The sun did not rise on Oakhaven. It simply turned the grey fog into a dull, heavy silver. Silas sat at the small wooden desk in the cottage. His laptop glowed in the dim light. The battery was at twenty percent. He had spent the last three hours tethering his phone to the computer to get a signal. The connection was weak. It was as fragile as his standing with the board of directors.
On the screen, a grid of faces stared back at him. These were the most powerful people in tech. They sat in high back leather chairs in offices that cost more than the entire county of Oakhaven. Julian sat in the center of the grid. He looked perfect. His hair was slicked back. His tie was straight. He looked like a man who was already measuring the windows for new curtains.
"The CEO of Globex is waiting for a firm date, Silas," Julian said. His voice was distorted by the bad connection. "He does not understand why the head of Vane-Corp is currently hiding in a farmhouse. The investors are pulling back. The stock dropped four points this morning."
"I am not hiding," Silas said. He leaned forward. He tried to ignore the ache in his back. "I am securing the intellectual property. Without June's signature, this company is worth nothing. I am protecting your investments."
"You could have bought her out in a day," a board member said. She was a woman named Eleanor who had been with Silas since the beginning. "Why are you still there? The tabloids are running photos of you at a dance. It looks like a circus."
"It is a strategy," Silas said. "June is not motivated by money. She is motivated by the orchard. I am rebuilding her trust to get the signature. It takes time."
Julian leaned into the camera. "We do not have time. The vote to replace you is scheduled for two hours from now. Unless you can present a signed transfer of rights by then, I am moving the motion."
A loud bang interrupted the meeting. Silas looked toward the window. The sky had turned a dark, sickly green. The wind was howling through the trees. He saw June running past the cottage. She was waving her arms. She looked terrified.
"I have to go," Silas said.
"Silas, do not you dare hang up," Julian shouted.
Silas closed the laptop. He didn't care about the vote. He didn't care about Julian. He ran out of the cottage into the wind. The air was cold. It felt like needles against his skin. He found June near the irrigation pump. Water was spraying everywhere. A massive branch had fallen from an oak tree. It had crushed the main line that fed the north grove.
"The pump is going to blow!" June yelled over the wind. "If the water stops, the pressure will burst the pipes in the house. If it doesn't stop, the north grove will flood and the roots will rot!"
Silas didn't think. He ran to the pump house. He grabbed a heavy wrench from the floor. The metal was freezing. He waded into the mud. It sucked at his boots. He felt the power of the water hitting his legs.
"Find the shut off valve!" Silas shouted.
June was already on her knees in the dirt. She was digging through the mud to find the manual override. Bea ran out of the house with a flashlight. She didn't say a word. She held the light steady while Silas fought the rusted bolts on the main pipe.
His hands were slick with oil and water. He lost his grip. The wrench hit him in the jaw. He felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He didn't stop. He wiped his face with his shoulder and gripped the wrench again. He threw his entire weight against the bolt. It didn't move. He yelled and pulled again. The bolt groaned. It turned an inch. Then another.
"I found it!" June cried.
She turned the valve. The roar of the water began to die down to a hiss. Silas finished tightening the bypass. He slumped against the side of the pump house. He was soaked to the bone. He was covered in black grease. He looked down at his ruined clothes. He looked at June. She was covered in mud. She was breathing hard.
"You did it," she said. She looked at him with something that wasn't anger. It was respect.
"We did it," Silas corrected.
Bea walked over. She shone the flashlight on Silas's face. She saw the bruise forming on his jaw. She reached into her apron and pulled out a clean rag. She handed it to him.
"You're a fool, Silas Vane," Bea said. Her voice was still rough, but the edge was gone. "But you're a hard working fool. Go inside. Dry off before you catch your death."
Silas checked his watch. He had thirty minutes before the board vote. He ran back to the cottage. He didn't have time to shower. He stripped off his wet shirt and put on the only clean thing he had. It was a dark t-shirt. He wiped the mud from his face. He sat back down at the laptop.
The screen flickered to life. The board was still there. They were mid-argument. Julian was talking about a transition plan. Silas turned on his camera.
The boardroom went silent. They stared at him. Silas looked like he had been in a street fight. His hair was a mess. His jaw was swollen. There was a smear of grease across his forehead.
"What happened to you?" Eleanor asked. She looked horrified.
"I was doing work," Silas said. He looked directly at Julian. "Real work. I just saved the infrastructure of the asset you are so worried about. This orchard is the only reason Vane-Corp exists. If you want to vote me out because I am not wearing a tie, then do it. But know this. June Ashby will never sign that paper for Julian Thorne. She will only sign it for me. You fire me, you lose the Alpha Code. The merger dies today."
Julian turned red. He started to speak, but Eleanor held up a hand.
"He is right," Eleanor said. "Julian, you have no relationship with the owner. If we lose the IP, Globex will sue us for everything we have. Silas is the only leverage we have left."
"This is ridiculous," Julian spat. "He looks like a vagrant."
"He looks like the man who built this company," Eleanor said. "The vote is cancelled. Silas, you have until the end of the harvest. Do not make me regret this."
The call ended. Silas stared at the black screen. He felt a wave of relief so strong he nearly fell out of his chair. He had won. He was still the CEO. But as he looked at his battered hands, he realized he didn't feel like a victor. He felt exhausted.
A knock came at the door. June entered. She carried a small bowl of warm water and some bandages. She didn't ask. She sat on the edge of the desk and began to clean the cut on his jaw.
"You stayed on the call," June said quietly.
"I had to," Silas said. "Julian almost had them."
"You looked like a mess," June said. She smiled a little. It was the first real smile she had given him in years. "They probably thought you were crazy."
"Maybe I am," Silas said. He looked at her. The anger was gone. The fake marriage felt a thousand miles away. "I almost lost twenty billion dollars to fix a water pump."
June stopped cleaning his face. She looked into his eyes. "Was it worth it?"
Silas reached up. He took her hand. His skin was rough. Hers was soft despite the work. "Every penny."
They sat in the quiet cottage as the storm raged outside. The empire was safe for now. The orchard was still standing. But the space between them was changing. The lines were blurring. Silas Vane had come to Oakhaven to secure his future. He was starting to realize his future wasn't in a boardroom. It was right here in the mud.