POV- Catriona
The next morning at Reid Capital began like any other.
Assistants moved through the executive floor with tablets and files. The glass conference rooms were already occupied with early strategy briefings. Phones rang softly. Screens flickered with market data.
Everything appeared perfectly normal.
But nothing felt normal.
Not after last night.
Not after Charles Laurent walked into Shawn's office.
I sat at my desk reviewing the Zurich acquisition documents for the third time, yet my concentration kept slipping. My mind replayed the same moment repeatedly—the door opening, Charles standing there, the brief silence that followed.
He had seen enough to know something was there.
And Charles Laurent was not a man who ignored useful information.
Across the hall, the door to Shawn Reid's office remained closed. Several senior executives had already gone in and out for the morning strategy meeting, but I had not been called yet.
Which meant one thing.
Shawn was thinking.
When he thought like that, decisions followed.
Big ones.
At exactly ten o'clock my desk phone rang.
"Miss Agreste," his assistant said, "Mr. Reid would like to see you."
I grabbed the Zurich file and walked across the hallway.
When I entered, Shawn was standing behind his desk studying a large digital projection of the European investment map. Several highlighted sectors blinked across the screen.
He turned the display off the moment I stepped inside.
"You've reviewed the Zurich revisions?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Your assessment?"
I handed him the file.
"The risk structure is manageable if we renegotiate the debt layer. But if Charles pushes the board to accelerate approval, the exposure becomes significant."
Shawn nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
He closed the file.
Then his voice lowered.
"Charles is applying pressure."
I leaned slightly against the edge of the desk.
"For the acquisition?"
"For leverage."
The word hung in the air.
Neither of us needed to say what kind.
I crossed my arms thoughtfully.
"If he intended to expose us immediately, he would have done it already."
"Correct."
"Which means he's waiting."
"For the right moment," Shawn finished.
Or the right advantage.
I watched him carefully.
"Then we need to control the board before he creates the opportunity."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"You're thinking like a partner now."
"I'm thinking like a strategist."
His eyes held mine for a moment longer than necessary.
Then he walked around the desk, stopping beside me.
"Charles believes pressure forces mistakes," he said quietly.
"But he's forgetting something."
"What?"
"That you're no longer the intern he underestimated."
The reminder sent a strange warmth through me.
One year ago, I had been carrying research folders through this building.
Now I was shaping billion-dollar strategies.
And standing dangerously close to the most powerful man in the company.
"You're proposing we move first," I said.
"Yes."
"How?"
Shawn reached for a folder on the desk and slid it toward me.
Inside were documents I hadn't seen before.
Board restructuring proposals.
Committee realignments.
And a confidential recommendation.
My eyes widened slightly.
"You're changing the governance structure."
"Before the Zurich vote."
"Charles will fight it."
"He'll try."
I looked up at him.
"You're forcing him into the open."
"That's the point."
Because once Charles revealed his strategy, the board could see it clearly.
And Shawn could dismantle it.
But there was still one risk.
A very personal one.
I closed the folder slowly.
"If Charles decides to use what he saw last night…"
Shawn stepped closer.
His voice lowered.
"Then we deal with it."
I searched his expression.
"You're very calm about this."
"I've faced worse."
"But not with me involved."
For the first time, something softer flickered in his eyes.
"Catriona," he said quietly.
"You've been involved from the moment you walked into this building."
The words landed deeper than I expected.
Because part of me knew he was right.
This wasn't just a job anymore.
It was a battlefield.
And we were standing on the same side.
The door suddenly knocked.
We both stepped apart instantly.
"Come in," Shawn said.
The door opened.
Charles Laurent walked inside.
His expression was as polished as ever.
"Good morning," he said pleasantly.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Not at all," Shawn replied calmly.
Charles glanced briefly at the folder in my hands.
"Strategy session?"
"Preparation for the Zurich vote," Shawn said.
Charles smiled faintly.
"Excellent."
His gaze shifted toward me.
"Miss Agreste, I must say your rise within the company has been impressive."
"Thank you."
"It's rare for someone so young to navigate corporate power so effectively."
His tone was polite.
But the subtext was sharp.
He knew exactly how ambitious I was.
Exactly how much I had to lose.
Charles turned back to Shawn.
"The board meeting has been moved forward."
"By whose request?" Shawn asked evenly.
"Mine."
Of course.
Charles folded his hands behind his back.
"I believe the company would benefit from decisive action."
Translation:
He wanted the confrontation sooner.
Shawn nodded slowly.
"Very well."
Charles's eyes moved between us once more.
Just briefly.
Just enough.
Then he smiled again.
"I look forward to the discussion."
When he left, the room grew quiet again.
I exhaled.
"He's accelerating the timeline."
"Yes."
I placed the folder on Shawn's desk.
"Then we accelerate too."
His gaze sharpened.
"That's exactly what we'll do."
And for the first time since last night, the tension inside me shifted into something else.
Not fear.
Not uncertainty.
Strategy.
Because if Charles Laurent wanted a corporate war—
He was about to get one.
And this time…
I was no longer just watching from the sidelines.