Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1045

Emmy’s heart skipped a beat. She kept her expression steady, but her eyes couldn’t hide the worry as she glanced over at James. Lost? After everything he’d done, all the effort to set this up, was it really about to fall apart right here?

James didn’t look the least bit fazed. In fact, he was sitting back, tapping his fingers on the table like he had all the time in the world, almost as if he was enjoying himself.

Cadence was just about to announce the result when James suddenly spoke up. “Hold on. Let the shareholders outside come in.”

Everyone stared, surprised, turning toward the double doors. The heavy mahogany doors swung open and a small group walked in. Steve led the way, his usual carefree grin in place. Behind him came three old men, their hair snowy white, moving slowly but with a kind of quiet dignity.

The second those three entered, Tyler’s smug smile froze. Even Cadence’s face tightened in shock. No one had expected this. These were the seasoned shareholders who’d always claimed they were too sick to attend meetings. Their shares weren’t huge, but their board seats were for life.

“Sorry we’re late, traffic was brutal,” Steve said, but he clearly wasn’t sorry at all. He glanced at the voting board and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like voting’s underway? Are we at ‘against’ or ‘for’?”

James leaned back, gesturing to the empty seats. “Grab a chair. The ‘against’ votes are in. It’s time for the ‘for’ votes.”

Steve gave an exaggerated “Oh?” and helped the three old shareholders to their seats. Once they were settled, he lifted his hand. “Wouldn’t want to miss out. I vote for.”

The three elders exchanged looks, then slowly raised their hands, too.

He didn’t hold back. The words were sharp, slicing right through the polite mask Tyler always wore. Around the table, the shareholders who’d voted against James dropped their gazes, looking like they wanted to disappear.

Tyler’s expression turned stormy, his chest rising and falling with anger. Cadence finally slammed her hand on the table, cutting through the tension.

“That’s enough.” Her voice was cold, her authority filling the room. “This is the Nelson Corporation boardroom, not a playground for your arguments. The votes are in, and the result—”

Tyler suddenly looked up, something dangerous flashing in his eyes. He gave a quick look to one of his loyal shareholders sitting nearby. If James had a backup plan, then so did he. If you want to play dirty, he thought, I’ll show you how it’s done.