Chapter 7 - The VoteOlivia learned that her new company was allegedly a fraudulent romantic gift from a billionaire while brushing her teeth.
Her phone began vibrating across the bathroom counter.
Then Julian’s.
Then hers again.
She looked at him in the mirror.
He was shaving.
“Are we popular?”
“We’re always popular.”
“That sounds arrogant.”
“It’s observational.”
Her phone buzzed a fifth time.
Olivia rinsed her mouth.
“Marcus.”
She answered.
“You have twenty seconds before I return to oral hygiene.”
Marcus sounded panicked.
“Please don’t open the internet.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
“That sentence has never preceded anything good.”
Julian stopped shaving.
“What?”
She put Marcus on speaker.
“What happened?”
“There are photos.”
Olivia looked at Julian.
“What kind?”
“The kind where you’re standing extremely close.”
“That’s scandalous. We’ve been publicly dating for months.”
“There’s an article claiming Julian diverted company money to create Parker Creative Lab as a personal gift.”
Julian’s expression became still.
Marcus continued.
“They’re saying the subsidiary was designed to bypass board oversight and funnel corporate contracts to you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I know. But someone leaked internal budget documents.”
Julian wiped shaving cream from his face.
“Which documents?”
“The preliminary authorization.”
Julian swore.
Olivia stared.
“You swear before coffee?”
“This deserves an exception.”
The documents in question were real.
They were also misleading without context.
Early in the planning process, Julian had authorized an exploratory budget for the incubator before Olivia was formally considered to lead it. Once she became a candidate, he recused himself.
The leaked version stopped before that part.
By eight-thirty, journalists surrounded the Blackwood headquarters.
Parker Creative Lab had reporters outside too.
Olivia arrived through the underground garage.
Marcus met her at the elevator.
“You look terrifying.”
“I’m wearing yesterday’s anger with today’s mascara.”
“It works.”
Inside the office, employees were whispering.
Olivia hated it.
Not because they were judging.
Because she recognized the uncertainty in their faces.
These people had left secure jobs to join her new company.
They deserved answers.
She walked into the open workspace.
“Everyone.”
The room quieted.
“I assume you’ve seen the article.”
Several people nodded.
“Good. Saves time.”
Marcus looked nervous.
Olivia continued.
“The documents are real. The interpretation is not. Julian approved exploratory funding before I was a candidate for this position. Once I entered consideration, he removed himself from the process. An independent committee chose me.”
Someone near the windows raised a hand.
Olivia recognized Priya, their senior brand strategist.
“Can that be proven?”
“Yes.”
“Then why isn’t the company responding publicly?”
“Because legal counsel is allergic to speed.”
A few people laughed.
Good.
She needed them breathing.
“Here’s what matters,” Olivia said. “No one on this team is obligated to stay because of loyalty to me. If you believe this company was created through favoritism or fraud, ask questions. Review whatever records become available. Decide based on evidence.”
She looked around.
“But I will not ask anyone to trust me blindly. Blind trust is how Blackwood Industries ended up investigating thirty years of buried decisions in the first place.”
Silence.
Then Priya nodded.
“Fair.”
Marcus raised his hand.
“Yes?”
“I trust you blindly.”
“That’s because you once locked yourself out of your apartment while holding the key.”
“It was complicated.”
“Your opinion carries reduced evidentiary value.”
The team laughed again.
The pressure loosened.
At headquarters, Julian was having a far worse morning.
By noon, three board members wanted an emergency vote.
Not on Olivia.
On him.
Vivian arrived without invitation.
Jennifer tried to stop her.
Vivian walked past.
“I’m family.”
Jennifer looked exhausted.
“That phrase does not legally override security procedures.”
“It worked emotionally.”
Julian looked up as Vivian entered his office.
“What are you doing here?”
“Helping.”
“That’s concerning.”
She dropped a folder on his desk.
“The leak came from Lawrence Bell.”
Julian stood.
“Proof?”
“My attorney has been monitoring communications tied to the European accounts.”
“Why?”
“Because unlike you, I don’t assume rich old men stop being dangerous because they’ve been escorted out of a building.”
He opened the folder.
Email records.
Encrypted transfers.
A journalist’s payment routed through a consulting group.
Julian looked at Vivian.
“How did you get this?”
“I know people.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It wasn’t intended to be.”
He read quickly.
Lawrence was not merely retaliating.
He was trying to force Julian out before the forensic investigation reached certain overseas entities.
“If the board removes you,” Vivian said, “the investigation can be slowed.”
“Or stopped.”
“Exactly.”
Julian looked toward the windows.
“My father warned me.”
“About Bell?”
“About people claiming to protect the company.”
Vivian leaned against the desk.
“Then stop letting him define the battlefield.”
Julian gave her a long look.
“You sound like Olivia.”
“Stop insulting me.”
He laughed despite himself.
At two, the emergency board meeting began.
Olivia arrived at two-ten.
She was not invited.
Again.
This time she did not pretend otherwise.
Jennifer intercepted her.
“You cannot go in.”
“I’m aware.”
“Olivia.”
“I just want to talk to Julian.”
“He’s in the middle of a vote.”
“That’s why I want to talk to him.”
Jennifer lowered her voice.
“They’re trying to remove him as CEO.”
“I know.”
“You going inside could make the conflict-of-interest argument worse.”
Olivia stopped.
Jennifer was right.
She hated that.
“What can I do?”
“Nothing.”
“That is unacceptable.”
“I know.”
Olivia paced.
Then stopped.
“Actually, no.”
“What?”
“I can do my job.”
Twenty minutes later, every major business journalist covering the scandal received a public statement from Parker Creative Lab.
