Chapter 6

Kaelyn pushed open the heavy oak doors to the conference room. The sharp, rhythmic click of her heels on the marble floor silenced the low chatter inside. Every head turned.

Clemente was at the head of the long mahogany table, flipping through a binder. He looked up at the sound. His eyes met hers, and his gaze snagged for a fraction of a second on her red lips. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

She ignored him completely. With her chin held high, she walked to the farthest possible empty seat at the opposite end of the table and sat down. She arranged her notepad and pen with deliberate precision, treating him like a piece of the expensive furniture.

His jaw tightened. He tapped the table sharply with his knuckles, his expression once again a mask of cool authority. "Let's begin."

The first half of the meeting was a drone of financial reports. Leland, a senior finance major, presented quarterly returns and portfolio analyses. The atmosphere was professional, sterile.

Then it was the architecture department's turn.

Kaelyn stood up and connected her laptop to the projector. Her proposal, "Urban Oasis," a sustainable, low-carbon housing project, filled the screen.

She stood before the committee, the light catching the clean lines of her suit. She spoke clearly and passionately, her voice steady, her arguments sound. She was in her element, confident and brilliant.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Clemente leaning back in his leather throne, spinning an expensive fountain pen between his fingers. His eyes never left her. The intensity of his stare was a physical weight, a silent, invasive pressure. She pushed through it, refusing to let him see it affected her.

She finished her presentation perfectly.

A few people clapped politely. Corinne, a professor on the board, nodded in approval. "A very compelling vision, Ms. Berry."

As Kaelyn was about to sit down, Clemente dropped his pen. It hit the polished table with a loud, sharp crack that made everyone flinch.

"The vision is aesthetically pleasing," he said, his voice a flat, clinical blade. "But fundamentally unviable."

The room went dead silent. The shift in his tone was abrupt and hostile.

"You've completely ignored the upcoming zoning tax hikes in District 4, which will nullify your projected green energy subsidies by Q3," he continued, citing a highly obscure municipal code that hadn't even been fully ratified yet. His eyes bored into her, cold and calculating. "Furthermore, your supply chain relies on a vendor currently facing federal insolvency. This isn't just amateur; it's a structural failure."

Then he leaned forward, his voice low and cutting, yet carrying with lethal precision. "Ms. Berry, this board allocates capital based on rigorous market realities. We do not fund projects driven by naive, bleeding-heart emotional investments."

The double meaning hit her like a slap. He was talking about her project, but he was also talking about her. About her feelings. Her hurt. He was calling her emotions cheap.

She planted her hands on the table, leaning forward, her red lips twisting into a cold smile. "Mr. Whitaker," she shot back, her voice just as sharp, "perhaps your own vision is being limited by certain... private affairs. It can make one shortsighted."

Private affairs.

His pupils contracted. The air around him seemed to crackle with fury.

The other members of the board looked back and forth between them, their expressions ranging from confused to terrified. Leland cleared his throat. "Perhaps we can table this for further review..."

"No," Clemente said, his eyes still locked on Kaelyn. He didn't look at anyone else. "We'll vote now. All in favor of denying funding for the Urban Oasis project?"

His own hand shot up. As co-chairman, his vote carried immense weight. A few of the finance sycophants immediately followed his lead. The motion passed.

Her project, two months of her life, was dead.

She clenched her jaw so hard her teeth ached. She fought the primal urge to throw her glass of ice water in his arrogant face. "Thank you for the feedback," she said, her voice dangerously calm.

She yanked her USB drive from the laptop and shoved her papers messily into her briefcase. The rasp of the zipper was violent in the quiet room.

Clemente watched her, a flicker of something that looked like triumph in his eyes. He was a predator enjoying the struggle of his prey.

The meeting was adjourned. Everyone else scrambled to get out, fleeing the toxic atmosphere.

Kaelyn grabbed her bag and strode toward the door, desperate for air.

"Stay."

The word, spoken softly from the head of the table, stopped her in her tracks. She stood at the threshold, her back to him.

"My presentation is over, Mr. Chairman," she said, her voice like ice.

She didn't wait for a reply. She stepped out of the room and walked away, the sound of her heels a declaration of war.