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Multiple people speak, the others nodding along. I hold my tongue and sit patiently, waiting for them to move on to the relevant part.
Finally, Dexter Carville speaks again. “The next order of business is the matter of the construction of the new building this year.”
I sit up straighter.This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for.
“As you all know, we’re looking to expand, and we need a new central location to be able to do that smoothly. The building is already designed, and we have the land purchased and ready. There’s just the matter of who will be awarded the contract for the work. Mrs. Stanton has suggested Oberon for the construction.” He nods to Olivia.
“Yes,” she says, folding her hands on the table in front of her. “I do have a stake in this company, but I can assure you that I personally vouch for their work. I’ve toured their sites, and they’ve managed to combine efficiency and innovation to a marvelous effect.”
“Oberon? I’ve heard they have a habit of cutting corners to get the work finished on time,” one of the women says, glancing at Olivia. “Are we sure we want to entrust such a large contract to them?”
“Their work speaks for itself, Giselle,” Olivia replies coolly. “And as part of an… arrangement between Troy Copeland and myself, it has already been agreed upon that the new building contract will go to Oberon.”
A rush of hot anger sweeps through me. I already know that thearrangementshe’s talking about is the deal she made with Troy for handing me off to marry him, and I hate that she traded me away like currency just to enrich one of the companies she owns.
But that stops now.
“Actually,” I say, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. “That won’t be happening anymore. You made that deal withTroy, but I’m here in Troy’s place, and I don’t agree to award the contract to Oberon.”
My grandmother’s head whips toward me, her eyes opening wide. If the stakes weren’t so high here, I might be amused by the almost comically shocked expression on her face. She shakes her head, her jaw opening and closing a few times before she gets any words out.
“I—you can’t—” She presses her lips together, her eyes blazing. “We had adeal.”
“I know.” I smile calmly. “But I’m sure you’re very familiar with the fact that deals can sometimes change.”
Color rises in her cheeks, and she looks toward Alexander and Stella as if silently urging them to fix this. My stomach twists a little, nerves rising up in me as their gazes meet hers. This is the risky part of our plan. If they side with her, they could ruin my plan.
But my men and I know too much about them for them to risk it. And besides the blackmail we hold over them, there’s one added element that I hope will play into my favor: by now, I think they hate Olivia almost as much as they hate me.
She played off of Troy’s obsession with me to get the marriage arrangement set up, and even though she had to make concessions as well, she negotiated a pretty sweet deal for herself, nabbing herself a spot on the Copeland Corporation’s board and arranging for a lucrative construction project to be awarded to her business, Oberon.
As much as they despise me, Alexander and Stella have some small reason to support me in blocking Oberon being awarded the contract… and no real reason to support Olivia.
So they don’t.
Neither of them say a word, refusing to back her up, and silence fills the boardroom for a long, painfully drawn out minute before Olivia makes a choked noise in the back of her throat.
She sits back in her chair, her jaw snapping shut as she stares fixedly across the table, and I have to fight down a triumphant smile.
It’s my second win against Olivia, and it feels even better than the first.
“Alright, then.” Dexter breaks the silence, nodding once. “We’ll go with a different contractor. That can be decided at our next meeting.”
They move on to other subjects of discussion, and when the meeting finally wraps up, I drag in a deep breath as I rise from my chair.
Members of the board cast curious looks at me as they gather their things, and I wonder if they’re adjusting their initial assessments of me now that I’ve made my first power play. Maybe they think I picked the wrong battle today, but it doesn’t really matter. They don’t have any idea of the true war I’m fighting.
As I step out into the hall, fingers dig into my wrist, stopping me short. I turn around to see Olivia gripping my arm, looking furious and red in the face. I allow myself a moment of satisfaction at how her polite mask is shattered in this moment, then give her a cool look right back.
“Let go of me,” I say. “Or I promise you, you’ll regret it.”
It’s a sign of how much things have shifted between us that she actually does what I tell her to, snatching her hand back as though she’s been burned. But she takes a step closer to me, glaring me down.
“What the hell was that in there?” she hisses.
I cock my head. “What? You didn’t like it? You’re the one who was so desperate for me to marry Troy. Are you having regrets now? I’m just using the power given to me by marriage.”
“You’re fucking with something that has nothing to do with you,” she fires back.
