Chapter 13 - Nathaniel's Warning And The Corporate Backlash
Nathaniel stepped into the East Wing,
holding a thick manila folder under his arm,
his expression unusually grim.
He paused when he saw Grace,
giving her a respectful nod before turning his attention entirely to Caleb.
"Boss,"
Nathaniel said,
his voice low and urgent.
"You need to see this."
Caleb stepped away from Grace,
taking the manila folder and flipping open the heavy cardstock cover.
Grace instinctively moved to give them privacy,
stepping toward the doorway,
but Caleb raised a hand to stop her.
"Stay,
Grace,"
Caleb commanded gently.
"Nothing here is a secret from you."
Grace stopped,
watching as Caleb’s eyes scanned the documents inside the folder.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Sloane's father,"
Nathaniel explained grimly,
"just pulled his investment group out of the upcoming software acquisition.
He's also calling in favors across the board,
trying to pressure our regional partners into breaking contracts with us."
Sloane’s father,
Arthur Mercer,
was a ruthless real estate tycoon with deep ties to old-money syndicates in New York.
He had always tolerated Caleb because of the lucrative merger,
but now,
with his daughter publicly dumped and humiliated in front of three hundred elite guests,
he was out for total corporate blood.
"He thinks he can cripple us over a broken engagement,"
Caleb said,
his voice terrifyingly calm as he closed the manila folder.
"He's underestimating how fragile his own holdings are,
boss,"
Nathaniel warned.
"Arthur has overextended himself on three commercial developments in Manhattan.
If we call in our debts and trigger the default clauses today,
his entire empire will start crumbling by sundown."
Grace listened in stunned silence,
realizing the massive stakes of the world she had just stepped into.
Caleb looked down at the documents,
then raised his eyes to meet Grace's worried gaze.
May you like
Instead of looking stressed or panicked,
a cold, brilliant smile touched the corners of Caleb’s mouth.
