My Boss's Hidden Heir (Elara and Marcus) novel Chapter 47

The Better Brother

Chapter 47 Ashamed

WILLOW

That was over and done.

He just needed to sign it.

I had given him three whole days. Whether he would use them wisely or foolishly was no longer my

concern.

I stepped into the lobby of Fiorane and immediately spotted Mr. Fawn near the reception area, speaking animatedly with a man in an expensive–looking navy suit. The stranger stood with confidence, tablet tucked under his arm, posture straight but not stiff.

I narrowed my eyes slightly as I approached.

He looked familiar.

I stopped midstep when I finally realized who he was.

He had been at the university last semester as a guest speaker. He was a tech entrepreneur who introduced a scheduling system that integrated faculty calendars, classroom allocation, and student workload analytics into one platform.

We had implemented the university version soon after because it was very efficient and easy to use.

“There she is,” Mr. Fawn announced loudly when he saw me. “I kept calling her, but she would not answer my calls. Talk about professionalism, right?”

His tone was light, but I knew it was meant to insult me.

I bowed my head slightly. “I apologize,” I said evenly. “I made sure to clear my morning schedule today, though. It was already approved by upper management.”

Mr. Fawn bit his lip while the man beside him studied me with curiosity rather than judgment.

“Mr. Martinez?” I asked, turning to him with a small smile. “I will be glad to talk about your start–up.”

Mr. Fawn frowned slightly at that.

He probably did not expect me to take control of the conversation.

“I’m sorry,” Mr. Fawn began, turning to Mr. Martinez. “She is still new and-”

“It’s alright, the man interrupted smoothly. “I did come early. I have something in the afternoon as well. I should apologize for the timing.”

I smiled. “No apology needed, sir.”

M: Fawn let out a dramatic sigh. “Should I take you to the conference room? I need to accompany her because, like I said, she is… new.”

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Chapter 47 Ashamed

He emphasized the last word with a wide smirk.

He still wasn’t finished with the subtle attempts to undermine, hmm?

Fortunately, Mr. Martinez nodded politely. “Of course.”

Amished

We walked toward the smaller strategy conference room instead of the main boardroom. Once inside. Mr. Martinez placed his tablet on the table and turned toward me.

“Please,” he said, offering his hand. “Call me Josh.”

I shook it firmly.

Mr. Fawn lingered near the end of the table like a chaperone.

Josh tapped his tablet, and the screen mirrored onto the wall display.

“I founded Synkro three years ago,” he began. “We started with academic institutions. Our primary architecture is built around distributed cloud computing with encrypted data silos. We use adaptive scheduling algorithms powered by machine learning to anticipate conflicts before they happen.”

I nodded slowly.

“Yes,” I said. “Your system uses predictive load–balancing based on historical data clusters. It flags overbooked faculty, overlapping resource allocation, and even predicts burnout metrics if workload thresholds are exceeded.”

Josh paused for a while before smiling

“It seems you have used it.”

“It’s very famous and in demand,” I said. “I heard you only choose the companies you want to work with. I’m surprised you came to us.”

Mr. Fawn shifted in his seat.

Josh leaned slightly forward, appearing to enjoy the conversation.

“We are currently expanding into corporate ecosystems,” he continued.

“Our updated model uses neural network mapping to analyze workflow dependencies between departments. It identifies bottlenecks before they manifest into project delays.”

I leaned back slightly, studying the interface.

“The UI is cleaner,” I observed. “There are more intuitive dashboard panels, and you integrated color–coded priority tagging”

He laughed softly. “You are very observant.”

Mr. Fawn cleared his throat.

“Yes, well.” he said, attempting to insert himself into the conversation. “We value innovation here at Fiorane. Efficiency is always welcome.”

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Josh nodded politely, but his attention returned to me.

“What would you say Fiorane needs most?” he asked.

I folded my hands on the table.

“Transparency between upper management and operational teams,” I said honestly. “There is a disconnect in communication flow. We rely heavily on manual reporting and email chains. A centralized predictive scheduling system would streamline decision–making.”

Josh’s expression shifted from interest to genuine intrigue.

Mr. Fawn tried to nod along, but I could see he was lost.

Josh continued explaining the system scalability, and fortunately, Tristan had gone over these topics during our “study” session. Along with my first–hand experience of using the interface, it became an engaging conversation.

At some point, Mr. Fawn stopped trying to interrupt.

Josh eventually leaned back in his chair.

“I have to say,” he said, shaking his head slightly, “I usually have to simplify this presentation when I speak to executives.”

I smiled faintly. “I prefer depth over simplification.”

He studied me for a moment.

“Now I really do not regret choosing this company,” he said. “I am mostly university and hospital–based because I want to help make education and healthcare more efficient. Fiorane reached out to me, and I wanted to see first if it was a good match.”

“And?” I asked calmly.

He smiled.

“I think it is.”

Mr. Fawn pursed his lips.

“It seems she can handle it on her own,” he muttered under his breath as he stood. “I have another meeting.”

Without waiting for a response, he left the room.

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