Chapter 13 - The Woman at the Boardroom Door
The emergency board hearing began at nine the next morning.
I was not invited.
So I went anyway.
When the elevator doors opened on the executive floor, every assistant looked up.
Nobody spoke.
I wore black trousers, a red blouse, and enough confidence to survive a firing squad.
Sienna stood outside the boardroom.
She smiled when she saw me.
“Does Luca know you’re coming?”
“No.”
“Excellent.”
“Why excellent?”
“He’s unbearable when surprised.”
I almost laughed.
Inside, lawyers were arguing over the fake agreement.
Victor insisted he had never seen it before publication.
Felix Dunn had stopped answering calls.
Carlo had already provided a sworn statement.
Still, Victor fought.
Then the boardroom door opened.
I entered.
Luca stopped speaking.
Our eyes met.
For a second, everyone disappeared.
Then Victor said,
“This meeting is confidential.”
I looked at him.
“So was my employment file.”
Silence.
I placed the flash drive on the table.
“Carlo Rinaldi provided this.”
Victor’s face changed.
Very slightly.
Enough.
The company attorney connected the drive.
Draft after draft appeared.
Language identical to the leaked fake agreement.
Metadata connected files to Felix Dunn.
One email changed everything.
From Felix to Victor.
If Bennett leaves voluntarily, the story dies. If she stays, publish Plan B.
Nobody moved.
Victor’s face went white.
He stood.
“This is taken out of context.”
A board member laughed.
“What context makes this acceptable?”
“I never instructed publication.”
“You approved the strategy.”
“I was protecting shareholders.”
Luca’s voice became quiet.
“You threatened her family.”
“I didn’t.”
“Your attorney did.”
“Without authorization.”
“Then why is your name on the email?”
Victor looked toward the door.
Sienna stepped in front of it.
Not threatening.
Just present.
He sat.
The board suspended him immediately.
External investigators took over.
Felix Dunn was referred to authorities.
Carlo’s cooperation protected him from some consequences but not all.
For the first time in weeks, it felt like the war might actually end.
Then the chairman asked me to stay.
Victor was escorted out.
The room emptied until only Luca, three directors, and I remained.
The chairman folded his hands.
“Ms. Bennett, there is still a concern regarding your employment.”
My stomach tightened.
“What concern?”
“Not misconduct.”
“Then what?”
“Perception.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course.”
“You now hold a senior strategy position while publicly involved with Mr. Moretti.”
I looked at Luca.
He said nothing.
Good.
He had learned.
“What are you suggesting?”
“We can move your role under an independent subsidiary.”
“No.”
The chairman blinked.
“No?”
“I earned the position I have.”
“Yes.”
“I will not be moved because strangers online think I slept my way into it.”
The older man looked uncomfortable.
Good.
I continued.
“If my performance fails, fire me.”
Luca’s mouth almost curved.
“If my performance succeeds, leave me alone.”
One director nodded.
The chairman sighed.
“Reasonable.”
“Thank you.”
The meeting ended.
I gathered my bag.
Luca remained near the windows.
For the first time in weeks, we were alone in his office.
He looked at me.
“You were magnificent.”
“That sounds dangerously close to flirting with an employee.”
“You don’t report to me.”
“Technicality.”
“I’ve always liked those.”
I smiled.
Then silence settled.
“So,” he said.
“So.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Coming.”
“I came for myself.”
“I know.”
That answer mattered.
“I also came because I refuse to let Victor win.”
“Reasonable.”
“And because…”
I stopped.
Luca waited.
Old Luca would have pushed.
New Luca simply waited.
“I missed you.”
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
“I missed you too.”
“I’m still angry.”
“I know.”
“I still don’t trust you completely.”
“I know.”
“You may never be allowed to make a decision for me again.”
“That seems administratively difficult.”
“Luca.”
“Sorry.”
I laughed.
He stepped closer, then stopped several feet away.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“Was the kiss real?”
I stared.
“The library?”
“Yes.”
“Obviously.”
Relief moved across his face.
I hadn’t realized he doubted it.
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t know whether you regretted it.”
“I regretted the timing.”
“Not the kiss?”
“No.”
He looked toward my mouth.
My pulse betrayed me.
“May I kiss you now?”
The question broke something open inside me.
Luca Moretti asking.
Not assuming.
Not deciding.
Asking.
I walked toward him.
“No.”
His expression fell.
I stopped inches away.
“Not yet.”
Hope returned.
“When?”
“When this isn’t happening because the world is ending.”
He nodded.
“Fair.”
“When there’s no board vote.”
“Yes.”
“No fake contract.”
“Yes.”
“No family ambush.”
“Yes.”
“No corporate coup.”
“That one may be difficult.”
I laughed.
Then I touched his hand.
“Ask me again when we’re normal.”
Luca looked down at our joined fingers.
“Emma.”
“What?”
“We have never been normal.”
I smiled.
“That’s true.”
Outside his office, people returned to work.
Phones rang.
Elevators opened.
For the first time since Christmas, Moretti Holdings sounded like a company again instead of a battlefield.
Then Luca’s phone buzzed.
He read the message.
His face changed.
“What?”
He handed it to me.
A notification from the family attorney.
FINAL TRUST REVIEW — JANUARY 3.
The corporate scandal was ending.
But the trust remained.
If Luca was unmarried on his thirty-fifth birthday, Victor’s removal might not matter.
The voting authority could still pass according to the original documents.
I looked at Luca.
“What are you going to do?”
He took the phone back.
“I don’t know.”
For once, I believed him.
And for once, he wasn’t looking at me like I was the solution.
May you like
That was exactly why, for the first time, I started wondering whether I wanted to be.
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