Chapter 1 - The Corporate Avalanche
The Slack notification sound was still echoing across the entire Prescott Global ecosystem by the time Claire walked out of the downtown skyscraper. Within four minutes of her typing that single sentence, the IT department tried to purge the message, but it was already too late. Screen recordings had been captured, screenshots distributed across private WhatsApp chats, and corporate gossip channels were melting down.
Jasmine Cole, sitting on the plush velvet sofa in Aaron’s private executive suite on the forty-second floor, stared at her phone in absolute horror. Her face drained of color, she watched as junior analysts, regional VPs, and HR directors scrambled to make sense of what had just happened.
"Aaron," Jasmine whispered, her voice trembling as she looked up at him. "Everyone saw it. Your entire company knows."
Aaron Prescott stood frozen by the floor-to-ceiling window, a half-buttoned designer shirt hanging loosely off his shoulders. His jaw was clenched so tightly a muscle twitched violently near his cheek. For three years, he had operated under the arrogant delusion that Claire was a decorative fixture—a quiet, predictable ornament who existed solely to manage his social calendar, curate his wardrobe, and validate his high-society standing without ever demanding emotional accountability.
"She changed her mind," Aaron muttered, his voice cold, masking a sudden, creeping panic. "She thinks she can throw a tantrum and bring me to heel."
"A tantrum?" Jasmine stood up, her voice rising in hysteria. "She just announced to five hundred people that I’m your mistress and that you don't even have a home to go back to! How is this a tantrum? What are we going to do about the board?"
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Right on cue, the heavy mahogany door swung open without a knock. Richard Vance, the senior managing partner of Prescott Global’s board of directors, walked in. His expression was like granite. He didn't look at Jasmine; his eyes were locked entirely on Aaron.
"Pack your desk, Aaron," Vance said flatly. "An emergency board meeting has been called for eleven o'clock. Until we determine the extent of the reputational damage you’ve brought upon this firm, you are stripped of your executive privileges."
