Chapter 147
Chapter 147:
Cole Compton had bypassed front desk security, flanked by his unnervingly quiet executive assistant, having canceled a critical board meeting at his own company to storm into enemy territory. He had manufactured the paper-thin pretense of evaluating potential supply chain synergies as his reason for demanding a face-to-face meeting with the CEO.
He kicked the heavy glass doors to the executive suite open.
Declan Hayes sat behind his custom marble desk in a dark gray suit, looking entirely at ease. When he saw Cole march through the door, a sharp, predatory gleam passed through his blue eyes. He knew precisely why the rabid dog had come to his door.
Cole dropped into the leather chair opposite the desk without offering his hand. He picked up a glossy corporate brochure and flipped through it with aggressive disinterest, his eyes scanning the room like a threat radar sweeping for targets.
They exchanged two minutes of hollow, brittle corporate pleasantries.
Then Cole threw the brochure onto the marble desk. It landed with a sharp crack.
He leaned forward, forearms on his knees, eyes locked on Declan. “I hear you’ve been spending an excessive amount of time at Apex Bio lately,” he said, his voice a low, arrogant drawl.
Declan crossed his hands over his stomach and smiled — cold and calculating. “I have,” he replied smoothly. “Their R&D pipeline is remarkable. The recent breakthroughs are… highly desirable p>
The muscle in Cole’s jaw twitched. He hated the particular way Declan landed that word.
𝗥e𝘢𝘥 𝖿𝘳𝘦e n𝘰𝗏e𝗅ѕ o𝗻
He decided to attack. He wanted to diminish June’s value in Declan’s eyes — to mark territory by proving she was nothing without the Compton name attached to her.
“Don’t be a fool, Declan,” Cole said, his voice laced with deliberate condescension. “I know exactly what she is capable of. But don’t let the professional facade mislead you. She is a ruthless, calculating climber who used my family’s influence to build her foundation, and now she is using you as her next stepping stone. She will drain your resources and drop you the moment she finds someone with more leverage p>
The temperature in the room dropped to absolute zero.
The amusement left Declan’s face entirely. He looked at Cole for a long moment — not with anger, but with the particular combination of pity and disgust one reserves for someone who has lost their grip on reality.
“Cole,” Declan said, his voice dropping to a quiet, lethal register. “Are you suffering from some kind of severe neurological delusion about your own wife p>
Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me p>
Declan placed both hands flat on the marble desk and leaned forward. “June is not a trophy,” he said, enunciating each word with the deliberate weight of a hammer on an anvil. “She is the most brilliant data analyst and biochemical mind I have encountered in my entire career. She dismantled my legal team’s entire acquisition strategy single-handedly. She has more intelligence in one finger than your entire executive board combined p>
The words struck Cole like a fist to the sternum. The absolute certainty in Declan’s voice shattered the arrogant narrative Cole had been constructing and reinforcing for three years. The humiliation of another man recognizing his wife’s genius — while Cole had treated her like an inconvenience — burned the back of his throat.