Chapter 5 - ROMAN VALE DOESN'T MAKE PROMISES|
Roman Vale's office occupied the top three floors of a glass building overlooking the Chicago River.
Claire arrived on Tuesday morning carrying a leather portfolio and wearing a dark blue suit that concealed the bruise along her cheek.
She had not come to ask for rescue.
She had come to discuss the forged contract.
Daniel Price greeted her at reception and escorted her into a conference room. Roman was already there, reviewing a stack of documents.
He stood when she entered.
“Claire.”
“Mr. Vale.”
“Roman is fine.”
“Then Claire is fine.”
He gestured toward a chair.
They reviewed the disputed loan guarantee, the altered invoices, and the outstanding gala payment. Roman's legal team had identified inconsistencies in the documents, but none had yet established who created them.
Claire listened carefully.
“Can your company help determine whether the guarantee is enforceable?”
“Our lawyers can explain our position and cooperate with the review. Your attorney should independently assess your rights.”
“Good answer.”
Roman looked amused.
“I was hoping you'd prefer an honest one.”
“I've had enough of people telling me what I want to hear.”
They discussed the evidence for nearly an hour.
Roman never suggested that Claire sell her company, accept his financial help, or allow his staff to manage her affairs. When he offered access to an independent forensic accounting team, he made it clear that the arrangement would be documented and that Claire could choose her own experts.
She accepted the introduction, not the assumption that she owed him anything.
At the end of the meeting, Roman closed the folder.
“May I ask you something unrelated to the investigation?”
“That depends on the question.”
“Why did you stay with Ethan for four years after you realized he didn't respect your work?”
Claire considered the question.
“Because he wasn't always like that. Or perhaps I only noticed the bad parts when I was already invested.”
Roman nodded.
“People rarely change all at once. They change a little at a time, and we keep adjusting our expectations until we no longer recognize the arrangement.”
She studied him.
“That sounds personal.”
“It is.”
He didn't elaborate.
Claire decided not to push.
As she stood, Roman walked her to the elevator.
“There's a charity board meeting next week,” he said. “Your company handled the event last year. We need a new proposal.”
“You're hiring C.W. Atelier?”
“If your team wants the work.”
“Even after the gala?”
“Especially after the gala. I won't punish your employees because someone else behaved badly.”
Claire felt a warmth she had not expected.
“Send the brief to my office. We'll submit a proposal like any other vendor.”
“Agreed.”
The elevator arrived.
Before the doors closed, Roman said, “One more thing.”
Claire looked up.
“You don't have to prove you're strong by pretending the slap didn't hurt.”
She stared at him.
“I wasn't pretending.”
“Good.”
He stepped back.
“I just wanted you to know that being hurt doesn't make you weak.”
The doors closed before she could answer.
That evening, Claire returned to her office and found her team waiting with a cake.
Someone had seen the news coverage. The gala incident had spread across social media, although the most sensational posts contained incomplete information.
Her employees were angry.
Her operations director, Melissa, stood beside the conference table.
“We want to know what we can do.”
Claire looked around the room.
“Keep doing your jobs. Preserve the records. Let Rebecca handle the legal issues. And don't let anyone convince you that our company is responsible for something we didn't authorize.”
The team applauded.
For the first time since the slap, Claire felt surrounded by people who understood her worth without needing to compare it with a man's.
Later, she received an email from Roman's office containing the charity board's project brief.
Attached was a list of competing bidders.
One name made her stop breathing.
Northstar Advisory.
May you like
Ethan's company had submitted a proposal using C.W. Atelier's confidential pricing structure.
And the submission had been timestamped two days before the ballroom incident.
