Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
He gestured to a chair opposite him. His voice was smooth, the sort that had charmed donors and constituents for decades.
I smiled politely and took the seat.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
“For Prescott’s friends, always,” Haldane said. His eyes flicked over me, quick and assessing.
“Now, how can I help? Were you thinking of making a contribution to the commissioner’s fund? We welcome support from the creative sector, especially one as talented as you.”
So that was it. He thought I was here to write a check.
I folded my hands on the table.
“Actually, I’m here about the proposed moratorium.”
The warmth drained from his face. His smile froze, then faded. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm on the wood.
“I see. Then this meeting is a mistake. Whatever Prescott told you,
Miss Vance, I don’t take audiences with property developers. Or their girlfriends.”
The last word came out sharp, edged with disdain.
“I’m not here as anyone’s girlfriend. I’m here because I have something you should see.”
I slid the envelope across the table. He didn’t reach for it.
“You’re wasting your time,” he said flatly.
“This discussion is over.”
I opened the envelope myself, spreading the papers neatly before him. Bank statements, land records, names of shell companies, photos of a woman entering his flat late at night. His hand stopped tapping.
“What is this?” he demanded.
“Your life,” I said softly.
“The parts you keep hidden. The same things someone else already has. Lea Lopez. She is using it to control you, isn’t she?”
His complexion turned an unhealthy gray. His lips parted, but no sound came. Then he leaned forward, his voice a low growl.
“Where did you get this?”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that if you continue with the moratorium, I will make it public. Every line, every detail. Your career, your reputation, your family-it will all collapse. Unless you withdraw it.”
He pushed back in his chair, breathing hard. Sweat had appeared at his temples.
“You have no idea what you’re meddling with. Do you think you’re the first to try? Lopez has more power than you can imagine. She promised to ruin me if I refused. She will do worse to you.”
“Lea won’t be a problem much longer,” I said. My voice sounded steadier than I felt.
He gave a humorless laugh.
“You think you can stop her?”
“I know I can. I’ve already started.”
He searched my face, as if weighing the truth. For a moment, his mask slipped and I saw the tired man beneath, older than his years, cornered.
“If I retract the proposal, she will come after me,” he said.
“If you don’t, I will.”
Silence stretched between us. His eyes darted back to the evidence on the table. His hands trembled slightly, betraying him.
Finally, he whispered, “What are you going to do?”
“You will announce you are stepping down, for personal reasons. Health, family, whatever excuse you like. You will quietly withdraw the moratorium. No one has to know why. Not if you cooperate.”
He stared at me, then let out a long breath, the fight leaving him.
“If you fail to stop her, she’ll bury us both.
“I don’t plan on failing.”
***
That night, with the adrenaline still buzzing in my veins, I sat in Dominic Everett’s office. He had listened to everything I told him, his brow furrowed, his usual calm finally ruffled.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said.
“I don’t care. I need allies. You said once that Sebastian had friends in Europe. People who used to work ,with him. Do you still have their numbers?”
Dominic hesitated. Then he unlocked his phone, scrolled, and slid it across to me.
“Kylian Martin. Olivier Rossi. They were close once. They know Lea, better than most.”
The next morning, I was on a video call with them. Kylian was lean, sharp eyed, his French accent curling around every word. Olivier was broader, darker, his tone measured, cautious.
“You’re Sebastian’s… friend?” Olivier asked carefully.
“I’m more than that,” I said.
“And I need your help.”
Kylian leaned forward.
“We heard about what Lea did. We don’t necessarily agree with it. Sebastian’s our boss and friend, after all. Still, Lea’s our friend too. Why would we involve ourselves?”
“Because she is out of control,” I said quickly.
“She is trying to strangle LGH through a moratorium. She is threatening city officials. All this, just to force Sebastian to be with her. If you are Sebastian’s friends, you should be helping him instead of stepping back and watching him suffer.”
The men exchanged a look.
Olivier said, “Even if this is true, why should we take the risk?”
“Because she will destroy you too, eventually,” I said.
“She feeds on power. Sebastian trusted her once, and she turned on him. How long before she turns on you?”
There was another long silence. Then Kylian gave a slow nod.
“If what you say is true, maybe it’s time she remembers she doesn’t hold all the cards.”
“What do you need us to do?” Olivier asked.
I told them.
I had been sitting on the Marchands” number for three days before I finally picked up the phone. My palms were damp, my heart racing as if I was about to jump off a cliff.
Yvaine would probably have called it reckless. Sebastian would have called it unnecessary. But I knew it was the next move.
Fran?oise Marchand answered. Her voice was warm at first, polite, until I mentioned Lea Lopez. Then it froze.
“Why are you calling me about her?” she said, sharp as a blade.
“I need to tell you something,” I said.
“And I think you’ve suspected it for some time.”
Silence. Then, cautiously, “Go on.”
“I know what Lea did to Pierre. She made up the abuse claims. There was never any violence. She pushed the divorce through with lies because she wanted out; she wanted to be with Sebastian, and Pierre was in the way.”
“
I heard Fran?oise’s breath catch-a faint sound, almost like a muffled sob-but then anger hardened it.
We always thought it was strange. Pierre never raised a hand to her. He adored her, that was the tragedy.
And she ruined him.”
Another voice broke in. Antoine Marchand had clearly taken the phone. His tone was thunder.
“Do you have proof?”
“Not in the way a court might want,” I admitted.
“But I know people who can back me up. Lea’s old allies, men who saw the games she played, the manipulation, the way she used people. And I know she’s been using the same tactics here in Skyline. She’s threatening city officials. She’s trying to take Sebastian’s company piece by piece.” And claim Sebastian as the trophy.
There was a long silence on the line. Then Antoine said, very low, “Tell me what you want from us.”
“I don’t want money, I don’t want favors,” I said quickly.
“I want Lea out of Skyline. You still have influence in Europe. If you put pressure on her businesses there, if you make noise, she’ll have to go back.
She can’t fight on two fronts.”
Fran?oise’s voice came back, stronger now, almost gleeful.
“Oh, we can do more than make noise. She has enemies. She thinks she buried them, but they’ll come crawling out once they smell blood. And if she thinks she can keep bleeding us with lies, she’s mistaken.”
“We’ll see to it,” Antoine added.
“In fact, we had already started before your call.”
When I hung up, I was shaking-but not with fear. With relief. It was the first real strike back.
Four days later, the ripple reached Skyline. Whispers at first, then louder, then exploding across business circles. Titanova’s European arm was suddenly facing lawsuits in Paris. A supply partner in Milan cut ties. Banks started “reviewing” credit lines.
By the end of the week, Lea’s name was mud in every financial paper worth printing.
And then the bombshell: Lea Lopez was spotted at Skyline International Airport, boarding a flight to Eindhoven.