THE CEO's REGRET

CHAPTER 19: HIS MOVE

Victor Hale wanted a private meeting. I walked into that boardroom like I’d been waiting for it my whole life, because, honestly, I had.

Not this exact moment or this particular morning, but I’d known something like this was coming ever since that envelope showed up in the lobby. Men like Victor don’t take no for an answer. They treat it like the opening move in a game they’ve already decided they’re going to win. The boardroom was empty except for him.

He sat at the far end of the long table, not in Sebastian’s usual spot but in a different chair, one carefully chosen so the bright morning light poured straight onto whoever walked in. A small, quiet power play. Victor was the kind of man who arranged the room before anyone else even stepped inside.

I noticed it right away and sat down anyway without moving the chair, adjusting it would’ve told him I’d caught on. I wasn’t ready to hand over that kind of information. He looked exactly like I remembered, silver hair, sharp suit, sitting perfectly still in that way that somehow made him seem even more in control.

His eyes sized me up the same way they probably sized up everything, calculating what I was worth and how much trouble I might cause. He let the silence hang there for a beat. Then he spoke. “Ms. Reed. Thank you for being flexible.”

“Of course,” I said.

“I’ll be direct.” He folded his hands on the table. “You’re a smart woman. What you’ve built from nothing is genuinely impressive. I’m not trying to flatter you, I’m saying it because I think you’re smart enough to hear what comes next without any pretty wrapping.”

He paused. “Your presence here is becoming a complication. It doesn’t have to turn into a big problem… but it will if you keep going.”

He didn’t say “or else.” He didn’t need to. The warning was woven into every polite word. I stayed quiet and let him finish.

“You’ve got a company with real momentum,” he went on, his voice warm but completely hollow. “A daughter, a future that has nothing to do with the Hale family, and it could be really good if you let it.” His eyes stayed locked on mine. “I’m just suggesting you take the sensible path, the one that protects all of that.”

I waited until I was sure he was done, then I smiled, calm and steady. “I appreciate the directness,” I said, matching his tone. “So I’ll give it right back. Last week, when your son tried to buy out my contract in the lobby, I recorded the whole conversation.”

I watched his face closely. “My lawyer’s already looked at it. It’s unlawful interference with a contract.” I let the words sit. “I haven’t used it yet, and I want you to understand that ‘yet’ is very much on purpose.”

The room went completely still. He didn’t flinch, his face stayed perfectly blank, the way only someone who’s spent decades in rooms like this knows how to do, but something shifted behind his eyes. Small and sharp like a man who just realized one of his cards was missing.

“You recorded it,” he said.

“I document most things,” I replied. “Comes with the job.”

He studied me for a long moment. “You’re in a more exposed position than you think.”

“I’m in exactly the position I understand,” I said. “That’s the difference between us.”

I opened my folder, the way someone does when they’re ready to move on. “I’ll get the revised timeline to Patricia by the end of the day. Was there anything else?”

He didn’t answer. I gathered my things and stood up. I was just a few steps from the door when his voice stopped me cold. “Your mother came to me once.”

I froze. Two full seconds passed before I slowly turned around. He was still sitting there, hands folded, watching me with that same calm, calculating look.

“When you were nineteen,” he said. “She wanted to know what my son’s intentions were toward you.” He let that sink in. “I told her the truth.”

My chest squeezed tight.

“She chose not to pass it on,” he added quietly, like it was nothing.

I stood there, staring at him across that long table. My mother, standing in front of this man, asking about Sebastian, and then carrying whatever he told her alone until the day she died.

“What truth?” My voice came out softer than I meant it to, but I didn’t try to fix it.

He gave a small smile… not cruel, which somehow made it worse. “That Sebastian would always do what his family required of him,” he said. “I told her that long before you had any reason to doubt it. Before any of it even started.” He leaned back slightly. “She decided to let you find out for yourself.” A pause. “I’ve wondered, over the years, if she ever regretted that.”

The silence felt heavy enough to choke on. I thought about the shoebox on my wardrobe shelf. Thirty-one letters. My mother knew how this would end… and chose to stay quiet.

None of it showed on my face. “Thank you for your time,” I said, and I walked out.