06
“Surprised?” I asked, smiling. “This is my company. Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to be here?”
“So, you’ve finally come to your senses? Ready to get the divorce done?” she retorted.
Divorce. Her fixation on it was practically obsessive, like she couldn’t wait to climb her way into my place. I couldn’t resist reminding her, “You’ve misunderstood. The one who’s never wanted a divorce wasn’t me–it was Brandon.”
“Impossible!” Claire interrupted before I could even finish, shaking her head.
I just pointed to the stack of documents on the desk. “Remember this debt–agreement? Didn’t meet the terms, did you?”
“What’s it got to do with you?” she snapped, her expression darkening.
“Well, I’m the majority shareholder. So tell me, Claire–what do you think it has to do with me?”
“You’re the major shareholder?” She laughed bitterly. “If that were true, Brandon wouldn’t have been able to approve my funding on his own. So what, am I supposed to believe that Brandon’s what? Your stand–in? Do I look like a kid to you?”
“Take a look,” I replied, pulling out another document and laying it on the desk.
I watched her nervously pick up the papers, her face turning paler with every line she read. The document detailed the actual ownership structure of the company. Brandon was merely a nominal shareholder, a stand–in for me. In reality, seventy percent of the company was in my hands as part of my family’s holdings.
The pages slipped from her grasp, scattering onto the floor. “This… this can’t be true…” she stammered, staring at me in disbelief.
<
Now, it was my turn to look at her with a calm blend of pity and disdain. “Oh, it’s true. And trust me–the game has only just begun.”
