Chapter 195: Hers again
Chapter 195: Hers again
The boardroom fell into an uneasy silence the moment she walked in.
The fiery princess was back.
The woman who could shake everyone's nerve in a sitting was back.
The sound of her heels entering the room was sharp and soft. Her calm presence was a reminder of her legacy.
Eyes followed her as she took her seat at the head of the table, the same seat she had once vacated out of love, trust…and a marriage that had cost her everything.
Her eyes moved from one member to another, not opening the folder on the table in front of her.
“ I won't waste your time.” Eloise began, folding her hands neatly on the table. Her voice was steady, cold, and controlled. “This company is crumbling and you all know that."
A man cleared his throat. Another shifted in his seat.
“ The past few months have been tough.” She continued. “ I've seen a forty-three percent drop in revenue, three investor withdrawals, company image getting worse, and the quiet departure of a senior staff member who once believed this place was worth their loyalty.”
Her eyes lifted, sharp and unblinking. “ All under bad leadership.”
She mentioned no names. She didn't have to.
One of the board members leaned forward. “ Eloise, with all due respect, Isn't it your fault? If you hadn't handed over the company to someone incompetent, then we wouldn't be here, and things wouldn't have gone so bad, and you no longer hold controlling shares so legally..”
“ I'm aware of what I don't own.” She cut in smoothly. “ What I do own is this company's blueprint.”
The members exhaled.
“ I take the blame for the decision I made, and I'm here to make an amendment.” She finally opened the folder, giving the documents to the assistant to share across the table to each members.
“ I built the supply chain you still rely on. I negotiated the partnerships, designed the expansion model my ex-husband dismantled because he mistook ambition for arrogance.”
Her mouth curved, not a smile, but a warning.
“ If lack of shares will make you watch this company burn, then you're no better than the bad leader.”
The room stayed silent.
Eloise leaned back, crossing her legs slowly. “ You don't need shares to vote me in as the CEO. What you need now is a survival instinct.”
Her eyes moved to Mr. Whitetalker who gave her a quiet thumbs up and a smile of approval.
Then she stood up, rested her palms on the table. “ Vote me in, and I stabilize this company within ninety days. Investors return. Lawsuits disappear. Profit margins recover.”
She straightened. “ Or you keep pretending this is a temporary dip and watch the company go down with him.”
Her eyes moved from face to face, unflinching. “ This company was mine, and whether or not my name is currently on those shares…it still answers to me.”
She grabbed her purse and stepped back. “ I'll wait outside, while you all make your decision.” She said and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
She exhaled deeply as she stepped outside, proud of herself and anticipating owning back her company.
Just then, she received a text from Antonio.
~ Remember the gift I said I have for you? ~
A smile broke on her face with her brow furrowed in curiosity. “ What's he up to?” She mouthed.
~ I think you might want it now ~
Another text came in with a link.
“ A link?” She clicked on it without hesitation, and another sex tape of Mason in the office popped up.
Eloise scoffed. Her jaw dropped before a chuckle tore out of her throat.
“ He's always been a whore.” She said in disgust. “ What a bitch.”
She slid back to reply to Antonio. “ Seriously? This deserves to be wrapped.”
~ Wrap it however you desire, love~
“ This will definitely ruin him beyond comprehension.” She mumbled to herself, sliding back at the video that looked like a rape tape.
The woman's face wasn't so visible, the video has no sound, but the level of aggression in the sex, how rough he was handling her seems so much like rape.
Eloise smirked and texted Antonio again. “ How about you wrap it for me, I always trust your designs and ways of wrapping gifts, but blur the face of the other receiver.”
~ As your lordship pleases ~
He replied.
She grinned. Her face beamed at how cute she finds their coded message and how they both understand each other.
‘ Fuck me, Eloise, I'm seriously in love with that annoying man.’ She said helplessly in her mind.
Inside the boardroom, no one spoke, like every single one of them already knew how they were going to vote.
| TWENTY MINUTES LATER |
Eloise giggled as she exited the boardroom with the member, her mind not entirely focused on the chit chat as she couldn't wait to go home and break the news to Antonio.
She's been voted in as the CEO, by all the members.
She appreciated every one of them before their phones started buzzing about the latest news that the media had already taken upon to disclose.
” PENAFORT EX- CEO, MASON CORNAC, CAUGHT IN A RAPE CASE”
” PENAFORT EX- CEO, MASON CORNAC, RAPE OR ROUGH SEX?”
” EX- CEO, MASON CORNAC, RAPE TAPE”
Different headlines from different media stations. Eloise smirked as she listened to the murmurings of the members. With what they were all saying, she became certain, that he'd never be able to show his face to the world again.
“ This is why you don't play fireball with the devil, Mason.” She muttered as she walked away with an evil smirk.
On her way outside, one of the employees walked up to her.
“ Good afternoon ma'am,” she greeted.
“ Good afternoon.”
“ Your driver said you should come to the parking lot, where he'd be waiting for you.”
“ Parking lot?” She furrowed her brow.
‘ Why would Ghost be waiting for me at the lot when he could have just meet me outside?’ She wondered before turning back to the employee and muttering a ‘thank you’
Then she went to take the elevator going to the underground parking lot.
A few seconds passed before the elevator dinged and opened. She inhaled sharply as she stepped out of it only to feel goosebumps all over her body.
But before she could think twice
, a black leather was wrapped over her head and face from the back, immediately tightened by her neck by the unknown person.
Eloise jumped and let out a scream as she was being grabbed and covered but the next second, nothing was heard but silence.