Nobody moved.
One investor shifted awkwardly.
Alexander’s eyes swept across the room like knives.
“Ms. Brooks built the Whitmore campaign while recovering from pneumonia.”
“She closed the Sorrento deal after forty-eight hours without sleep.”
“And she has generated more revenue for this company in twelve months than half this table combined.”
Nobody breathed.
Then he added quietly:
“So if any of you question whether she belongs here…”
A pause.
“You can explain to me why you don’t.”
The room went dead silent.
My chest tightened painfully.
Because nobody had defended me like that before.
Not my ex.
Not my family.
Not anyone.
And the strangest part?
Alexander wasn’t even looking at the investors anymore.
He was looking at me.
Like he saw something fragile I had spent years trying to hide.
Then Lily whispered loudly:
“See? I told you he likes us.”
The boardroom erupted into nervous laughter.
Even Alexander looked down briefly like he was fighting a smile.
But what none of us knew yet…
was that someone else had been watching the entire presentation through the glass walls outside.
My ex-husband.
Lily’s father.
And the second he saw Alexander Hale standing up for us like that…
his face turned white.
