Chapter 687:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

“If I fight it publicly, I’ll be blacklisted,” she lamented, pacing the expensive rug. “If I do nothing, I look weak. I hate the idea of using ‘connections’ to get what I deserve.”

Alistair heard her out without interrupting, his attention fixed entirely on her. When she finally ran out of steam, he spoke, his voice calm and analytical.

“Why do you see it as using connections?” he asked. “You’re not asking for a favor. You’re leveraging a newly acquired asset.”

Sloane stopped pacing and stared at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”

He elaborated, his tone shifting to that of a professor explaining a complex theory. “The Sterling name is now part of your company’s portfolio. Our marriage is a resource. Not using it is poor business strategy.” He leaned forward, his eyes glinting. “The network’s parent company, OmniCorp, has been trying to secure a financing deal with my bank for three months. A multi-billion dollar expansion into Asia.”

He stood and walked toward her, his presence commanding.

“You aren’t Sloane Kensington, a scrappy entrepreneur begging for a time slot anymore,” he said, his voice firm and low. “You are Mrs. Alistair Sterling, whose husband holds the key to their global ambitions.”

He stopped in front of her. “Stop thinking like a soldier, Sloane. Start thinking like the co-ruler of an empire. The world isn’t fair. So you stop playing by their rules. You make new ones.”

His words were like a splash of ice water. He wasn’t offering to fix her problem. He was teaching her how to wield the power she now possessed. He was treating her as an equal.

ѕ𝗵а𝗿𝗲 у𝘰u𝗿 𝘵𝘩о𝘶𝗀h𝗍𝘀 o𝘯 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝘯о𝗏е𝗅s.сo𝘮

The dejection vanished, replaced by a new, sharp-edged determination. A slow, dangerous smile spread across her face.

“You’re right,” she said, a predatory glint in her eye.

He saw the shift in her, the fire he admired igniting, and a flicker of pride crossed his features. He simply nodded, giving her the space to form her own plan.

Sloane excused herself and went to the study, her mind racing with a new, ruthless strategy. For the first time, she felt a surge of power that was not just her own, and a sense of partnership with the man in the other room.

The next day, Sloane didn’t call the network executive, Mr. Vance. She called his boss, the CEO of the parent media conglomerate, OmniCorp.

“This is Sloane Kensington-Sterling,” she said to his assistant, using the name for the first time in a professional context. It felt heavy, powerful, like a weapon.

She got a meeting scheduled for that afternoon.

In the CEO’s opulent office, she didn’t complain about nepotism or unfairness. She spoke the language of power. She talked about “synergy” and the “potential for future partnerships” between the burgeoning Kensington Media empire and the established Sterling financial dynasty. She subtly, brilliantly implied that a strong, mutually beneficial partnership was contingent on mutual respect for talent and scheduling integrity.

The CEO, a man who understood the nuances of corporate warfare, understood the veiled threat perfectly.

.

.

.