Chapter Six
763 Words
8:30 a.m. sharp.
I walked into the Empire Holdings lobby wearing a blood-red suit that fit me like armor. My red-bottom heels clicked loud on the marble floor. Every step sounded like power.
Every head turned. Phones froze in hands. Conversations died. The whole lobby went dead quiet.
Two security guards stepped in front of the private elevator.
“Ma’am, you need clearance—”
I didn’t slow down. I looked straight at them.
“Touch me and you’re both unemployed by lunch.”
They stepped back fast. Hands up.
I pressed the button for the thirty-second floor. The doors closed. The elevator shot up.
Thirty-second floor. Big glass doors with EMPIRE HOLDINGS written in thick gold letters.
I pushed through. Hard.
The boardroom was already full. The Twelve old men in suits sat around the long table. Aaron stood at the head, pale and tired. Lucy sat right next to him in a soft pink dress, one hand resting on her round seven-month belly. She was smiling like she belonged there.
The smile died the second she saw me.
I didn’t look at her yet.
I walked straight to the table and slammed my leather briefcase down hard. The loud bang made everyone jump.
“Morning, gentlemen,” I said, voice clear and cold. “I’m Khai Voss. Your new boss.”
Aaron stood up so fast his heavy chair rolled back and crashed into the wall.
“Khia—”
I lifted one finger. Just one. He shut his mouth immediately.
Now I looked at Lucy. Slow. Calm.
“You’re in my seat.”
Her lips opened. No sound came out. Her face went white.
I waited.
She stood up slowly, one hand under her big belly for support. She moved to the side, legs shaking.
I walked around the table and sat down in Aaron’s big leather chair. I crossed my legs. The red suit looked perfect against the dark wood.
“New rules,” I said to the whole room. “If you don’t like them, you can leave right now. But you leave with nothing. Your choice.”
Dead silence. Nobody moved.
I opened my briefcase. Took out twelve thick white envelopes. One by one, I threw them across the table. Each landed in front of a man.
“Open them,” I said.
Hands shook. Envelopes tore open. Inside were photos, bank records, emails—proof they had all been stealing from the company for years. Some small amounts. Some millions. Didn’t matter.
Faces went white. One man dropped his papers. Another started breathing fast.
An old man with grey hair stood up, voice shaking.
“This is blackmail!”
I smiled, small and sharp.
“No. This is Tuesday. Sit down.”
He sat.
I turned my head to Lucy. She was still standing there, tears in her eyes.
“You are not staff. You are not a board member. Why are you in my meeting?”
Aaron stepped forward, voice weak.
“She’s my wife—”
“Not anymore she isn’t.” I looked straight at Lucy. “Leave. Now.”
Her eyes filled with tears. Real tears or fake, I didn’t care.
“Khia—”
I stood up slowly. My heels made me taller than her.
“You do not get to say my name. Ever. Get out before I have security drag you out by your pretty hair.”
Two big security guards appeared in the doorway. I didn’t even press a button.
Lucy looked at Aaron. Begging with her eyes.
He looked at the floor. Wouldn’t meet her eyes.
She walked out crying. Shoulders shaking. The door closed soft behind her.
I sat back down in the big chair.
Aaron was still standing, frozen.
I looked up at him.
“Miss Voss,” I said calmly. “Practice it.”
He swallowed hard.
“Miss Voss,” he whispered.
“Louder. Like you mean it.”
“Miss Voss,” he said, voice cracking.
“Good boy.”
I turned to the room. All twelve men stared at me like scared children.
“Meeting starts now,” I said. “First item: we are selling all seven houses. Starting with the Ocean Ridge mansion. Auction is next week. Papers are already signed.”
Aaron’s face broke.
“You can’t—”
I looked at him. My eyes were ice.
“I just did.”
I leaned back in his chair. It was soft. It was warm. It was mine now.
It felt exactly how I dreamed it would.
Like winning.
- Writer
