Chapter Eighteen
1115 Words
Chapter Eighteen
Nia’s POV
Callum was waiting outside the boardroom when I arrived.
That was how I knew it was bad.
He stood near the glass doors with his phone in one hand and his jaw tight. The moment he saw me, his expression shifted.
“Tell me,” I said.
His eyes moved over my face. “They called an emergency meeting.”
“I figured.”
I looked through the glass.
The board was already seated. Mom sat near Dad, her lips pressed together, her posture perfect. Dad’s face was unreadable.
Of course, it was.
“Do you want me to handle the first part?” Callum asked.
“No.”
“Nia.”
“If they’re going to talk about me, they can do it while looking at me.”
His gaze softened.
I opened the door before he could say anything else.
The conversation stopped the moment I stepped inside.
Every face turned toward me.
I walked to my seat and sat down without lowering my eyes.
Callum took the chair beside me.
Mr. Harrington, one of the older board members, cleared his throat. “Ms. Caldwell, this meeting was called because the current situation has become impossible to ignore.”
“The current situation,” I repeated.
“The public scandal,” another board member said. “The divorce. The article. The questions surrounding your relationship with Mr. Reed.”
Callum’s chair shifted beside me.
“There is no relationship,” he said calmly. “Not the kind you’re implying.”
“With respect,” Mr. Harrington said, though his tone held none, “You are not a board member. Since your employment is part of today’s discussion, we ask that you step outside.”
“No,” Callum said.
Several people stiffened.
His voice stayed even. “I’ve worked for this company for years. I’ve kept its finances clean, secured lender confidence, and protected its growth through restructuring. If you want to fire me because of a gossip article, at least have the courage to say it plainly.”
“Callum,” I said quietly.
He looked at me.
“I’ve got this,” I said.
For a moment, he looked like he wanted to argue.
Then he stood.
Before he left, he looked around the table. “If any of you think removing Ms. Caldwell will stabilize this company, you haven’t been paying attention to who’s been holding it together.”
The door closed behind him.
The silence he left behind was heavier than the one before.
Mom folded her hands on the table.
“Nia, no one wants to hurt you.”
I almost laughed.
That was always how pain started in this family.
With someone promising they didn’t mean it.
“This company needs stability,” she continued. “Until the scandal is handled, it may be best for you to step back temporarily.”
“And who would take my place?” I asked.
Her hesitation told me everything.
Then she said, “Sienna could help.”
My heart gave one hard, painful beat.
“Sienna,” I repeated.
“She was raised in this world,” Mom said quickly. “She was groomed for the position before we found you.”
Across the table, someone snickered.
Mom’s head turned sharply.
Ms. Peters leaned back in her chair, her mouth curved with open contempt. “Does Sienna know how to do anything other than shop or try to steal her sister’s husband?”
The room froze.
For one brief, humiliating second, I thought Mom might finally stay silent.
She didn’t.
“That’s unnecessary slander,” she snapped. “Sienna has been through enough. She’s still my daughter, and I won’t have her mocked in this room.”
My chest tightened.
Of course.
Even now.
Mom could find her voice for Sienna.
She could defend Sienna without hesitation. She could sharpen her tone and demand respect. She could protect the daughter everyone saw as delicate, wounded, and wronged.
But when the world was calling me a cheater and dragging my unborn children through dirt, she told me to apologize.
I looked away before anyone could see what that did to me.
Then I stood.
The room quieted.
“You want to discuss stability?” I said. “Fine. Let’s discuss it.”
I opened the folder and placed the first report on the table.
“In the last eighteen months, Caldwell Group’s operating margins increased by twelve percent. We renegotiated three supplier contracts that saved this company millions. I led the restructure of the technology division when half this board wanted to sell it at a loss.”
No one interrupted.
Good.
I placed another sheet down.
“I secured the Northbridge partnership after two competitors underbid us. I rebuilt the investor strategy that kept our credit rating steady. I expanded the software unit that you now seem very eager to protect from my supposed instability.”
My voice grew steadier.
“This company is not standing because society approves of my marriage. It’s standing because I’ve worked every day to make sure it does.”
Mr. Harrington’s expression tightened. “Your accomplishments are not in question.”
“Yes, they are,” I said. “The moment you suggested replacing me with someone whose main qualification is that she looks better beside a champagne tower, you made them the question.”
Mom flinched.
I didn’t stop.
“You don’t have to like my divorce. You don’t have to like the article. But if you want me removed, put it in writing. Explain to investors that Caldwell Group dismissed its acting lead because an anonymous gossip page printed a rumor.”
The board members looked at one another.
No one wanted their name attached to that.
Finally, Mr. Harrington sighed. “One week.”
I stayed still.
“You have one week to stabilize the situation,” he said. “Reassure investors. Control the media narrative. Restore confidence. Then we reconvene.”
One week.
It wasn’t a victory.
But it wasn’t defeat.
“I’ll take it,” I said.
Chairs shifted. Papers closed. The meeting began to break apart.
Dad passed behind me on his way to the door.
For a second, I thought he would say something.
He only placed a hand on my shoulder.
One silent pat.
Then he left.
I stood there, staring at the empty doorway, wondering why a touch that small could hurt more than an insult.
The boardroom door flew open.
My assistant rushed in, her face white.
“Ms. Caldwell.”
Everyone turned.
She looked at me, breathless.
“The core intel of the new software was leaked.”
- Writer
