Chapter 3 - The Corporate FalloutBy sunrise the next morning, the scandal had already bypassed social media gossip and landed squarely on the financial news tickers. WATSON ENTERPRISES FACES IMMEDIATE AUDIT AFTER HIGH-SOCIETY HUMILIATION SCANDAL.
Inside the glass-walled penthouse office of Cross Global, Kaleb sat across from his mother, who was now dressed in an impeccably tailored charcoal suit, her silver hair neatly styled, sipping black coffee. The canvas grocery bag rested on the mahogany desk between them—alongside a flash drive containing high-definition video footage of the entire incident recorded from multiple angles.
“The public relations team is handling the media fallout,” Kaleb said, rubbing his tired eyes. “Cross Global has officially severed all financial partnerships with Watson Enterprises. Their stock opened down forty percent this morning.”
His mother set her teacup down gently. “Good. Weakness in leadership usually translates to corruption in the boardroom. Let’s see how long Scott Watson survives without our liquidity support.”
“Mother... why didn't you tell me how bad she was?” Kaleb asked, his voice tinged with lingering guilt. “I should have seen it.”
“You were blinded by ambition and the idea of what you thought a perfect family life should look like,” she replied calmly, her gaze softening slightly. “I wanted a simple life for you, Kaleb, which is why I let you build your division independently. But when you chose a partner, I needed to know if she loved you, or if she just loved the dynasty. Ashlyn answered that question with a garden hose.”
Before Kaleb could answer, the intercom buzzed sharply.
“Sir,” his secretary’s voice chimed, sounding tense. “Scott Watson is downstairs in the lobby. He’s demanding to see you. He claims if we don't restore the partnership agreements immediately, he’ll release damaging confidential communications to the press.”
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Kaleb’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “He thinks he can blackmail us?”
“Let him come up,” his mother said smoothly, a faint, dangerous smile touching her lips. “Let’s see what kind of damage a desperate man can do when he’s already standing at the edge of a cliff.”
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