Chapter 12 - The Boardroom Clash
Two days later, Darra found herself sitting at the end of a massive, polished mahogany table on the top floor of the Ashworth Industries tower downtown. The room was suffocatingly quiet, filled with senior executives in tailored charcoal suits who looked at her with thinly veiled contempt and bewilderment.
Arthur Vance, the senior vice president of operations and a man who had worked alongside Marcus for over a decade, cleared his throat loudly.
"With all due respect, Mr. Ashworth," Vance began, his voice dripping with condescension as he glanced sideways at Darra's simple tweed jacket, "bringing a former hotel housekeeper into an executive strategy meeting is unorthodox, to put it mildly. Ashworth Industries is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. We aren't running a charity shelter."
The air in the boardroom grew razor-thin. Several junior executives shifted uncomfortably in their leather chairs, waiting for the billionaire’s wrath.
Aiden didn't raise his voice. He didn't even lean forward. He simply steepled his fingers, his eyes turning into chips of arctic ice as he stared down Vance.
"Arthur," Aiden said, his voice terrifyingly smooth, "six days ago, a security breach orchestrated by your close friend Marcus nearly killed my daughter. If it weren't for the woman sitting at the end of this table, Chloe would be dead, and half of you would be scrambling to divide up my shares."
Vance’s face paled instantly. He opened his mouth to protest, but Aiden cut him off with a single, sharp gesture.
"Ms. Whitmore is not here out of charity. She holds a permanent seat on this board as my personal advisor and chief of internal security oversight," Aiden declared, standing up and leaning his palms flat against the table. "Anyone who has a problem with that can clear out their desk by noon. Meeting adjourned."
Darra sat frozen as the room emptied out in terrified silence, the executives practically tripping over themselves to escape. She looked up at Aiden, her heart racing.
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"You didn't have to make me chief of internal oversight," Darra whispered, half-shocked and half-furious. "They’re going to eat me alive."
"Let them try," Aiden replied, a rare, faint smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "You survived a burning building and an assassination squad. A boardroom of nervous suits should be easy."
