The storm breaks
1408 Words
(Marcus)
The elevator ride down from the Lawson Enterprises boardroom felt like falling into hell. My hands were shaking so violently I couldn't even press the button for the parking garage. One of the security guards did it for me, his face expressionless as he watched me fall apart.
Fifty floors. Fifty floors to process the fact that my entire world had just exploded.
Sophie Lawson. The CEO of a fifty billion dollar empire. The woman Victoria and I had laughed at in front of the lawyers owned companies in twelve countries.
The elevator doors opened and I stumbled out into the parking garage. My legs felt like rubber. The security guards followed me all the way to my car, making sure I actually left the property. I fumbled with my keys, dropping them twice before managing to unlock the door.
The drive back to Sterling Enterprises was a blur. I kept seeing Sophie's face in that boardroom. The way she'd looked at me when she revealed who she really was. Not angry. Not vindictive. Just cold. Like I was an insect she was deciding whether to step on.
By the time I reached my office building, the full scope of what had happened was sinking in. Sterling Enterprises was finished. Without the Lawson contract, we had maybe three months before bankruptcy. Maybe less. I'd been counting on that deal to save everything.
I took the elevator up to my office, my mind racing. There had to be a way to fix this. Maybe I could call her. Apologize. Explain that I didn't know who she was. Beg for another chance.
But even as I thought it, I knew it was hopeless. The look in her eyes had been final. She wasn't going to forgive me. Not after what Victoria and I had said during the divorce.
My assistant Jennifer looked up as I walked past her desk. "Mr. Sterling? How did the meeting go? Should I prepare the contract documents?"
I stopped walking. Jennifer had been with the company for eight years. She was a good employee. Loyal. Hardworking. In three months, she'd be unemployed because of my stupidity.
"No contracts," I said quietly.
"Sir?"
"No contracts. The deal fell through."
Jennifer's face fell. She knew as well as I did what this meant for the company. "I'm sorry, Mr. Sterling. What happened?"
What happened? Where would I even begin? How could I explain that I'd married one of the richest women in the world without knowing it? That I'd cheated on her and humiliated her and destroyed my own future in the process?
"It doesn't matter what happened," I said. "Just... cancel my appointments for the rest of the day."
I walked into my office and slammed the door behind me. The space that had always felt like a symbol of my success now felt like a tomb. The mahogany desk. The leather chairs. The view of the city skyline. All of it would be gone soon.
I walked to my desk and swept everything off it in one violent motion. Papers scattered across the floor. My computer monitor crashed to the ground. A crystal paperweight Victoria had given me shattered against the wall.
The sound felt good. Destructive. I grabbed a chair and threw it at the window. The glass cracked but didn't break. I needed something heavier.
My phone was ringing. I ignored it. Then it rang again. And again.
Finally, I answered it. "What?"
"Marcus?" Victoria's voice was breathless with excitement. "How did it go? Did you sign the contract? Should I start shopping for that house in the Hamptons?"
The house in the Hamptons. Victoria had been planning our future together based on money I was never going to make. Money from a contract with a woman she'd helped me destroy.
"Victoria," I said slowly. "We have a problem."
"What kind of problem? Marcus, you're scaring me."
Where could I even start? How could I explain this without sounding completely insane?
"The CEO of Lawson Enterprises," I said. "It's Sophie."
Silence on the other end of the line. Then: "What do you mean it's Sophie?"
"I mean Sophie is Sophie Lawson. My ex-wife is the CEO of Lawson Enterprises."
More silence. Then Victoria started laughing. "That's impossible. Sophie was a secretary. A nobody. She couldn't run a lemonade stand, let alone a Fortune 500 company."
"She's not a nobody," I said, the words tasting like poison. "She's worth fifty billion dollars. She was working undercover. She knew everything, Victoria. Everything."
The laughter stopped. "You're serious."
"Dead serious. She played us. She let us think we were smarter than her while she was planning this whole thing."
"But... but that means..."
"That means she heard every word we said when we were having s*x. Every insult. Every cruel joke. She heard all of it and she was planning her revenge."
I heard Victoria's sharp intake of breath. "Oh God. Marcus, what did we do?"
What did we do? We destroyed our own lives, that's what we did. We were so busy feeling superior to a woman we thought was beneath us that we never bothered to find out who she really was.
"There's no contract," I said. "There's never going to be a contract. Sterling Enterprises is finished."
"What about the other companies? Genesis Industries? Phoenix Group? Can't they help?"
The other companies. The ones I'd been selling information to. Information about Lawson Enterprises that I'd thought I could get through my marriage to Sophie.
"She knows about them too," I said. "She has photos. Recordings. Bank records. She knows everything."
My office door burst open and Jennifer rushed in, her face pale with panic. "Mr. Sterling, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are FBI agents in the lobby. They're asking for you."
FBI agents. Of course. If Sophie had evidence of corporate espionage, she'd probably already turned it over to the authorities. I wasn't just facing bankruptcy anymore. I was facing federal charges.
"Tell them I'm not here," I said.
"Sir, they saw you come in. They know you're here."
Through my cracked window, I could see news vans pulling up outside the building. Reporters with cameras were already setting up on the sidewalk. Someone had leaked the story. Probably Sophie herself.
My phone vibrated with a text message. Unknown number.
"You wanted to know what it felt like to be discarded like trash. Now you know. Don't contact me again."
It had to be her. Who else would send a message like that?
I called Victoria back. She answered on the first ring.
"Marcus, I'm watching the news. They're saying you're under investigation for corporate espionage. They're showing footage of FBI agents at your building."
"I have to go," I said. "The FBI is here."
"Where are you going to go? Marcus, this is insane. How did this happen?"
How did this happen? It happened because I was an arrogant fool who thought I could use and discard a woman without consequences. It happened because I underestimated someone I should have respected. It happened because I chose my ego over my common sense.
"I don't know," I said. "I just... I need to think."
"Don't do anything stupid," Victoria said. "We can figure this out. We can hire lawyers. We can fight this."
Fight this? With what money? Sterling Enterprises was broke. I was about to be arrested. Victoria was probably going to distance herself from me as fast as possible once she realized how bad this was going to get.
"I have to go," I said again.
I hung up the phone and walked to my office bar. I poured myself a scotch and drank it in one gulp. Then I poured another one.
Through my door, I could hear voices in the reception area. Official voices. Professional voices. The FBI agents were probably showing Jennifer their badges right now. Asking her questions about my activities. My meetings with competitors.
Everything was falling apart so fast I could barely keep up. This morning I'd been on top of the world. Now I was staring at the ruins of my entire life.
And it was all because of Sophie.
No. It was all because of me. Because of my choices. My arrogance. My stupidity.
The voices were getting closer. Heavy footsteps in the hallway outside my office.
I finished my second scotch and waited for them to knock on my door.
- Writer
