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Chapter 189: Truth Without Romance
The conference centre had thinned out by evening, the low hum of voices replaced by the soft echo of footsteps and the distant clatter of staff resetting rooms for the next day. Michael remained behind after the final briefing, not because he had more work to do, but because leaving felt premature. He stood near the long glass wall overlooking the city, jacket off, sleeves rolled just enough to signal the day was winding down.Sophia arrived a few minutes later.She did not announce herself. She never had to. He sensed her presence the way he always used to, through a shift in the room's balance, a quiet awareness that sharpened his focus instead of pulling it apart. She placed her tablet on the table, took a seat opposite him, and waited.This time, there was no careful entry point."No boundaries tonight," she said. "No positioning. Just us."Michael nodded once. "Agreed."They sat in silence for a few seconds, not because either was searching for words, but because both understo
Chapter 188: The Offer
Sophia did not sleep.She lay on her back in the hotel room, eyes open, the faint hum of the city filtering through the window like distant breathing. Each time she closed her eyes, the words from the call returned, steady and unavoidable.A permanent executive advisory role.Directly under Michael Ainsley.By morning, she was already dressed when the alarm went off.She moved through the early hours of the summit on muscle memory alone. She listened, responded, took notes, asked the right questions. No one could have guessed that beneath her calm, every step felt like she was standing on a fault line. She noticed Michael across rooms the same way she had learned to notice him years ago, without looking directly, without reaching. When he spoke, she followed the logic of his arguments, the rhythm of his thinking. When he paused, she already knew where he was going.That was the problem.It was why the offer terrified her.By midday, she made her decision to speak to him, not later
Chapter 187: Watching Eyes
The shift was subtle at first.It began with looks that lingered a second too long during corridor conversations, with pauses that stretched just enough to suggest unfinished thoughts. Meetings that had always been straightforward began carrying an undercurrent of calculation, as if every exchange were being quietly weighed for meaning beyond its surface.Michael noticed it without being told.He noticed it when a junior executive stopped mid-sentence and restarted with different wording after Sophia walked into the room. He noticed it when an investor laughed a little too easily at a comment that hadn’t been intended as humour. He noticed it when a liaison casually asked whether “alignment” at the summit had gone beyond projections and numbers.None of it was explicit. That was what made it dangerous.By the third day of the summit, the speculation had taken on a life of its own, moving not through formal channels but through the spaces in between, private messages, informal dinne
Chapter 186: The Soft Talks
The documents lay spread across the table between them, edges overlapping, corners curling slightly from hours of handling. The room had grown quieter as the night deepened, the distant sounds of the city reduced to a low, steady hum beyond the glass walls. Only a few lights remained on in the summit wing, casting long shadows across the floor.Sophia flipped through a printed report, pen tapping lightly against the margin as she read. Michael sat opposite her, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, eyes fixed on a column of figures on his laptop. Neither spoke for a while. The kind of silence that settles after exhaustion had begun to replace urgency.Sophia broke it first.“This section still needs tightening,” she said, sliding the paper toward him. “The wording leaves too much room for interpretation.”Michael leaned forward, scanning the paragraph. “They’ll push back if we narrow it further.”She shrugged slightly. “They always do.”He adjusted the phrasing anyway, fingers moving acr
Chapter 185: Pressure and Alignment
The call came just after dusk, cutting through the low hum of activity in the summit headquarters.Michael was halfway through reviewing revised schedules when his phone vibrated sharply against the table. He glanced at the screen, noted the caller ID, and answered without preamble.“Yes.”The voice on the other end did not bother with pleasantries. One of the consortium’s largest private investors had concerns, serious ones. Currency exposure. Political risk. A lack of assurance on phased returns. The tone was firm, bordering on final.“They’re threatening to pull out,” the liaison said. “If they do, others will follow.”Michael didn't respond immediately. He walked to the window, looking down at the dimly lit courtyard below, then asked a single question. “How much time?”“Until morning,” the liaison replied. “They want revised guarantees before market open.”Michael ended the call and stood still for a moment. Then he turned, already moving toward the conference area.Within minu
Chapter 184: Clarissa’s Clean Break
Clarissa signed the extension in a quiet office with no ceremony to mark the moment.The document lay flat on the table between her and the governor’s chief of staff, its pages already initialled where necessary. She picked up the pen, skimmed the final paragraph once more, and signed her name with a steady hand.No hesitation. No pause.The chief of staff gathered the papers, nodded once, and smiled. “We’re glad to have you fully on board,” he said, already rising from his chair. “This project will need continuity.”Clarissa returned the smile, professional and composed. “I’m aware,” she replied.When the door closed behind him, the room fell quiet. Clarissa remained seated for a moment longer, hands folded loosely on the table. She didn't feel relief in the dramatic sense people talked about. What she felt was clarity. The kind that arrived not with fireworks, but with stillness.She stood, collected her bag, and stepped back into the corridor where aides moved briskly between off
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