Chapter 13 - The Boardroom Queen
The massive,
sleek black limousine pulled smoothly,
quietly up to the towering,
glittering glass skyscraper that proudly,
majestically served as the global,
imposing headquarters of Vance International.
It had been exactly,
precisely six full,
busy months since Julian had been permanently,
securely locked away in his cold,
dark federal prison cell,
and my entirely,
completely new life was progressing rapidly,
beautifully.
I stepped confidently,
gracefully out of the luxurious,
expensive vehicle,
wearing a sharp,
blood-red designer power suit that perfectly,
flawlessly accentuated my strong,
recovering figure.
A massive,
respectful entourage of senior,
highly paid executives and serious,
intimidating security personnel immediately,
seamlessly surrounded me,
escorting me quickly,
efficiently through the grand,
marble-floored lobby.
Today was incredibly,
monumentally important,
as it was my very first,
official time personally,
solely leading the massive,
annual board of directors meeting.
Eleanor had wisely,
generously decided to temporarily,
partially step back from the exhausting,
daily corporate operations,
allowing me the perfect,
unprecedented opportunity to fully,
completely establish my own fierce,
unquestionable authority.
I walked smoothly,
purposefully into the massive,
glass-walled executive boardroom,
which was currently,
densely packed with the wealthiest,
most arrogant,
and incredibly powerful corporate titans in the entire,
sprawling industry.
As I entered the large,
imposing room,
every single,
wealthy man immediately,
respectfully stopped talking,
standing up quickly,
anxiously from their plush,
expensive leather chairs.
I walked slowly,
deliberately to the very head of the massive,
polished mahogany table,
placing my sleek,
expensive digital tablet down with a sharp,
authoritative click.
"Please,
gentlemen,
be seated immediately,"
I commanded smoothly,
coldly,
my voice completely,
utterly devoid of any nervous,
girlish hesitation.
They all sat down quickly,
obediently,
their sharp,
calculating eyes fixed entirely,
intensely upon my calm,
composed face.
To my immediate,
sharp left sat Arthur Pendelton,
a wealthy,
arrogant,
and incredibly slimy corporate billionaire who had been a long-time,
bitter rival of my brilliant,
beloved mother.
He had been quietly,
secretly attempting to aggressively,
ruthlessly acquire several of our smaller,
vulnerable subsidiary companies,
foolishly,
arrogantly believing that my sudden,
unexpected arrival meant the Vance corporate empire was temporarily,
fatally weak.
"Miss Vance,"
Arthur began smoothly,
condescendingly,
leaning back arrogantly,
lazily in his large,
plush leather chair,
a sickening,
fake smile plastered firmly,
tightly across his aging,
wrinkled face.
"We are all incredibly,
deeply thrilled to finally,
officially welcome you into this complex,
difficult corporate fold,
but surely you must deeply,
truly realize that managing a massive,
global conglomerate requires decades of hard,
ruthless experience."
He paused dramatically,
smugly,
looking around the large,
silent table,
trying to implicitly,
subtly rally the other wealthy,
arrogant men to his foolish,
doomed cause.
"Perhaps,"
Arthur suggested quietly,
slyly,
"you should strongly,
seriously consider allowing my highly experienced,
veteran management firm to temporarily,
partially oversee your extensive,
complex international logistics division until you learn the difficult,
complicated ropes."
I did not blink,
frown,
or react emotionally,
visibly in any way whatsoever.
Instead,
I tapped my sleek,
expensive silver tablet exactly,
precisely once,
instantly,
seamlessly projecting a massive,
highly detailed financial document onto the large,
glowing screen behind me.
"Arthur,"
I said coldly,
sharply,
refusing completely,
absolutely to grant him the basic,
undeserved respect of using his formal,
proper title.
"I spent the entirety of last night thoroughly,
meticulously reviewing the highly confidential,
complex financial records of your deeply,
fatally flawed logistics firm."
Arthur's sickening,
smug smile instantly,
rapidly vanished,
replaced completely,
suddenly by a look of sheer,
unadulterated confusion and rapidly,
growing panic.
"You are currently,
desperately over-leveraged by nearly two billion,
massive dollars,
and your primary,
crucial overseas supply chain is completely,
utterly collapsing due to gross,
incompetent mismanagement,"
I stated loudly,
clearly,
my voice echoing powerfully,
ruthlessly throughout the completely,
stunned silent room.
I leaned forward slowly,
intimidatingly,
locking my bright,
piercing blue eyes directly,
unforgivingly onto his pale,
sweating face.
"Not only will I completely,
absolutely refuse your pathetic,
insulting offer,
but I have already,
aggressively initiated a massive,
hostile takeover of your remaining,
profitable assets."
Arthur choked loudly,
violently,
his face turning a bright,
sickly shade of pale,
terrified purple.
"You cannot possibly,
legally do that!"
he sputtered frantically,
desperately,
looking around wildly,
hopelessly for any tiny,
shred of support from the other silent,
terrified board members.
"I just did,"
I replied smoothly,
coldly,
a tiny,
ruthless smirk playing softly,
faintly on my bright,
red lips.
"By tomorrow morning,
your entire,
pathetic corporate legacy will belong entirely,
completely to me,
and you will be permanently,
forcefully removed from this respected,
elite board of directors."
The entire,
massive room was completely,
utterly silent,
every single,
powerful man realizing instantly,
terrifyingly that Clara Vance was just as ruthless,
deadly,
and absolutely unstoppable as the legendary,
May you like
terrifying woman who had miraculously,
joyfully given birth to her.
