Chapter 3 - The Secret Inside Page Fourteen
Damian froze, his broad shoulders locking into absolute stillness as her words echoed in the quiet, dim office.
He didn't break eye contact with her for three long seconds, evaluating the fierce, unyielding look in her young eyes.
Then, slowly, he reached down, flipped open the leather binder with one long finger, and turned directly to page fourteen.
His eyes scanned down the rows of dense financial text, stopping on a small yellow highlight at the bottom margin.
Ren had cross-referenced the Midwest maritime shipping tariffs with recent maritime international treaties passed in Geneva two months ago.
It wasn't a standard accounting trick; it was a brilliant, creative restructuring of their overseas freight routing.
Damian read the paragraph twice, his jaw tightening as his razor-sharp mind calculated the immediate financial impact across their international fleet.
She wasn't just accurate; she had just saved Cole Logistics enough money to purchase two new cargo vessels outright.
He slowly snapped the leather binder shut, the sharp clap sounding like a gunshot in the empty suite.
He looked back up at her, his face returning to its usual stoic, unreadable mask.
“Why didn't you mention this in the executive summary?” Damian asked quietly.
“Because you told me on Monday that executive summaries are for lazy directors who don't read full reports,” Ren fired back without missing a beat.
A subtle, barely perceptible shift appeared around the corners of Damian’s mouth—the barest hint of a smirk that vanished as quickly as it came.
“Fair point,” Damian acknowledged softly.
He straightened up to his full six-foot-two height, buttoning his top cuff link with methodical precision.
“Pack your things, Miss Ashby,” he commanded, turning his back to her as he walked toward his private office coat rack.
Ren’s heart sank straight into her stomach. “Are you firing me?”
Damian paused with his black wool overcoat in his hands, turning his head to glance over his shoulder at her.
May you like
“No,” Damian said flatly. “I’m taking you to dinner with the board chairman at 8:30.”
“You’re going to present page fourteen to him yourself.”
