Chapter 248

[ 998 words ]

Katia’s POV

Tessa leaned forward, her eyes locked onto me, her smile widening. “I decided your company looked like an excellent investment. And since WEG is your headline partner, I thought it would be… convenient for us to work closely together. Julian and I have so much shared history to discuss, after all p>

The room went entirely silent.

The rest of the board was watching me, waiting to see how the young CEO would handle a hostile takeover attempt by one of the wealthiest motorsport dynasties in the country.

I didn’t blink. I didn’t reach for my coffee. I slowly leaned back, matching her posture, letting a cold, highly amused smirk touch the corner of my lips.

“The Meridian block,” I said, looking at her. “You spent forty-two million dollars of your father’s money to buy out three disgruntled legacy partners who have been trying to exit my company for eight months p>

“It was a very simple transaction,” Tessa said, tilting her head. “I wanted the seat, Katia. And I always get what I want p>

“It’s a shame your high-priced attorneys didn’t read the IG Technologies bylaws before they let you sign that escrow agreement,” I said.

Tessa’s smile faltered. Just a fraction of an inch. “What are you talking about p>

I tapped my tablet. The massive digital screen on the wall behind me flared to life, displaying a highlighted paragraph from our corporate charter.

“Section Twelve, Paragraph Four: The Competitor Exclusion Clause,” I said, my voice echoing in the quiet room. “In the event of a proposed share transfer to any entity, individual, or corporate structure with active, direct financial holdings in the professional motorsport, automotive manufacturing, or racing telemetry sectors, the board maintains an absolute, non-negotiable right of first refusal p>

Tessa’s lead attorney leaned down, his face turning a sudden, pale shade of grey as he stared at the screen. He began frantically tapping his own tablet, his forehead sweating under the lights.

“I built this company from nothing, Tessa,” I continued, my voice dropping to a quiet, dangerous murmur that cut straight through the room. “Do you really think I would leave a fourteen percent block of my life’s work vulnerable to a hostile buyout? The moment your funds entered escrow this morning, my system flagged the Sterling Motorsports routing number. I didn’t block the transaction. I triggered our buyback clause p>

I took a slow sip of my water, looking at her over the rim of the glass.

“IG Technologies has exercised its right of first refusal,” I said. “We bought back those shares ourselves at a pre-negotiated thirty percent discount, which was the penalty fee written into the legacy contract for unapproved transfers. Your forty-two million dollars is currently sitting in a holding account, minus a twelve-million-dollar breach-of-contract penalty that will be paid directly into our research and development fund tomorrow morning p>

Tessa’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as she stood up, her chest heaving, her eyes wild with a sudden, vicious rage. “You can’t do that. That’s corporate theft p>

“It’s a legally binding contract, Ms. Sterling,” Marcus Chen said from the corner of the room, his voice dry and completely unimpressed as he held up a folder of signed court documents. “We’ve already filed the transaction with the SEC. The shares are back in IG’s treasury. You own zero percent of this company. You have no voting rights. And you have no seat p>

Tessa looked at her lawyers. The lead attorney looked at the floor, refusing to meet her eyes.

She turned her gaze to Julian, her hands shaking slightly as she gripped the back of the leather chair. “Julian, are you going to let her do this? WEG is our partner. My father has been your sponsor for five years p>

Julian didn’t look at her with anger. He looked at her with the cold, absolute indifference of a man who had already decided she was useless.

“No, I have been a sponsor to Sterling Motorsports, and the contract was terminated at eight AM this morning, Tessa,” Julian said, his voice quiet, steady, and entirely absolute. “My legal team cited the public brand damage caused by your behavior at the media wall yesterday. We do not sponsor liabilities p>

Tessa gasped, her face turning a violent, blotchy red under her makeup. The humiliation was complete. She had lost forty-two million dollars, twelve million in penalties, her family’s sponsorship, and her attempt to force her way into Julian’s space—all in the span of five minutes.

I stood up, keeping my back straight, my posture entirely dominant despite the deep, aching soreness between my thighs.

“This meeting is closed, Ms. Sterling,” I said, looking down at her. “Get out of my boardroom. Before I have my security team escort you off the property in front of the press downstairs p>

Tessa stared at me. The smug, elite racer was gone, replaced by a woman who had just realized she was standing in a war zone she wasn’t prepared for. Her eyes burned with a lethal promise of revenge.

“This isn’t over, Katia,” she whispered, her voice shaking with rage. “You think you’ve won because you have the documents? You don’t know who you’re playing with p>

“I know exactly who you are, Tessa,” I said, my smirk widening into a cold, dangerous promise of my own. “You’re a girl who drives cars for a living. I build the systems that tell you how to do it. Learn your place p>

Tessa turned on her heel and stormed out of the boardroom, her lawyers scrambling to follow her as the heavy double doors slammed shut.

The board members looked at me, a collective, silent exhale of relief passing through the room.

I sat back down, my eyes finding Julian’s across the glass table. He was smiling—not that cold, unreadable smirk, but a real, dark look of approval that sent a shiver straight down my spine.

She wanted a war. She had no idea who she was actually racing against.

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