Chapter 40

**Suimmer's POV**

"Come in, Amy." I gestured to the chair across from my desk. "It's been a year since last time you worked for me. I'm hoping you can come back to my side as my assistant."

She perched on the edge of the seat, professional mask firmly in place despite the tension radiating from her. "I... I wasn't sure if you'd still want me as your assistant."

"Why wouldn't I?" I kept my voice gentle, remembering all the late nights we'd spent preparing presentations, all the times she'd covered for me when I needed a moment to breathe. "You've always been my most reliable support."

Her eyes flickered to mine before quickly looking away. "Since you returned from Europe,you haven't come to me. I thought you don't want me as your assistant anymore..."

"And I apologize for not communicating with you sooner."

Something in Amy's posture relaxed slightly. "No, Miss Taylor, you don't need to apologize. I've heard... things. But I've worked with you and Mr.Alexander Stark before. I know the rumors can't be true." My heart warmed at her loyalty, even as a familiar ache bloomed in my chest at the mention of Alexander. *Focus on work,* I told myself firmly."Well,since you're staying with me, let's concentrate on the tasks at hand." I pulled out the European division's files, spreading them across my desk."I need your help reviewing all this data, especially the projects involving Stark Group." Amy's professional demeanor snapped back into place as she accepted the documents. "Of course. What should I focus on?"

"Cash flow patterns and project termination rates." I tapped a particular spreadsheet meaningfully. "Some of these numbers don't quite add up."

The boardroom felt like a shark tank as I took my usual seat, careful to keep my expression neutral despite the tension crackling through the air.Old Mr. Stark sat at the head of the table,his usual commanding presence somewhat diminished by the dark circles under his eyes. *Trouble sleeping?Good.*

Lawrence's smug smile as he arranged his papers made my skin crawl.But it was Alexander's late entrance that really caught my attention - his normally impeccable appearance slightly disheveled, tie askew as he slid into his seat.

"Alexander." Old Mr. Stark's voice cracked like a whip. "This is the third time you've been late."

"Sorry, Father." Alexander straightened his tie with fingers that trembled slightly. "There were some issues with the Windsor family..."

"Sit down." The dismissal in Old Mr. Stark's tone would have been funny if I hadn't been so focused on maintaining my professional mask."Lawrence,continue your report."I let Lawrence's droning voice wash over me as I reviewed my own notes one last time. The pattern we'd uncovered was impossible to ignore -systematic withdrawal of Stark Group investments, strategic termination of key projects, a slow but steady erosion of Fortune Corp's foundation. "And that concludes the quarterly performance review." Lawrence's voice carried that particular note of self-satisfaction that always made me want to throw something at him. "As you can see, despite some minor setbacks...

1

"Actually." I couldn't quite keep the steel from my voice as I stood. "I noticed some concerning trends in the data."

The projector hummed to life as I brought up the first chart. "Over the past three months, Stark Group has been systematically reducing their investment position. Here-" I highlighted a particularly dramatic drop,"you can see the pattern accelerating."

"These numbers are misleading!" Lawrence's face had taken on an interesting shade of red. "Our relationship with Stark Group remains strong as ever."

"Really?" I switched to the next slide, watching his expression carefully. "Then how do you explain these terminated projects? Each one was vital to our growth strategy, yet they were all canceled with minimal notice."

"Brandon did this!" Alexander's outburst earned him a sharp look from his father.

"Control yourself." Old Mr. Stark's voice could have frozen hell itself.But I caught the flicker of fear in his eyes as he studied the data. "How will this affect our IPO plans?" I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the impact of my next words."Based on current trends, we're looking at a minimum six-month delay.And that's assuming other investment firms don't follow Stark Group's lead." The silence that followed felt heavy enough to crush diamonds. I could practically see the wheels turning in Old Mr. Stark's head as he processed the implications. Fortune Corp needed that IPO - needed it desperately,if my analysis was correct. "These projections." Lawrence tried again, though his voice had lost some of its earlier confidence, "they're based on incomplete data. If we just-"

"The data speaks for itself." I met his gaze steadily, refusing to back down."Unless you'd like to explain why these particular projects were terminated?Their profit margins were well above threshold."

I watched Alexander squirm under his father's intense scrutiny,remembering how that same gaze used to terrify me. Now it just seemed...pathetic. A man desperately trying to maintain control as everything crumbled around him.

"He's always been jealous," Alexander started, then seemed to realize how childish that sounded. "I mean, the timing can't be coincidental. Right after Summer-"

"Enough." Old Mr. Stark cut him off with a sharp gesture. "This meeting is adjourned. Everyone except Alexander, leave."

I'd barely made it three steps out of the boardroom before Lawrence materialized beside me, his usual smug expression replaced by something darker.

"Miss Taylor." His voice dripped with false concern as he blocked my path."That was quite a performance in there." His face darkened. "Do you have any idea how important this IPO is to Old Mr. Stark? The damage you've done today-" "Then we should address the real issues," I interrupted, "instead of hiding uncomfortable truths." I turned to leave, done with this conversation. "You'll regret this, Summer Taylor." His words followed me down the hallway like poison. "Mark my words." I returned to my office, finally allowing myself to relax slightly. Fortune Corp had always depended heavily on Stark Group as its major backer-Brandon's family enterprise. And Brandon wasn't just any exeeutive at Stark Group; he was the CEO and future heir to the entire empire.

Alexander's branch of the Stark family was merely a small offshoot of the main line. Fortune Corp had always survived by relying on Stark Group's support.

*So this sudden withdrawal of projects and support from Stark Group...*My heart skipped a beat as a new possibility occurred to me. *Is Brandon really doing this because of me?*