence to make the next stage of my plan work.”

​The car stopped at a hidden door of a private club where the city’s ruling class went to vanish, and as Seraphina got out she was met by a tall man with silver at his temples and an air of command that made Julian look like a kid in comparison. Gabriel Valerius had been estranged from the main family for years due to his disagreement with his brother and Julian’s methods and as Seraphina drew closer he didn’t view her with the pity most people did, instead he looked at her with some semblance of respect.

"I have been watching your career for a long time now, Seraphina, and I can say with absolute certainty that what you were able to do with the Apex Group while posing as a bored housewife is the most amazing thing I have seen in thirty years of business," said Gabriel as he led her out to a private terrace where a table had been prepared with coffee and light refreshments.

I "didn't have much of a choice, Gabriel, because I knew that if I revealed my hand to early Julian would find a way to take it from me just like he took everything else," Seraphina said as she sat down and poured herself a cup of coffee, "But now I hold seventy percent of his shares and I'm the one holding his debt, so I think it's time we talked about why you brought me here today."

Gabriel sipped his drink, then sat back in his chair to watch her for a moment, "Julian’s incompetence and his scandalous relationship with that woman Elena have sullied the Valerius name, and I want to reclaim the family legacy before he torch it all to the ground, but I need a partner someone who has the shares and the wit to help me do it. "

"What is it exactly that you’re suggesting, because I have no interest in ever being anybody’s assistant again," Seraphina said firmly, meeting his gaze head-on."I am suggesting a marriage of convenience, Seraphina, because if we combine our assets and our names, we will have complete control of the board Once I get the board of directors’ support, there will be nothing Julian can do without us knowing,” Gabriel said in a calm and business-like tone.

“You come in as the face of the company, and I take care of the internal family politics you don’t want to handle, and in exchange, you benefit from the stature I hold in the community, which far exceeds Julian’s.”

Seraphina laughed softly as she looked out over the breathtaking view of the city skyline and said, “You want me to marry back into that venomous family after what they did to me? And you think a contract is going to make me feel safe?”

“It’s not going to be like your marriage to Julian, because there are not going to be any expectations of warmth or conventional roles and your legal team will draft the contract to ensure that you don’t lose anything if we end it,” Gabriel said with a serious look as he leaned in.

"I really admire your brain, and I think we’d make a fantastic team, and honestly, I think you'd love the look on Julian’s face when he realizes that he has to answer to you as his aunt."

Seraphina fell silent for a few moments as she thought about the complete bliss of the moment, and she was aware that Gabriel was not seeking to find a timid wife, but a powerful ally who could assist him in winning a war.

"I will accept your terms with one stipulation, Gabriel, that is that I keep the original copy of the contract and I’m the one who decides when the marriage is announced," she said, and she drew a folder out of her bag which Marcus had had ready.

"I already had my team draft a version of what I would expect from this arrangement, so you should read it over before you commit to me."

​Gabriel took the folder and skimmed through the pages, nodding as he read the draconian clauses she’d added to maintain her CEO status and the ability to leave on her own terms, but when he looked up at her, there was a look in his eyes she couldn’t quite place. “This part of the contract is fine for the business side of things, Seraphina. but if we’re going to go to the Valerius board and the public and try to make this look like real, we need to have a wedding no one can question.”

Seraphina assumed he was just being diligent “for the sake of the plan”, so she nodded agreeing without knowing that Gabriel was not planning on this marriage being a shorty one, and he watched her with a faint smile as he added, "I have also heard that Julian is telling everyone that the elusive CEO Thorn of Apex Group will be making a rare appearance at the charity gala nextweek to sign his merger, so would be the perfect venue to make our announcement as well.”

“Does he really think he’s talked CEO Thorn into rescuuing him?” “Seraphina laughed, entertained that Julian was currently bragging about a meeting with the woman he had physically attacked and debased only a few months prior. “Let him tell the press that assistance is coming, because the shock is going to knock him sky high when he discovers who it is he’s waiting for is the woman he discarded.”

They were back to talking about the particulars of the gala, about how they would tell the family what they had before long, and Gabriel was so kind and respectful that Seraphina nearly forgot that was supposed to be a steely business arrangement. He didn’t interrupt her or attempt to explain things she already understood, which was a refreshing change from the years she’d spent being talked down to by Julian and his father, and for the first time in ages, she felt as though she was being regarded as an equal. As she exited the club and climbed into her car, Marcus regarded her with a quizzical look and inquired, "So are we going to be arranging a wedding or a corporate raid?"

"Both, Marcus, and I want you to leak a rumor to the press that CEO Thorne will certainly be at the gala so that Julian will be there with his best suit on," Seraphina said, and she felt a sense of peace as she realized that she was no longer the victim of the story, but the one who was writing the ending, "I want him to have a front row seat when his world finally falls apart and he realizes that his new boss is also his new Aunt.”