Chapter 14

Grace

As the police arrived to haul the board members away, I felt my anger starting to recede. There was a sense of justice being served. They scurried like rats to the officers, pleading to be taken in. Fear was etched across their faces. They seemed to relax a little once they were in handcuffs. Charles had opened a laptop and settled into work. I heard him gathering the papers together as I walked with the police officers out.

"Hold them in jail for now," I instructed the police, my voice firm. "I need some time to figure out all the charges that they should face."

The police nodded, acknowledging my request, and escorted them all out. With the immediate threat neutralized, I turned my attention back to Charles as he lounged in one of the chairs, seemingly perfectly relaxed and utterly unbothered. He was typing quickly. I never imagined finding such a simple sight attractive, but it was.

Maybe it was just the knowledge that whatever he was doing, he was doing to help me. I shook my head at that. He was doing this to make money, doing it so that Wolfe Medical would be worth the investment. It had nothing to do with me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, closing the door behind me.

“Entering all these shiny new deals into a spreadsheet. You’ll need it for internal records and to ensure that all the deeds are being transferred properly through the Inter-Species Federal Bank.” He glanced up at me. “Take a seat. I think you could use it. I’ll get it over to the company’s lawyers.”

As Charles diligently entered the information into the computer system, I watched him work with a sense of admiration and gratitude. I sank into the seat across the table from him and leaned back, just watching him. It wasn’t something I would have even known to do, and I was so grateful that I had someone around who knew what to do.

My mind was still reeling from the events that had unfolded earlier. The betrayal, the deceit, and the corruption within Wolfe Medical had shaken me to my core. But I was determined to set things right and stay true to my father's legacy. I looked at my bruised arm, still feeling the lingering effects of the rage that had consumed me earlier.

“Thank you, Charles.” I sighed. “I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

“You would have killed them.” He gave me a bright smile. “And had to wait for the reparations to come through.”

I chuckled. “Thanks for having such faith in me.”

“It’s not faith,” he said. “I meant what I said. The president may not always like me, but he can’t afford to offend me, and even if you hadn’t accepted the deal, I would have done what I could to make things right for you.”

I nodded, grateful and touched. “You’re… the best father-in-law a girl could ask for.”

“Ex-father-in-law,” he said. “And I… have no intention in letting you continue to think of me as family.”

His eyes were heated and my stomach clenched. Heat pooled between my thighs. His eyes were telling me that he still thought about our almost one night stand, and I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t thinking about it too. I looked away and back to my wrist.

“You tricked them.”

“Tricked?”

“Ronald… and everyone else. You weren’t… struggling to restrain me at all.”

He shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

"Thank you for not letting me kill him," I said sincerely, looking into his eyes with gratitude.

Charles nodded, his expression serious but understanding. "It was the prudent business move," he replied. "And I know you're not a killer, Grace. You're stronger than that."

His words resonated with me, and I realized that he was right. As much as I had been consumed by anger and the desire for revenge, I wasn't the type of person to take a life. I was a leader, a mother, and a protector. There were other ways to bring those who had wronged us to justice.

“How much of business is tricking people?”

“A lot.”

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”

“I don’t think that’s true. Everything is a negotiation. All negotiations require a little deception and manipulation to achieve one's goals. You played along well, and look where it got you?”

I sighed. “I just don’t want to lie all the time.”

“I said a little, and you’ll find that it is easier when absolutely necessary. You don’t have to be a duplicitous person to be successful at this, just a cunning one.” He smiled and finished typing. “You should be getting a copy of it to your email.”

My phone chimed. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” he sat back. “Shall we move forward?”

I sighed, not sure how much I could take, but I nodded.

“What’s next?” I sighed. “How long will it take all the transfers to be complete?”

“That depends on the speed of your legal department. As for what’s next: revealing the real financial documents to the public and make it known what these board members have done.”

I grimaced. “That would be a nightmare for Wolfe Medical.”

Part of me wondered if the murder would have been a better scandal.

“With all the property and forthcoming money, the company shouldn’t need to have more layoffs, but you would be surprised how well it will be received if people know that something has happened and things are being fixed.” His lips twitched. “And no, the murder would not have been the better option.”

I scowled at him and pouted a little. How had he known what I was thinking? I narrowed my eyes at him and saw a vicious red glint of light in his eyes.

“You… wanted me to kill him.”

“I would have enjoyed it immensely, but I didn’t want you to kill him,” he said. “It would have satisfied some of your urges, but it would not have done what you needed. Perhaps after they’ve paid for everything, you can be at peace knowing that they will be suffering to provide for their families until they die the way they had very nearly made you suffer with their negligence and greed.”

I nodded again. The lack of layoffs was a small victory amidst the chaos, but one that I knew would mean a lot to the dedicated employees who had been worried about their jobs like my assistant. The bigger payoff would be when everything was back to normal.

“We’ll need to take control of the narrative and ensure that the public understands the gravity of the situation. We should also move quickly to halt production.”

I nodded and grabbed the phone on the table. “I’ll call down right now.”

I worried my lip. I didn’t know what else to say other than to stop production.

“What are we going to do with all the crap supplies? We can’t return it, I’m sure.”

“In due time… We have a bigger problem.”

I frowned. “What now?”

“You recall that Devin made the company public?” He turned the laptop towards me and pushed it across the table. “Now there is someone buying up a lot of the stock.”

My eyes bulged as I dragged the laptop towards me.

“What? What does that mean?”

“If they get a significant enough portion of the company's shares, they’ll get a seat on the board.”

My heart sank as I realized the implications of this. If this person gained control, they could steer the company in a direction that didn't align with my goals, potentially undoing all the progress I had made.

"What do we do?" I said, my mind already racing with possibilities. "We can't let someone with their own agenda take over the company."

I growled and shook my head. “Isn’t there anything I can do against Devin? Get the stocks back due to… I don’t know? Corruption? Usury? He may not be part of the board, but he was responsible for running the company into the ground.”

Charles' jaw tightened, showing his displeasure at the mention of Devin. “In due time. For now, we need to focus on saving the company. Devin can’t go far.”

“How do you know that?”

He grinned. “Do you know a poor man able to flee on anything but foot?”

My lips twitched. “I wish I could put out a broadcast about him.”

He grinned. “Ruining his reputation will also happen in due time.”

“You still have majority ownership,” Charles sighed. “He was smart enough not to sell any of your stock, but that’s not going to be good enough for long. We’ll need to watch the situation for now and stop issuing stock. Part of the funds I’ve transferred should be enough to buy a significant portion of the stocks still on the market back.”