The Billionaire's Brat Wants Me-Chapter 245: The Second Shareholder

The conference room was already starting to empty when I wrapped things up, the last slide still glowing faintly on the projector screen. Ava sat beside me, tapping notes into her tablet, while Daniel organized the files he'd brought for the financial breakdown.

"Alright," I said, closing the folder in front of me. "Two weeks from now, the Meridian Development Initiative officially breaks ground. We'll finish running the final financial validations before the end of this week."

Ava nodded. "Construction teams from all five subcontractors are already on standby. Moreau Dynamics, RT Industries, Dwayne Constructions, and Quintech Global have all confirmed staffing."

Daniel looked up. "And the cash flow model for Phase One has been updated. No deviations so far."

"Good," I said. "Let's keep it that way. Last thing we need is surprise revisions this close to launch."

Ava gave a small, tight smile. "We're ready. As ready as we can be."

I closed the meeting with a simple nod. "Alright. That's it. Thanks, everyone."

Chairs slid back, papers shuffled, and people filed out one by one. Ava stayed behind long enough to double-check a few numbers with me before heading out too.

When the room was finally quiet, I gathered my things and walked to my office.

The moment the door shut behind me, the silence pressed in. I crossed to the floor-to-ceiling glass wall and rested a hand on the cool surface, looking down at the city stretching out below.

Two weeks until the project officially starts. Everything on my end was lined up. Everything was moving.

Except what mattered most.

I let out a slow breath.

Val was somewhere inside Moreau Dynamics right now, dealing with whatever mess Lucien had dropped in her lap. And I had no idea how any of it was unfolding. No updates. No texts. Nothing.

I hated not knowing.

But this wasn't something I could interfere with. Not my company. Not my place. And definitely not something her dad wanted me tangled in. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

All I could do was trust her.

And hope things weren't getting worse.

I stayed there for a moment longer, staring out at the city and wishing I could be in two places at once.

---

Over at Moreau Dynamics, things were already tense before the storm even broke.

The boardroom was silent—too silent. Twelve directors sat around the long, lacquered table, each one pretending to read over the briefing notes placed before them. No one spoke. No one shifted. Everyone simply waited.

Then the door opened.

Charlie George Moreau stepped in last, as always. His presence carried weight—measured, unshakeable, and made heavier by the hard set of his jaw. He didn't greet anyone. He didn't offer a nod. He walked straight to the head of the table, took his seat, and exhaled once.

Just once.

Then he spoke.

"I'll cut to the point."

That alone made several directors stiffen.

Charlie rested his hands on the table, eyes sweeping across every face one by one. "I recently discovered that Benjamin Otavio of Vanguard Ark Investments has been circling my son, Lucien. And not long ago, he successfully bought out my son's shares."

A ripple of discomfort moved through the room.

Charlie continued smoothly, voice steady, tone razor-clean. "I am not foolish enough to assume he only targeted Lucien. If he managed to get those shares, I strongly suspect he has also acquired others. And I would like to know…" His gaze sharpened. "…who else sold theirs."

Silence.

Not the quiet from earlier—this one was heavier. More guilty.

Finally, the Director of Finance cleared his throat. "Mr. Chairman… Vanguard Ark Investments has a reputation for, well, unconventional acquisition strategies. It isn't typical for anyone to sell to them voluntarily."

Charlie didn't blink. "So someone did."

A second director—the Director of Operations—shifted uncomfortably. "Sir, we… we've heard rumors. Otavio's team reached out to several mid-level stakeholders. Probing, asking questions. But none of us assumed anything would come from it."

"Because you underestimated them," Charlie said simply.

The Director of Legal spoke next, cautious but honest. "Chairman, it's not unheard of for external firms to attempt strategic buy-ins, but Vanguard Ark is… persistent. And aggressive. They don't play fair. If anyone sold their shares, it wouldn't have been through normal negotiation."

Charlie leaned back slightly, watching them all drown in their own unease.

"So," he said, "you're telling me that in a company with a board that prides itself on intelligence and loyalty… no one saw this coming?"

The room froze.

One of the quieter directors finally broke, speaking carefully. "Mr. Moreau… to be frank, Vanguard Ark is not trusted. Anyone selling to them knowingly would be—"

"Reckless," another director finished.

