Chapter 3 - The Morning After
At 7:45 AM on Friday morning, the lobby of Vance Logistics was bathed in pale autumn sunlight.
I walked through the turnstiles wearing an ivory suit, sharp heels, and dark red lipstick. I felt no exhaustion. The anger that had ignited in my chest twelve hours ago had condensed into a crystal-clear, razor-sharp focus.
As the elevator doors opened on the executive suite floor, I found Jackson standing outside my glass office doors.
He was wearing a fresh suit, but his eyes were bloodshot, and his cheek still bore a faint, reddish outline where my hand had struck him. Two security guards stood ten feet away, watching him with cold vigilance.
"Emma," Jackson said, stepping forward as soon as he saw me. "We need to talk privately."
"You have two minutes, Jackson," I said, walking past him into my office. I didn't invite him to sit. I stood behind my desk, resting my hands flat against the dark oak surface. "Make it quick."
Jackson stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. The controlled, confident facade he had worn at the restaurant was cracking at the edges.
"Look," he began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Last night got out of hand. My mother was out of line giving Sophia the ring, I admit that. But you completely overreacted. You embarrassed me in front of the board of Bennett Surgical."
"I embarrassed you?" I let out a low, dry laugh. "You sat at a table with your mistress and your mother, showing off my ring, while I was flying back from closing a forty-million-dollar deal."
"She is not my mistress!" Jackson snapped, his voice rising. "Sophia’s father is looking for a strategic partner to manage Bennett’s distribution networks! Bringing Sophia into our circle was part of a deal to secure her father's firm for Hale Capital!"
"By giving her my ring?"
"It was a show of good faith!" Jackson argued, leaning across my desk. "Arthur Bennett is an old-school guy, Emma. He wants to see family ties. He wants to know his daughter is surrounded by people of high social standing! My mother suggested we make Sophia feel included, so—"
"So you decided to sell my ring, my dignity, and my company's prospective contract to buy yourself a deal," I concluded.
Jackson straightened up, narrowing his eyes. "It was good for both of us! Once Hale Capital signed Bennett Surgical, I was going to subcontract the logistics operations back to Vance! We would have controlled the entire supply chain together!"
"Under your name," I added.
"What difference does it make whose name is on the contract?!" Jackson shouted, losing his temper completely. "We were getting married in four months! Everything I build belongs to you, and everything you build belongs to me! That’s how a real partnership works!"
I took a deep breath, opened my desk drawer, and pulled out a sleek silver flash drive along with a heavy paper envelope.
I tossed them onto the desk between us.
"That drive contains the complete record of your unauthorized access to Vance Logistics' confidential client databases over the past four months," I said flatly. "The envelope contains a formal cease-and-desist letter from my legal counsel, revoking your advisory status effective immediately."
Jackson stared at the flash drive, his face turning pale. "Emma, don't do this. Don't let a personal misunderstanding destroy our professional synergy."
"There is no synergy, Jackson," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "There is only theft. You tried to quietly siphon Arthur Bennett's eighteen-million-dollar distribution account away from my sales team so you could present it as a Hale Capital win."
"Arthur Bennett won't sign with you without me!" Jackson sneered, his tone turning vicious. "He doesn't trust aggressive, unmarried women who run tech-heavy logistics firms! He trusts me! He trusts the Hale name!"
Before I could answer, my desk phone chimed twice.
I hit the speaker button.
"Emma," Maya’s voice echoed through the room. "Arthur Bennett is on line one for your eight o'clock briefing."
I looked up at Jackson, whose mouth had gone slightly open.
May you like
I picked up the receiver, keeping my eyes locked on my ex-fiancé.
"Good morning, Mr. Bennett," I said smoothly into the microphone. "Thank you for taking my call so early. I believe we have a long-overdue conversation about your cold-chain distribution network."
