Chapter 4 - The Boardroom Intruder
Three days later, the floodwaters had receded, leaving behind rich, dark Georgia mud and a brilliant autumn sun that made the wet leaves sparkle like crushed diamonds. Imani’s sedan had been towed to the local mechanic in Coulter Ridge, courtesy of Elijah’s unlimited account, but the repair estimate was staggering—the engine block had cracked during the sudden flood.
She was standing in the sprawling, modern kitchen of Cedar Hollow, trying to figure out how to tell Elijah that she needed to find a bus ticket north, when the heavy oak front door flew open.
“Elijah! Where the hell have you been? The Atlanta investors are threatening to pull out of the logistics expansion!”
A sharp, impeccably tailored woman marched into the kitchen. Vivian Vance, executive vice president of Brooks Logistics and, not coincidentally, a woman who had spent the last three years positioning herself to become Mrs. Elijah Brooks.
Vivian stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes swept over the kitchen—the two coffee mugs on the counter, the diaper bag draped over a barstool, and then to Imani, who was holding a bottle of formula while wearing an oversized flannel shirt.
Vivian’s gaze hardened into pure, glittering ice.
“Who is this?” Vivian demanded, not bothering to lower her voice. She turned her sharp glare toward the hallway as Elijah walked in from the stables. “Elijah, what is a homeless woman and a bastard child doing in your house?”
The temperature in the kitchen plummeted instantly.
Elijah’s face hardened into a mask of pure, terrifying fury. The easygoing, gentle host of the last three days vanished, replaced by the ruthless titan who controlled a billion-dollar freight empire.
“Watch your tongue, Vivian,” Elijah said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that echoed off the tile floors.
“Don’t lecture me!” Vivian snapped, stepping closer, her heels clicking aggressively. “We have a multi-million-dollar board meeting on Monday! The press is already sniffing around about your reclusive habits, and now you’re playing house with some stray vagrant you picked off the highway? Do you have any idea what this will do to your public image—to the company stock?”
Imani quietly shifted Zoe into her other arm, turning toward the back door. “I’ll get my things, Elijah. Thank you for the shelter. I’ll be out of your hair in ten minutes.”
Elijah crossed the room in three long strides, gently placing his hand over Imani’s wrist to stop her.
“You are not going anywhere, Imani,” he said firmly. Then he turned his full, frigid attention back to Vivian. “And as for the company stock, Vivian? It belongs to me. If my investors don't like me helping a mother and child in a storm, they can pull their money and walk out that front door right now.”
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Vivian stared at him in utter disbelief. “You’re throwing away everything you built for a nobody?”
“She is not a nobody,” Elijah said coldly. “She is staying right here. And if you ever speak to her—or her daughter—like that again, you won't just be off the board of directors. You won't work in logistics in this state ever again.”
