The Boardroom Domination

Dead silence dropped over the boardroom as the executives took in the sight at the doorway.

Watching Declan trail behind the newcomer with such an eager, almost subservient posture only fueled the resentment among the middle-aged men at the table. Parading an unknown woman into a formal corporate meeting was bad enough. To them, it served as final proof that Declan had zero respect for their authority.

"Miss Thorne? What brings you to our branch?" One director near the front suddenly recognized her, scraping his chair back as he scrambled to his feet.

His voice carried a noticeable tremor of caution, drawing baffled stares from the other board members around the mahogany table.

"Aunt Beatrice mentioned that the uncles were somewhat dissatisfied with Declan's management, so she sent me down to look into the matter," Viviana replied evenly.

Without waiting for an invitation, she walked straight to the head of the table, pulled out the main leather chair, and took the central seat.

This was Viviana's first appearance at the branch office. Aside from the man who had just greeted her—who happened to recognize her from a recent trip to the Thorne family's main estate—none of the other executives had any idea who she was.

Deep frowns creased the faces of the remaining directors. They couldn't fathom why a young woman would have the audacity to claim the chairman's spot, especially when they didn't even consider Declan worthy of sitting there.

"Young lady, you're in the wrong chair. That seat isn't meant for you," one of the older men snapped from across the table.

Declan and the director who knew Viviana's background immediately glanced at the speaker, identical expressions of quiet pity crossing their faces. As far as both of them were concerned, the man had just signed his own death warrant.

"Is that so? What a shame, because I quite like this chair. What do you suggest we do about it?" Viviana propped her chin on her palm, angling her head slightly to meet the man's glare. Her voice was remarkably warm and pleasant.

"Who gave you the impression that liking something entitles you to take it? There are plenty of things in this world I like—should I just claim ownership of all of them?" Mistaking her soft tone for weakness, the executive wrote her off as a clueless girl, the contempt in his eyes growing even more pronounced.

Decades ago, the founders of the Thorne family had built their fortune through underground syndicates before gradually transitioning their assets into legitimate enterprises. Because these older executives had fought alongside the previous generation during those early years, they harbored a deep-seated arrogance toward the family's youth, constantly pulling rank and acting superior whenever the younger heirs were around.

"You actually make a fair point," Viviana said, offering a slight nod of agreement.

"Since you agree it makes sense, why don't you get up and—"

The words died in the man's throat as an iron grip clamped around his windpipe.

Before anyone could blink, Voss hauled the grown man straight out of his chair, hoisted him into the air, and slammed him down onto the hard floor. The impact knocked the wind completely out of the executive, leaving him curled on the ground in silent agony, unable to let out a single groan.

Standing over him, Voss drew back a heavy fist, aiming straight for the man's face.

The executive's pupils dilated in sheer terror as the shadow of the blow fell over him. A direct hit from a man of Voss's size would easily cave his skull in, yet he couldn't even muster the breath to scream as the fist dropped.

"Voss!"

Viviana's clear voice rang out just in time, halting the heavy knuckles a mere inch from the bridge of the man's nose.

Drenched in cold sweat, the executive lost complete control of his bladder, soaking his trousers right there on the floor. The sharp stench of urine quickly spread through the quiet boardroom.

"Voss, didn't I remind you to keep your temper in check before we walked in here? Why don't you ever listen to me? Look, you've terrified him," Viviana said from the head of the table. She wore a look of mild disapproval, though her voice held zero actual reprimand.

"He spoke out of turn to Miss Thorne," Voss stated, his face devoid of any emotion as he rose to his full height.

"Even so, there's really no need to crush his skull over it, is there?" Viviana asked lightly, leaning back against the leather headrest. "Everyone sitting in this room is an elder of the company. You need to show them proper courtesy."

"Anyone who disrespects Miss Thorne deserves to die," Voss replied, his expression remaining stone-cold.

"Why is it so hard for you to adjust your mindset? We operate in a lawful society now, and murder is illegal." Viviana shook her head with a helpless sigh before sweeping her gaze across the rest of the frozen board members. "You'll have to excuse him, uncles. My bodyguard is terribly stubborn, and even I can't talk him out of his old habits. Moving forward, I suggest doing your best not to provoke him. After all, every one of you is a vital pillar of the Thorne enterprise. If an unfortunate accident were to happen here, I really wouldn't know how to explain it to Grandpa."

On the surface, her words sounded like a polite apology, yet the underlying message was a blatant threat. She was making it crystal clear that she traveled with a ruthless killer who answered only to her, and anyone who forgot their place would end up just like the man on the floor.

Not a single person around the table dared to breathe too loudly. Their dismissive attitude had vanished entirely, replaced by a wary reassessment of the young woman sitting before them. The sheer physical brutality of her bodyguard was leagues beyond anything an ordinary security detail could muster.

"What are you standing around for? Get in here and haul him to the hospital!" Declan, who had been thoroughly enjoying the spectacle from the sidelines, finally broke the silence.

Two attendants waiting outside rushed in immediately, lifting the unconscious executive off the carpet and carrying him out the door. Declan then walked over with a satisfied smirk and took the seat right next to Viviana.

The branch directors might not know her true nature, but Declan had grown up learning the hard way that the sweeter Viviana sounded, the more ruthless she was about to become. Watching these arrogant old men get scared out of their wits was the best entertainment he'd had all month.

"All right, uncles, let's get down to business. I trust that little distraction won't interfere with our agenda," Viviana said, sitting up straight and offering the room a pleasant smile.

This time, nobody mistook that smile for harmlessness. Every man at the table understood they were dealing with someone far more dangerous than Declan.

Over the next hour, Viviana went through the branch's operational reports and financial ledgers line by line. By the time she closed the final folder, only one word came to mind to describe the state of the company: pathetic.

Once the executives filed out of the room, Viviana turned her head and rolled her eyes at Declan. "No wonder Aunt Beatrice insisted I come down here. If you keep running things into the ground like this, our branch is going to go down in history as the very first Thorne enterprise to declare bankruptcy. Aren't you embarrassed?"

"You can't pin all of this on me," Declan protested, a bitter look crossing his face. "When I first took over the office, the numbers were in an even worse state than they are today. Besides, dealing with those entrenched old bastards is a nightmare. They put on a polite face in public, but behind closed doors, not a single one of them follows my orders. They've spent decades building their own networks inside this company and hoarding all the real authority. Why would they ever hand the reins over to me willingly? Not to mention, you have Knox, Voss, and ten other elite operatives backing your every move. I'm stuck down here fighting solo without any real leverage. Just keeping the doors open to this point has taken everything I have."

Viviana didn't buy his sob story for a second. "Save the pitiful routine for someone else. If you hadn't spent all your time during our training years chasing after the female recruits instead of paying attention, you wouldn't be struggling to handle a few branch directors now."

"I couldn't help myself back then," Declan admitted without an ounce of shame.

"Clearly. You never could walk past a pretty face without losing your focus," Viviana said, rolling her eyes again.

"Appreciating beauty is just basic male instinct," Declan muttered, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Viviana leveled a flat, unblinking stare at him.

Declan immediately sat up straighter in his chair. "Okay, fine... I've actually toned it down a lot lately!"

"Cut the nonsense and tell me what your biggest operational headache is right now," Viviana said, skipping past his personal life to get straight to the core of the problem.