Chapter 6

As I had been a virgin up until recently, the embarrassment I felt from having a drinking and bed partner was still new to me. It was worth noting that I hadn't exactly planned to sleep with my new boss, and it was also worth noting that my immediate reaction was to lower my gaze to the ground and shrink into my chair. If I hid, then maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't see me.

"As I was saying, Lucius is in charge of operations in the real estate sector of Brown Enterprise in our country. With his experience as well as his connections around the world, we hope to spread our wings as a large majority of you have requested," my father spoke with a noticeable touch of resentment.

He hadn't wanted to do this of his own free will. Now that I was reading the documents on the table, I saw that out of the 60% of net investments he owned, he had sold 50% to Lucius, 4% to Andrew, and kept the remaining 6% for himself. Somehow, Lucius Brown had given a better offer to my father and thus became our new owner. Not only that, I’d heard that surname before in the news—Brown Enterprise was a Camerian company that had bought over one of the most important gas refineries in this country. Whoever the Browns were, they were coming in hard here.

In short, I had given my virginity to a stranger, slept with my new boss, and my new boss had more money than I could imagine. I was sweating in places I didn't even know I could sweat in. My hands were trembling, and I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom.

"Why is that guy staring at you so much?" Andrew complained angrily in my ear.

I made the mistake of looking in Lucius's direction, and my heart skipped a beat. He was watching me silently. Only me. His face was the picture of professionalism, but it was as if his eyes were smiling at me. He had seen and recognized me. I stopped looking at him, turning my head away sharply.

"He’s not. Stop interrupting my document reading, sir." I acted as if I wasn't nervous. I was a terrible actress.

"Pfff," my ex-fiance snorted bitterly.

"It's a pleasure to have you as part of the Fairmount family. We'll make these meetings as entertaining as possible whenever you have to stop by," Owen, another old shareholder, joked.

"We wouldn’t want to interfere with your other business ventures. And start full-on with the internationalization strategy we’ve planned. You should find a brief summary on this in Appendix B," George, another company director, informed.

I saw Lucius smirking slightly. It seemed mocking, but I didn’t look at him much out of caution. The conflicted look on my father’s face was even stranger. I had never seen him like this.

But the most shocking thing was that instead of sitting in his usual spot at the head of the table, he was sitting in the seat to the right. It was a subtle act that confused everyone. I knew most people here wanted to gossip, though they held back.

Lucius rested his hands on the boardroom table. "I think there's a misunderstanding here that you still can’t see," he spoke slowly, looking at each of us, "I won’t be a distant investor in this company’s operations. I will participate actively in its operations."

"How actively?" Dominic asked cautiously.

"Very actively. I will assume the role of President of Fairmount Corporation," he announced, straightening up.

His news sparked worried comments and confusion among the shareholders, but Lucius clearly didn’t care about being the center of controversy. As if it were a picnic, he sat in the chair that had been my father’s for years and started reading the contents of the black folder.

I had wanted to run away before, but now I wanted to jump off the roof at lunchtime. Lucius’s involvement went beyond ownership. It was one thing to be the company owner, but another thing to actively take on the highest position in the company. That was the position my father formerly held.

It was the position that Andrew had fought so hard for. When I looked at Andrew, he seemed to be on the verge of a heart attack at the young age of 27 years old. My father didn’t look much better either; he seemed rather worn out and tired. Not that I cared about his health or feelings—I didn’t, not at all.

My father spoke to quiet the noise, "I ask for your understanding and cooperation. We all know that the company doesn’t have enough capital to expand as you wish. Our numbers haven't been great lately, and we are being devoured by our competition."

"I understand it might be problematic to have a stranger like me in charge. But you must also understand that I needed to personally oversee an acquisition like this. It is a measure that might change in the future," Lucius explained.

"And how will it change?" Andrew asked, not hiding his annoyance.

"If I can confirm that Fairmount Corporation can sustain itself and give me the numbers I expect, I can delegate my position to whoever impresses me with their abilities," Lucius argued. "At that point, I’d move on to a new investment."

Such a proposal calmed the waters in an incredible way. I saw ambition in most of them, and Andrew was no different. That boardroom had turned into a pack of lions eager to dominate the others.

I continued to smell the ambition of those men for the rest of the meeting. I also kept avoiding Lucius’s gaze. It was powerful and intimidating in the daylight. I didn’t even know how the hell I had managed to go to a hotel room with him.

The long three-hour meeting had finally ended. The attendees were leaving, and I was one of the first planning to leave. The good news was that Lucius didn’t address me at any point during the meeting. No one did, actually. I stood up and started picking up the documents we had discussed when—

"Marianne. I want to talk to you."

Hearing my name being spoken by Lucius’s voice made my poor heart falter. Also, those who remained were surprised by this interaction. No look was more curious than Andrew’s, though he followed my father out as he left.

I was forced to face Lucius. I slowly turned on my heels. The sound of the door closing with the last man leaving the room resonated in me.

"Tell me, Mr. Brown. Or rather, Attorney Brown. How would you like me to address you?" I said, wetting my lips nervously and standing at such a distance that it was laughable. I feared him, feared for my life.