Chapter 12 - The New Order|
Two weeks later.
The morning sun broke over the Chicago Loop, painting the sky in pale shades of gold and crisp blue.
Inside the forty-third-floor executive suite of Valon Global Enterprises, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
The executive board of the logistics division sat around the massive mahogany table, whispering nervously among themselves. News of Arthur Cain's sudden disappearance and the total collapse of his financial firm had sent shockwaves through the city's business elite.
The heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open.
Rhett Valon walked into the room.
He wore a tailored dark gray suit, his dark hair neatly styled, his expression set in its usual wall of impenetrable stone.
Walking directly beside him, carrying a thin leather folder, was Isa.
She wore an elegant charcoal wool dress that tailored perfectly to her frame, her dark hair pinned back, her skin glowing and whole. The bruises on her face and neck were completely gone, leaving behind only the striking, intelligent beauty that had always anchored Rhett's world.
The board members went dead silent, several of them sitting up straight in their leather chairs.
Rhett walked to the head of the table, but he didn't sit down. He rested his hands flat on the polished mahogany, his gray eyes sweeping over the assembled executives.
"Good morning," Rhett said, his voice quiet, clear, and commanding. "Before we begin the Q4 shipping manifests, I have an organizational update."
He turned his head slowly, looking at Isa standing beside him.
"Miss Voss is no longer my chief executive assistant," Rhett announced flatly.
A nervous murmur rippled through the room. One senior director, a arrogant man named Henderson, let out a quiet, condescending chuckle.
"Well," Henderson smiled, leaning back in his chair. "It's about time, Mr. Valon. A corporate assistant shouldn't be taking two weeks off for personal matters anyway—"
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Rhett's eyes locked onto Henderson. The temperature in the room instantly plunged to absolute zero.
"You misread the announcement, Henderson," Rhett said, his tone dropping an octave into a register that made the director's smile vanish instantly. "Effective today, Miss Voss is the Vice President of Logistics and Port Authority Operations."
