After Prison, I Became The Chairman Of Olympus

005: The Waiting Room

The lobby of Hayden Group smelled like money — cold marble, fresh lilies, air conditioning turned just cold enough to remind visitors they were guests, not equals.

Vanessa sat with her legs crossed, rehearsing the pitch in her head for the hundredth time, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her skirt.

"If we land this deal today," she said, not looking at Nolan, "we're in. Crown City high society, the real circles, not the pretend ones your father's money buys us into. No bitch in this city gets to look down on me again."

"Heard the CEO's a woman," Nolan said, scrolling his phone, only half listening. "Supposedly the most beautiful one in Crown City."

Vanessa's head snapped toward him so fast her earring caught the light. "Excuse me?"

"What? I'm just saying what I heard—"

His thumb moved slow and steady across his phone screen, eyes fixed somewhere she couldn't see — until she leaned over and did.

Photos. A dozen of them, saved in a folder, all the same woman — blonde, sharp-jawed, dressed like money that didn't need to try. Monica Hayden, tagged in half the captions, his thumb lingering a beat too long on each one before swiping to the next.

"Really." Vanessa's voice went flat.

Nolan jumped, fumbling the phone face-down against his thigh like that would undo the last thirty seconds. "It's — research. For the meeting. You want me informed, right?"

"Research." She reached over and yanked his ear, hard, twisting until he yelped.

"Ow — Vanessa, Jesus—"

"I'm sitting right here, Nolan. Right here beside you. And you're drooling over her photos before we've even walked through the door?" She let go, shoving his shoulder for good measure. "You're not touching me tonight. Not one finger."

"I wasn't drooling, I was just—"

"Save it." She smoothed her skirt again, jaw tight, eyes forward, refusing to give him the satisfaction of looking rattled by it.

The click of heels cut him off.

Elena crossed the lobby with the unhurried confidence of someone who'd never once had to raise her voice to be obeyed. Tablet in hand, blazer pressed sharp enough to slice paper, she stopped in front of them and did not sit.

"Miss Salvador. I'm afraid our CEO is unavailable today." A pause, precise as a blade. "You're welcome to reschedule. Though I should mention — her calendar isn't opening back up for several months."

Vanessa blinked. "I'm sorry, months? I have an appointment. I booked this months ago—"

"And that's your appointment," Elena said pleasantly. "Not our CEO's problem." Her eyes drifted, slow and deliberate, down Vanessa's outfit

— the dress, the shoes, the bag that had looked so expensive under the boutique lighting this morning. "Honestly, I'd have suggested rescheduling regardless. Miss Hayden has a certain… visual standard for her office. I'd hate for her to have to look at that for longer than necessary."

Vanessa's gaze dropped to her own dress. The color drained slowly from her face.

"Then when," she said, quieter now, "would she have time?"

Elena's arms folded. She took one measured step closer, close enough that Vanessa had to tilt her chin up to meet her eyes.

"What is this, exactly? You're asking me to hand over our CEO's private schedule?" Her voice dropped, sharpened. "Are you planning something, Miss Salvador? Because that's not a business inquiry anymore. That's something else."

"No — God, no, I would never—" Vanessa's hands came up, placating, panic flashing under the polish. "This is Hayden Group. I know how this works. I just—"

"You just what?" Elena's smile didn't move. "You can wait in line if you'd like. Sit right there as long as you please. But I promise you, our CEO will never walk over here to meet you. Not today. Not this month. You should probably get lost."

Something in Vanessa's chest cracked, hot and humiliating, and for one wild second she genuinely considered lunging across the space between them. She got half out of the chair before Nolan's hand closed around her wrist, yanking her back down.

"Vanessa—"

She shoved him off so hard he nearly toppled sideways off the couch.

Elena watched the whole thing with visible, quiet satisfaction, then turned on her heel and walked away without another word, heels clicking a rhythm that sounded, to Vanessa's ears, exactly like laughter.

"That motherfucker," Vanessa hissed, ripping her sunglasses off her head and snapping them clean in half between her fists. She threw the pieces to the marble floor. "Who does she think she is? The second I close this deal, I'm reporting her. Personally. I'll make sure she's cleaning toilets by Friday."

"Vanessa, calm down—" Nolan glanced nervously toward the elevator bank, lowering his voice. "If my dad hears I tanked this, he's cutting my allowance in half. You need to relax."

She dragged in a slow breath, pressing two fingers to her temple like she could physically massage the humiliation back out of her skull.

"I'm not leaving," she said finally, dropping back into the chair, crossing her legs like she still owned the room, even though everyone in it had just watched her not own it at all. "She doesn't get to leave this building without me seeing her. Not today." A bitter laugh escaped her. "God, what a day. And it's because of that idiot Derek — I swear his bad luck is contagious. When I get home tonight, his parents are the ones going to pay for this."

The elevator chimed.

Four Hayden Group employees spilled out, mid-conversation, oblivious to the two people glaring at them from the lobby chairs.

"—can't believe she's actually getting engaged," one of the women was saying, practically vibrating. "Our CEO. Engaged. To someone from outside the company."

"I heard he's young," the heavier one added, delighted. "Handsome, too. And get this — the old chairman treated him like royalty. Like actual royalty."

"The banquet's tomorrow. King's Hotel." A third voice, hushed with reverence. "Our supervisor already got her invitation. Can you imagine the guest list?"

Vanessa's head turned so fast it might have snapped. "Banquet?"

Nolan sat up straighter beside her, phone forgotten entirely.

Greed slid across Vanessa's face, smooth and immediate, replacing the humiliation like it had never happened at all. She turned, grabbed Nolan by the collar, and kissed him hard, delighted, already three steps ahead in her own head.

"We're going," she said. "We'll find Monica Hayden and her precious new fiancé at that banquet, whether Elena likes it or not."

"We'll need a gift," Nolan said quickly, catching the excitement like a fever. "Something big. If we can attach ourselves to Hayden Group through the chairman, nobody in this city touches us. Not one person."

Vanessa smiled — slow, wicked, calculating.

She had the body. She had the face. And whoever this new chairman was, engaged or not, men were men.

She'd catch his eye at that banquet. And once she did, kicking Nolan to the curb would be the easiest thing she'd done all year.