"Suspicious," a third added.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Or ambitious."

A slow, uncomfortable silence followed.

He tapped a single finger on the table. "Let's not pretend. Some people in this room have always wanted my seat. A new shareholder coming in with deep pockets and hidden intentions?" He gave a thin, humorless smile. "That would be very convenient for them."

A few directors avoided his eyes entirely.

"And that," Charlie said, "is precisely why we're here. I want full disclosure." His voice hardened. "Now."

The Director of Finance swallowed. "Sir… to the best of our knowledge—"

"No," Charlie cut in coldly. "No careful phrasing. No boardroom etiquette. I am asking you—directly—who sold their shares."

For a moment, no one breathed.

Then Director Halden, a man who always tried to stay on everyone's good side, exhaled shakily. "Chairman… I received an offer. A very aggressive one. They contacted me three times. I rejected them. Every time." His voice faltered. "I didn't sell, but… they were persistent."

Charlie didn't respond. Didn't nod. Just listened.

A second director spoke next, the Director of Logistics. "They reached out to me as well. Promised inflated value, promised insider advantages. It sounded off. Too off. I declined."

A third director sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Same here. They implied that they already had leverage inside Moreau Dynamics. That someone important had already sold. I assumed it was a bluff."

Charlie's eyes hardened. "It wasn't."

Silence crashed down again.

The Director of Finance straightened. "Mr. Moreau… we would never intentionally jeopardize company stability. But Vanguard Ark is not acting alone. They have strategists, analysts, people who study a target for years before striking. If they found weak points—"

"They exploited them," Charlie finished. "As is their reputation."

Director Halden frowned. "But why Moreau Dynamics? Why now?"

Charlie finally allowed a trace of irritation to show. "Because we are a prime acquisition target. Because some people here are sloppy. And because my son handed them the perfect opening."

No one dared to speak.

Charlie's voice dropped lower. Controlled. Dangerous. "This is not about blame. Not right now. This is about identifying how deeply they've infiltrated our company. And more importantly…" He looked around sharply. "…who let them."

Before anyone could respond, the door opened.

Every head turned.

Benjamin Otavio himself walked in—calm, composed, unbothered. He wore a tailored suit, the kind that said he didn't come for a discussion. He came for a takeover.

He didn't ask permission. He didn't greet anyone.

He simply took a seat at the table.

Charlie's chair scraped sharply against the floor as he stood. "Who let him in here?"

Benjamin offered a polite, almost amused smile. "Charlie, relax… I'm an official member of the board now."

The Director of Finance blinked. "Board…? What?"

Benjamin rested his hands casually on the table. "With a 28% shareholding stake, it would be inappropriate for me not to attend, don't you think?"

The room went dead still.

Charlie's jaw tightened—rage simmering just beneath the surface. "You really think walking in here unannounced and claiming authority is going to intimidate me?"

Benjamin's smile remained exactly where it was—controlled, practiced, intentional.

"I'm not here to intimidate you," he said calmly. He leaned back just enough to show he wasn't threatened by the tension thickening the air. "I'm here because this is my company too now."

A ripple of unease spread through the directors. Eyes shifted. Throats tightened. No one dared speak.

Charlie didn't move, but his expression sharpened—calculating, unreadable.

Benjamin continued, voice steady. "From my sources—and I always make sure they are reliable—I understand you hold thirty-three percent of Moreau Dynamics." His eyes flicked across the table, savoring the stiffness that followed. "Which makes me, at twenty-eight percent… the second-largest shareholder."

A suffocating quiet fell over the room.

No one shifted.

No one breathed too loudly.

No one dared look directly at Charlie.

Benjamin's smirk widened by a fraction. "You may call your lawyer," he added lightly, as though it were a friendly suggestion and not a declaration of war.

Then he rose from his seat, unhurried.

"I only came," he said, adjusting his cufflinks, "to make it known that I'll be resuming officially on Monday… as a member of Moreau Dynamics."

He offered the room one last, polite nod—mocking in its elegance—and walked out, leaving the boardroom in absolute, stunned silence.

In the silence he left behind, one truth settled over the boardroom like a weight no one could lift—Moreau Dynamics had just stepped into a battle none of them saw coming.

And whether I wanted it or not, I knew Val and I were part of it now.

---

To be continued...