CHAPTER 5: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1091 Words
The boardroom slowly emptied.
No one spoke to Sebastian.
No one dared speak to Eleanor.
Because the truth was simple.
The power dynamic had changed.
And everyone felt it.
The door shut behind the last director.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Sebastian remained standing near the screen.
Eleanor gathered her tablet calmly, sliding it into her leather folder.
“You should have warned me,” he said finally.
His voice wasn’t raised.
It was worse.
Controlled.
She didn’t look at him.
“I didn’t know he would go public.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Now she looked up.
“What did you mean?”
He walked toward her slowly.
Measured steps.
“You met him knowing what it would do to this company.”
“I met him knowing what it would do to you.”
The honesty hit harder than anger would have.
His jaw tightened.
“So this is personal.”
She stood.
Face to face.
“Everything is personal,” she replied quietly. “You just taught me how to weaponize it.”
His eyes darkened.
“You think you’re punishing me.”
“I’m educating you.”
The air between them felt charged.
Old memories pressed at the edges of her control.
The way he used to look at her.
The way he used to touch her.
No.
Not that.
Not now.
“You could destroy Hale & Rowe,” he said.
“Yes.”
“You won’t.”
She held his gaze.
“Why?”
A dangerous question.
Because she didn’t have an answer she trusted.
Before she could respond—
The boardroom door opened.
Adrian Blackwood walked in as if he owned the building.
Which, technically—
He might soon.
Sebastian’s expression hardened instantly.
“You don’t have clearance to be here.”
Adrian’s tone was relaxed. “I have interest. That’s more valuable.”
His gaze shifted to Eleanor.
“Impressive reaction this morning.”
“You moved without consulting me,” she replied coolly.
“Yes.”
Sebastian looked between them.
“So you admit this is coordinated.”
Eleanor didn’t answer.
Adrian stepped closer.
“I simply accelerated the narrative.”
“You destabilized the market,” Sebastian snapped.
“And yet,” Adrian replied calmly, “Whitmore Holdings gained value.”
Sebastian turned sharply to Eleanor.
“You trust him?”
“No,” she answered immediately.
Adrian’s eyes flickered slightly.
Interesting.
“Trust is inefficient,” she continued. “I prefer leverage.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“That’s why we’d work well together.”
Sebastian stepped closer.
Too close.
His voice dropped.
“You’re not working with him.”
Eleanor lifted her chin slightly.
“You don’t command me.”
“I’m warning you.”
She laughed softly.
“And I’m immune.”
The tension in the room shifted.
Not just business.
Not just rivalry.
Possession.
Adrian noticed it.
And exploited it.
“Sebastian,” Adrian said smoothly, “if you’re concerned, perhaps you should have valued her when she was yours.”
Silence exploded between them.
Sebastian’s fist clenched.
“She was never yours,” he said tightly.
Adrian’s eyes moved to Eleanor.
“She still isn’t.”
That subtle challenge.
That deliberate positioning.
Eleanor stepped between them.
“This isn’t a schoolyard,” she said sharply.
Both men looked at her.
Powerful men.
Used to winning.
And in this moment—
Both waiting on her decision.
Sebastian lowered his voice.
“Walk away from him.”
Adrian countered smoothly, “Merge with me.”
Two offers.
Two paths.
One woman.
Eleanor felt the weight of it.
But she refused to let it show.
“I’m not aligning with either of you today.”
Both men stilled.
“Then what are you doing?” Sebastian demanded.
She stepped back toward the table.
“I’m observing.”
Adrian studied her carefully.
“You’re enjoying watching us react.”
“No,” she corrected calmly.
“I’m measuring which of you is predictable.”
That hit Sebastian directly.
Adrian only smiled slightly.
Sebastian moved suddenly—
Grabbing Eleanor’s wrist.
Not violently.
But firmly.
The contact sent heat through her arm.
“Stop pretending this is just strategy,” he said quietly.
Her breath caught.
Damn him.
He still knew exactly how to disrupt her.
Adrian’s expression sharpened.
“Release her.”
Sebastian didn’t look away from Eleanor.
“Tell me you feel nothing.”
The room felt smaller.
The past pressed in.
The engagement.
The betrayal.
The years apart.
Her pulse betrayed her first.
Too fast.
Sebastian saw it.
His grip loosened slightly.
Not releasing.
But softening.
“Eleanor…”
Her name in his voice was dangerous.
Too familiar.
Too intimate.
She forced herself to pull her hand free.
Stepped back.
Rebuilding distance.
“I feel,” she said steadily, “that you underestimate me.”
That wasn’t the question he asked.
But it was the answer she allowed.
Adrian broke the tension deliberately.
“There’s a shareholders’ gala this weekend,” he said. “Half the city will be there.”
Eleanor’s eyes shifted to him.
“Yes.”
“Attend with me.”
The offer landed like a bomb.
Sebastian’s expression turned lethal.
“You’re not serious.”
Adrian didn’t look at him.
“I’m very serious.”
Eleanor’s mind calculated instantly.
Public appearance.
Market reaction.
Psychological impact.
Sebastian stepped forward again.
“You won’t.”
She looked at him.
Then at Adrian.
The room was silent.
Waiting.
Finally—
She spoke.
“I’ll consider it.”
Sebastian went still.
Adrian’s smile was subtle.
Not victorious.
But confident.
Because even consideration was power.
Eleanor picked up her folder.
“This meeting is over.”
She walked toward the door.
Red heels echoing.
Before she exited, she paused without turning.
“One more thing.”
Both men watched her.
“If either of you attempts to use me as leverage against the other…”
Her tone dropped colder.
“I will destroy you first.”
The door closed behind her.
Silence remained.
Sebastian looked at Adrian.
“You think you can handle her?”
Adrian adjusted his cufflinks.
“I don’t intend to handle her.”
A slight pause.
“I intend to win her.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened.
“She’s not a prize.”
“No,” Adrian agreed softly.
“She’s a force.”
And for the first time—
Sebastian realized something deeply unsettling.
He wasn’t fighting just for his company anymore.
He was fighting for the only woman who had ever truly threatened his control.
- Writer
