His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 106

Olive’s POV

Hopkins Enterprise looked normal when I arrived.

Same glass building. Same security guard at the front. The same people moved through the lobby as if it were just another Thursday afternoon.

But something felt wrong. Off. Like the calm before a storm.

I took the elevator to the executive floor, my heels clicking against the marble as I walked toward Grayson’s office.

His assistant, Margaret, looked up when I approached.

“He’s waiting for you,” she said, her expression unreadable. “Go right in.”

I took a deep breath, knocked once, and waited before entering.

Grayson was standing at his window, back to the door, hands clasped behind him in a way that suggested he was thinking through something complicated.

“You wanted to see me?” I said.

He turned, and I was struck by how tired he looked. Older. Like what had happened aged him overnight.

“Sit down, Olive,” he said.

I sat. He remained standing.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“We have a problem,” he said bluntly. “A big one. Someone’s trying to buy controlling interest in Hopkins Enterprise.”

My stomach dropped. “What?”

“Three board members received offers yesterday,” Grayson continued. “Substantial offers. Enough to make them seriously consider selling their shares. If they do, whoever’s behind this will have enough voting power to remove me as CEO.

“Who?” I demanded. “Who’s trying to buy them out?”

“That’s the problem,” Grayson said. “I don’t know. The offers came through a shell corporation. Multiple layers of protection. Whoever’s behind this doesn’t want to be identified.”

“But you have suspicions,” I said.

“Of course I have suspicions,” Grayson said, his voice bitter. “The timing is too convenient. Right after we partnered with Mercer Company. Right after your relationship with Zane became public. Right after- He stopped, jaw tightening.

“You think Zane’s behind this,” I said flatly.

“I think someone connected to Zane is behind this,” Grayson conected. “Maybe his father. Maybe someone else in the Mercer family. But the timing suggests this is related to our partnership. To you and Zane. To all of it.”

I wanted to defend Zane. Wanted to say he wouldn’t do this.

“What did he do?” I asked, though I was afraid of the answer.

“Gary, the conniving bastard, went behind my back and plotted against me,” Grayson said, his voice shaking with barely controlled rage. “Framed me for embezzlement. Made it look like I’d been stealing from the league for years. Planted evidence, bribed officials, paid off witnesses. He destroyed me systematically and thoroughly.”

I felt sick.

“That was enough to terminate my career in the game,” Grayson continued. “As a coach and as an opponent for the VP position. Gary ended up becoming the new VP while my career was destroyed, my image ruined, and my name dragged through the mud. I was lucky-due to my previous good records in the game-that I wasn’t sent to jail. But I lost everything else. My reputation. My friends. My future in hockey.”

“How did you…” I trailed off.

“It took me years to start building up again,” Grayson said. “Your mother came into my life during the darkest period. She helped me out and believed in me when no one else did. Pushed me to create my own company. The Hopkins Enterprise you see today–I built it from nothing, with her support, to pro that Gary Mercer couldn’t destroy me completely.”

He looked at me directly now, and I saw the full weight of his haed.

“I don’t just hate Gary,” he said. “I hate his family and everything he has, including Zane. And I don’t trust that kid. Because he’s like his father. Or could be like him. The same ruthlessness The same willingness to destroy anyone who gets in his way.”

“Zane isn’t-“I started.

“Isn’t he? Yes, I knew I supported your relationship the last time you came to the house, but…” Grayson challenged. “Look at what’s happening right now, Olive. My company is under attack Just like Gary attacked me ten years ago. The pattern is the same. The methods are the same. And the only new variable is ane Mercer entering our lives.”

I wanted to argue. Wanted to defend Zane.

But I couldn’t. Not after this morning. Not after he’d made it clear I meant nothing to him beyond a two-month arrangement.