Chapter 19 - The Dawn of a New Corporate Empire and the Retirement of the Yellow Mop Bucket
The incredibly bright and warm morning sun finally rose slowly over the beautiful and glittering Chicago skyline,
casting long and highly dramatic shadows across the completely peaceful and quiet city,
marking the absolute end of the short but incredibly devastating syndicate war.
I sat quietly and completely exhausted behind the massive mahogany desk in my luxurious corner office on the fiftieth floor,
my tired but incredibly satisfied eyes scanning the completely clean and completely legitimate corporate financial reports.
Whitmore Industries was now completely and entirely secure,
every single trace of Richard Hale's highly corrupt and massive embezzlement scheme had been meticulously and perfectly erased,
and the massive corporate entity was finally operating as a completely honest,
legitimate,
and incredibly profitable global business.
The heavy and solid oak doors of my beautiful office opened slowly and quietly,
and Ethan walked calmly and confidently into the large and sunlit room.
He was absolutely no longer hiding behind the humble and completely deceptive guise of a quiet maintenance worker,
and he was absolutely no longer carrying that old and highly recognizable yellow mop bucket.
He wore a stunning,
flawless,
and incredibly expensive dark tailored suit,
looking exactly like the incredibly powerful,
untouchable,
and highly respected billionaire CEO that he truly and absolutely was.
"The massive and highly complex corporate restructuring is completely finalized,
Claire,"
he announced warmly and proudly,
walking slowly across the soft carpet to stand directly beside my large leather chair.
"The corrupt corporate board has been completely and entirely purged,
the stolen and highly vulnerable international funds are completely secured,
and the city is finally completely at peace under my absolute and undisputed control."
I looked up at his handsome and rugged face,
a genuine and incredibly happy smile slowly breaking through my profound and heavy physical exhaustion.
"I suppose that absolutely means you will no longer need to secretly sweep the corporate lobby floors anymore,"
I teased him gently,
reaching out slowly to lightly touch the incredibly expensive and fine fabric of his dark suit sleeve.
He laughed softly and deeply,
a warm,
rich,
and incredibly captivating sound that completely filled the quiet and peaceful office.
"I will absolutely always highly cherish the profound and incredible things I learned while quietly pushing that mop,
Claire,"
he replied sincerely and honestly,
his dark eyes locking fiercely and passionately onto mine.
"Because if I had absolutely never humbled myself to become a simple janitor in this massive building,
I would have absolutely never met the incredibly brave,
fierce,
and brilliant woman who completely saved my entire empire."
He gently and carefully reached down to his side,
placing a highly familiar,
battered,
and heavily dented steel thermos completely gently onto the polished surface of my expensive desk.
"I absolutely want you to keep this completely safe for me,"
he whispered softly and intimately,
leaning down significantly closer until his warm and highly intoxicating breath completely brushed against my burning cheek.
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"It is a constant and highly important reminder of exactly where I came from,
and a permanent reminder of the beautiful woman who bought a tired janitor a warm cup of black coffee."
