The conference room at Vale Systems headquarters was all glass, steel, and polished bravado , designed to intimidate. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a sweeping view of D.C.'s skyline, as if reminding everyone inside exactly who ran this city's future.
Grace Cole didn't flinch.
She stepped into the room in heels that clicked like a countdown and a tailored navy suit that meant business. Every head turned. The board members mostly men, mostly middle-aged, mostly unimpressed barely masked their confusion.
She didn't care.
Liam stood at the far end of the table, arms folded, watching her like a strategist watching his favorite chaos agent walk into the battlefield.
"Gentlemen," he said evenly, "this is Grace Cole . Effective immediately, she's leading the sustainability redesign for Eon Heights."
A few mutters. A throat cleared. One executive openly frowned.
"You're serious?" asked Mark Danton, the CFO, his tone laced with skepticism. "She just dragged the company through a PR nightmare."
Grace smiled "You're welcome for the media exposure"
Danton narrowed his eyes. "We've spent three days putting out fires you lit."
"And now I'm here to keep you from burning down the rest of the city," she replied, calmly opening her tablet. "If you'd like to build a project the public doesn't hate, you'll want me at this table."
"Let's stay focused," Liam cut in, voice sharp but composed. "We're redesigning Eon Heights to meet triple bottom line benchmarks people and profit. Grace's here to make sure we actually hit them."
Another executive , a thin man with silver hair and a clipped accent, leaned forward. "What, exactly, are you proposing?"
She tapped the screen. The main wall lit up with a map of the original development layout then her revised version.
Gone were the sleek, soulless towers. In their place: mixed-use, mid-rise buildings with rooftop gardens, solar arrays, walkable greenways, community-run markets. The kind of place people could live, not just visit for an Instagram photo.
"You want to demolish 40% of the luxury units," Danton said flatly.
"I want to make room for affordable housing and green spaces," she corrected. "This isn't a playground for the elite. It's a future that works for everyone."
Someone scoffed. "That's not how this business works."
"It's how mine does," Grace replied, lifting her chin.
Liam loved how sharp tongued she was , everything about Grace just seemed to catch his attention
For a moment, the room held its breath.
Then Liam leaned in, gaze locked on the render. "Run the numbers on her version," he said. "If it's viable, we move forward."
Danton looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "You can't be serious."
"I'm dead serious," Liam said. "This project isn't just about margins anymore. It's about legacy."
Grace met his gaze, surprised. For a moment, something unspoken passed between them. Not softness. But respect. Recognition.
By the time the meeting adjourned, half the room still looked ready to riot but the seed had been planted.
She stepped into the elevator beside Liam , silence stretching between them.
"You enjoyed that," he said finally.
"Immensely," she replied, smirking.
"You just made enemies with half my board."
"I'm not here to make friends," she said. "I'm here to make something that lasts."
He studied her face, something unreadable in his expression.
"I know," he said softly. "That's exactly why I hired you."
And for once, Elena didn't have a comeback.