Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE
Ryan entered the executive boardroom at 7:04.
He stopped immediately.
Charlotte sat at the head of the table.
Her cardigan was gone.
She now wore a simple black blazer Ethan had arranged from the hotel boutique.
Her hair remained tied back.
Her canvas sneakers were still on her feet.
Around her sat twelve Bennett Global executives.
Ryan looked from face to face.
Nobody smiled.
“What is this?”
Charlotte folded her hands.
“Sit down.”
Ryan laughed nervously.
“Charlotte, this is a corporate meeting.”
“I know.”
“You cannot just walk into Bennett Global headquarters and start ordering people around because you’re upset about our marriage.”
Nobody moved.
Charlotte looked toward Ethan.
“Would you introduce me?”
Ethan stood.
“Mr. Collins, Charlotte Bennett is Chairwoman of Bennett Global Hospitality Group.”
Ryan stared at him.
Silence.
Then he laughed.
Nobody else did.
“Very funny.”
Jonathan Harrison pushed a corporate ownership document across the table.
Ryan did not touch it.
“Fifty-eight percent of Bennett Global’s voting shares are controlled by the Bennett Family Trust.”
Jonathan looked toward Charlotte.
“Mrs. Bennett is sole controlling trustee.”
Ryan’s face slowly changed.
Charlotte watched the realization move through him.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Fear.
“You told me your family owned some hotels.”
“They do.”
“This company has seventy-three properties.”
“Seventy-six.”
Ryan looked around the room.
“The Monarch?”
Charlotte nodded.
“The Monarch.”
“The Aspen property?”
“Yes.”
“The London Carlton?”
“Yes.”
Ryan swallowed.
“The hotel in Dubai?”
“Yes.”
His voice became almost inaudible.
“You own all of them?”
Charlotte answered calmly.
“I control the company that owns them.”
Ryan sat down.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
Then anger replaced shock.
“You lied to me.”
Charlotte’s expression remained still.
“No.”
“You hid this.”
“I told you my family was in hospitality.”
“You told me you managed family investments.”
“I do.”
“You let me believe you were practically unemployed.”
Charlotte leaned slightly forward.
“You believed that because you never asked what I did.”
Ryan flinched.
“You laughed when I worked from home.”
“You called my board meetings little charity committees.”
“You complained because I didn’t spend money loudly enough for you.”
Ryan looked down.
Charlotte pushed another document toward him.
His eyes stopped on the number.
$4,700,000.
Ryan went pale.
Charlotte’s voice dropped.
“Now we can discuss something you apparently understood very well.”
“Money.”
She tapped the page.
“Tell me why four point seven million dollars left my company…”
May you like
Her gaze hardened.
“…and ended up inside a company owned by your mistress.”