It did not defend Julian.
It disclosed Olivia’s selection process.
Every score.
Every reviewer.
Every competing candidate anonymized.
The full timeline showed Julian recusing himself.
Olivia also announced that Parker Creative Lab would submit to independent external governance for its first two years and that she would voluntarily waive any Blackwood-related performance bonus until the investigation concluded.
Marcus read the draft.
“That’s aggressive.”
“Good.”
“You’re giving up a lot of money.”
“Also good.”
“Julian is going to be furious.”
“Excellent.”
The statement went live.
Inside the boardroom, phones began buzzing.
One director checked his.
Then another.
Julian looked down.
He read Olivia’s statement.
His jaw tightened.
Lawrence Bell participated remotely through legal counsel, no longer formally seated but still controlling two allied directors.
One of them, Kenneth Rowe, spoke.
“This does not resolve the central issue. Julian demonstrated reckless judgment by pursuing a romantic relationship with a subordinate.”
Julian leaned back.
“That relationship has already been reviewed.”
“It reflects a pattern.”
“What pattern?”
“Emotional decision-making.”
Julian almost smiled.
“You’re accusing me of emotion?”
“You threatened resignation when the board questioned the relationship.”
“Yes.”
“You launched a subsidiary she now controls.”
“The independent committee appointed her.”
“You’ve compromised yourself.”
Julian looked around the table.
“Perhaps.”
Several directors shifted.
He continued.
“I met Olivia before she worked here. I wanted to see her again. That influenced my desire to consider her application.”
A murmur.
“But I did not create her talent. I did not build her portfolio. I did not produce the campaign results that justified her promotion.”
He tapped the table.
“If you want to remove me because I disclosed that conflict and then recused myself from her later appointment, vote.”
Kenneth frowned.
“You’re remarkably casual.”
“No.”
Julian’s voice sharpened.
“I’m tired.”
The room stilled.
“I’m tired of this company treating honesty as vulnerability. My father hid a daughter for decades because the Blackwood name mattered more than truth. My grandfather paid people to disappear. Lawrence Bell continued that system and intercepted communications to protect a reputation that was already rotten underneath.”
He stood.
“And now you’re suggesting I should have hidden my relationship with Olivia because transparency makes us uncomfortable.”
“That isn’t what anyone said.”
“It’s exactly what you’re saying.”
Julian looked at every director.
“So vote.”
Outside, Olivia waited.
Forty-three minutes passed.
She ate half a granola bar.
Dropped the other half.
Stepped on it.
“Perfect,” she whispered.
The doors finally opened.
Directors emerged.
None looked at her.
Kenneth Rowe walked past.
Then Diana Chen.
Then Robert Martinez, who smiled slightly.
Olivia’s pulse jumped.
Finally Julian appeared.
His face revealed nothing.
She stood.
“Well?”
He walked toward her.
“Forty percent.”
“What?”
“Forty percent voted to remove me.”
Her stomach dropped.
“And the rest?”
“Didn’t.”
She exhaled so hard she almost laughed.
“You survived.”
“Yes.”
“Barely.”
“Corporate romance.”
“That’s not romantic.”
“It is in my world.”
He looked at her more carefully.
“You waived your bonus.”
“Temporarily.”
“You had no reason to do that.”
“I had several.”
“You shouldn’t have to financially punish yourself to prove legitimacy.”
“I’m not punishing myself. I’m removing ammunition.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“You always tell me I’m too controlling.”
“You are.”
“And you just made a unilateral financial decision because you thought it would protect me.”
Olivia froze.
“Oh.”
“Yes.”
“That is deeply annoying.”
“Isn’t it?”
She considered.
“Fine. You have a point.”
His expression softened.
“You don’t need to sacrifice pieces of yourself every time someone questions whether you belong.”
She stared.
“That sounds familiar.”
“It should.”
“You said something like that on the plane.”
“I’m very wise.”
“You were holding contraband water.”
“It was legal before security.”
“Not the point.”
He smiled.
Then she took his hand.
“What happens with Bell?”
“We give everything to federal investigators.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
“That could hurt the company.”
“Yes.”
“Still doing it?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
He looked at her.
“You say that like there was another acceptable answer.”
“There wasn’t.”
They walked toward the elevator.
Vivian stood near the windows.
She had apparently witnessed the entire exchange.
“You two are exhausting,” she said.
Olivia smiled.
“Family opinion noted.”
Julian stopped.
Family.
Vivian heard it too.
Something subtle passed between them.
Then Julian nodded toward the elevator.
“Dinner?”
Vivian blinked.
“With you?”
“No, with Marcus. Yes, with us.”
She smiled carefully.
“Fine.”
As the elevator descended, Julian’s phone buzzed.
Jennifer had forwarded a message.
He read it once.
Then again.
Olivia noticed.
“What?”
He showed her.
It was from Lawrence Bell.
One sentence.
Ask your sister what happened the night your father died.
Julian’s face went cold.
Vivian saw the message.
Every trace of color left hers.
Olivia looked between them.
“What happened the night Charles died?”
Vivian said nothing.
Julian stepped closer.
“Vivian.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“I was there.”
The elevator continued downward.
No one moved.
“You were where?” Julian asked.
Vivian closed her eyes.
“At the building.”
“When?”
“The night he died.”
Julian stared.
“You told me you hadn’t seen him in years.”
“I lied.”
The elevator doors opened.
None of them stepped out.
And Olivia understood immediately.
May you like
They had survived the vote.
But whatever truth was waiting behind Vivian’s lie might be the thing that finally broke Julian Blackwood.
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