What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 34

Kaia's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained perfectly calm. "I'll consider your offer, Mr. Sanders. However, I'm currently managing half of Aethelstan's active projects. If I try to leave, your cousin might not sign off on it."

"Kaia..." Silas lowered his voice, leaning in slightly. "I have a feeling my cousin... will agree to it."

Kaia stayed silent for a moment. She didn't immediately jump at the olive branch he was holding out, but she didn't flatly reject it either, leaving herself some maneuvering room.

Given her critical role at Aethelstan and her technical expertise, she highly doubted Finnian would just let her walk away.

Silas didn't seem surprised by her hesitation. His smile didn't waver. "I completely understand your concerns. There's no rush, we have plenty of time. Today was just about me showing you I'm serious."

Kaia smiled and gave a polite nod.

As they walked out of the cafe together, Silas was back to his sunny, casual demeanor. "Oh, by the way, Kaia. There's an exclusive internal seminar this Friday. We've invited some heavy hitters in the industry to discuss 'Traditional Methodology Driving Modern Health-Tech.' I figured you'd be interested, so I had my assistant email you an invite."

Kaia was surprised, but nodded. "Great, I'll take a look if I have time."

Back in her office, Kaia frowned in thought. Silas was young, sharp, and highly ambitious. He clearly understood the power dynamics and underlying tensions within the Sanders family. Was he trying to use her to challenge Finnian's dominance over the conglomerate? Or was there another play here?

The new subsidiary, Veridian Future, would technically be an independent platform. For Kaia, it could definitely serve as a stepping stone to build her own leverage and eventually rip the 'Sanders' label off her back.

But taking the offer also meant diving headfirst into a vicious internal family war. It was high risk, high reward.

Kaia opened her email and saw the invitation Silas had sent. The topic was cutting-edge, and the guest list was stacked with elite names.

After sending a quick RSVP, Kaia picked up her phone. Her appointment with Quinn Finch was officially locked in.

"Mr. Finch, could you send over a more detailed list of the documents I need to bring to our meeting? I want to make sure I have everything prepared."

Mr. Finch replied quickly. Kaia read through the checklist, her beautiful eyes darkening slightly.

Thursday afternoon.

The afternoon sun streamed into the open-plan lab. Rows of high-performance liquid chromatography machines hummed steadily, the air thick with the distinct, earthy scent of herbal remedy extracts.

Gordon seemed to sense her looking. He turned, and when he saw Kaia, he visibly froze for a second.

However, he quickly composed himself and went back to listening to the person next to him.

Silas led the group straight over to Kaia. "This is our top technical talent at Aethelstan, Dr. Kaia Chavez. I'm sure Dr. Hayes has heard the name."

Gordon looked up again, his expression perfectly neutral as he greeted her. "Kaia. It's been a long time."

Kaia offered a faint smile. "Gordon. It really has been."

Silas smiled broadly. "Dr. Hayes is an elite technical expert my cousin went out of his way to poach. From now on, he'll be spearheading the evaluation of all our natural wellness and health projects. Since you're both experts in this field, I'm sure you speak the same language. You two should definitely collaborate."

Kaia felt a shockwave hit her chest.

An expert Finnian went out of his way to poach?