His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 56

56 /180

Zane’s POV

The conference room doors slid open and I walked in.

Black suit. Tailored perfectly. The kind that made me look like a Brooklyn CEO, not a hockey player. Nothing about my appearance today said athlete. Everything said untouchable.

Twelve board members sat around the massive glass table, every pair of eyes turning toward me as I entered.

Every pair except one.

My father’s gaze was fixed on the enormous screen mounted on the wall, displaying real-time stock numbers. The Mercer Company ticker scrolled across the bottom, and even from here could see it.

Down six percent.

I smiled. Not at the number itself, but at the performance my father was putting on. He was breaking inside-I could see it in the way his thumb pressed hard into his palm, the way his jaw was clenched so tight I was surprised his teeth hadn’t cracked.

He was exploding internally, trying desperately to maintain control.

And I’d caused it.

Fucking perfect.

I took my seat directly across from him, throwing a brief glance at Antonio, who sat beside Father like the loyal son he pretended to be.

“You’re ten minutes late,” Father’s secretary said. Amber. Mid-thirties, ambitious, wearing a blouse that was just professional enough to pass in a boardroom but cut low enough to remind everyone why she’d really been hired.

“I should make it fifteen next time,” I said, letting my eyes lock onto hers.

I watched her face pale. Watched her swallow hard.

Because Amber knew that I knew.

I knew she was sleeping with my father. Knew she’d gotten her position on her back, not through merit. Knew every sordid detail of their arrangement because I made it my business to know everything that happened in this company.

It was a weapon I could use whenever I wanted.

But not today. Today I needed this meeting to happen.

“There has been a radical decline in our stock.” One of the board members-Philip, I think-gestured to the screen. “Caused by what, exactly?”

“Investors pulling toward Hopkins Enterprise,” my father cut in, is voice tight. “Due to their recent surge in stock value.”

His eyes found mine across the table. Those eyes that had looked at me with nothing but disappointment since I was nine years old.

Good. Let him stew in it.

“Hopkins saw a twelve percent increase in the last quarter,” another board member added. “Our investors are jumping ship.

Moving their money to a company that’s suddenly outperforming us.”

I said nothing. Just watched.

“Now, we have a solution.” This was Antonio, leaning forward with that eager expression he always wore when he thought he’d contributed something brilliant. “We’re proposing the creation of a new club league. Multiple teams under the Mercer Company umbrella. It’ll diversify our portfolio and-”

“A new club league,” I interrupted, my voice flat. “You want to pour more money into something that historically doesn’t work?”

Antonio’s smile faltered. “It can work. I just won with the Vipers against the Thunder. Creating more clubs under Mercer ownership keeps us at the top-”

“And how much was spent on your team?” I leaned back in my chair, fingers steepled. “For training. Allowances. Healthcare. Equipment. It took three years for the Vipers to turn a profit. Three years of bleeding money before anyone cared enough to buy tickets or place bets. You want to do that again? Multiple times over?”

The room went quiet.

“That’s a fifty-million-dollar gamble minimum per team,” I continued, my voice calm, controlled. “With no guarantee of return. You’d be lucky to break even in five years. And by then, Hopkins will have expanded into three new markets while we’re hemorrhaging cash on teams nobody watches.”

Antonio’s face flushed red.

“You’re the one who created this issue, Zane.”

My father’s voice cut through the silence like a blade.

I turned to look at him.

“You made our enemies surpass us,” he continued, and I could hear the hatred bleeding through every word. “This is your fault. Going public with that girl, making a spectacle of yourself. Always seeking attention like you did when you were a child. And look what it’s cost us. Our company. Our reputation.”