The CEO Bet $1 Million No One Could Fix Her Jet — A Single Dad Fixed It In 4 Minutes
Chapter 7
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
Harrison exchanged a knowing glance with Richard and chuckled. "Oh, we handled that, Victoria. You don't need to worry about the million."Victoria's hands stopped typing on her laptop. She slowly looked up; the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "Define handled."Harrison puffed out his chest. "I recognized that you were coerced under immense corporate pressure. I issued a stop-payment on the wire, filed a legal injunction for extortion, and Richard here submitted a formal complaint to the Teterboro Port Authority for unauthorized aircraft tampering. The mechanic has been fired, his security clearance is revoked, and his legal threats are neutralized. We saved you a million dollars."Dead silence filled the room. The triumphant smiles on Harrison's and Richard's faces slowly began to falter under Victoria's unblinking, predatory stare."You did what?" Victoria's voice was barely a whisper, yet it carried the lethal weight of a falling guillotine."We protected your assets," Richard stammered, suddenly sweating. "He bypassed a safety sensor, Victoria—he—""He executed Service Bulletin 7500-21-04!" Victoria interrupted, her voice rising in volume and fury. "I had Bombardier's executive vice president on the phone yesterday! They confirmed everything that mechanic did was completely legal, highly advanced, and something your $50,000-a-month engineering team should have known about!" She stood up, slamming her palms onto the marble desk. "I looked that man in the eye. I gave him my word. I made a contract with him—and you, behind my back, decided to make me look like a liar, a thief, and a tyrant! You destroyed the livelihood of the man who saved this company!""Victoria, be reasonable—he's just a mechanic—" Harrison started."You are fired, Harrison!" Victoria snapped, pointing directly at the door. "Both of you, clear out your desks! You have ten minutes before security escorts you out of this building—and if you ever try to work in this city again, I will personally see to it that your reputations are burned to the ground! Get out of my sight!"The two men, pale and trembling, fled the office without another word. Victoria didn't hesitate: she picked up her phone and dialed her head of private security. "Get my motorcade ready, and bring me my checkbook."In New Jersey, the afternoon sky was gray and threatening snow. Jake Lawson was carrying cardboard boxes out to his rusted pickup truck. The bank had officially finalized the foreclosure; he and Chloe had to be out by sunset. He had found a cheap motel that would take them for the week, but after that, he had no idea what they were going to do. Chloe stood on the porch clutching her favorite stuffed bear, watching her father work; her faulty hearing aid emitted a soft, high-pitched whine that broke Jake's heart every time he heard it. He felt like a total failure.Suddenly, the narrow, pothole-riddled street was filled with the deep rumble of heavy engines. Three massive, jet-black Cadillac Escalades turned the corner, their tinted windows gleaming; they pulled up directly in front of Jake's house, completely blocking the street.