Chapter 4 - The Corporate Pivot
"Kate!"
Arthur’s voice was loud enough to draw the glances of two senators standing nearby. He forced his way past an ambassador’s aide, his hands outstretched, his face wearing a smile so fake it looked physically painful.
"Kate, my dear! My God, look at you!" Arthur exclaimed, trying to pull me into a warm, paternal embrace in front of the surrounding crowd.
I stepped back with razor-thin precision, leaving him hugging cold air.
"Lieutenant General Mercer," I corrected him flatly, my voice cutting through his loud warmth like a surgical blade. "We are in an official capacity, Mr. Mercer. Please maintain proper decorum."
Arthur’s smile twitched, but he recovered instantly, leaning in close so the surrounding dignitaries wouldn't hear his desperation.
"Kate... please. About earlier at the gate... I had no idea," he whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "You know how tight security is these days. I thought... well, I didn't see your rank. I was stressed about the contract—"
"You called me an insignificant security guard, Arthur," I noted, my eyes fixed on his. "You told me I threw away a dynasty to crawl in the dirt. You drove your finger into my ribbons and ordered me to act like I didn't know you."
Behind him, Evelyn and Trevor hurried over. Evelyn’s face was a mask of terrified flattery, her pearls clicking nervously against her neck.
"Kate, darling!" Evelyn chimed in, her voice unnaturally high. "It's been so long! You look absolutely magnificent in blue! We are just... so endlessly proud of you! Aren't we, Arthur?"
"Proud?" I let out a low, cold laugh that made Trevor flinch. "Evelyn, twenty-six years ago, you threw my childhood belongings into garbage bags and set them on the curb. You told the local press Arthur had no daughter. Where was this pride when I was graduating from West Point?"
Arthur took a deep breath, smoothing his Italian jacket as he attempted to pivot back to his usual corporate authority.
"Look, Kate... mistakes were made in the past. We were both headstrong," Arthur said smoothly, laying the foundation for his pitch. "But blood is blood. You've achieved incredible rank. I've built a multi-billion-dollar defense empire. Together, the Mercer name can dominate the entire national security sector."
He took a half-step closer, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial whisper.
"Mercer Tech’s proposal for Project Sentinel is on the DIA review desk tomorrow morning. With your final signature as incoming Director, we can seal the deal. It’s a fourteen-billion-dollar contract, Kate. Your stepbrother Trevor is taking over as Chief Operating Officer next month. Think of what this means for the family."
I looked at Arthur. Then I looked at Trevor, who offered a pathetic, nervous nod.
They hadn't come to apologize. They hadn't come to seek forgiveness for twenty-six years of abandonment. They had come to cash in on my rank.
"Project Sentinel," I repeated slowly.
"Yes!" Arthur said, his eyes lighting up with intense greed. "The contract is sitting right on your desk. All it needs is your clearance."
"Project Sentinel," I said, leaning in so only the three of them could hear, "was audited by my task force three weeks ago. We discovered that Mercer Tech inflated its software security ratings by forty percent and used cheap, non-compliant microprocessors imported through offshore shell companies."
Arthur's face went from pale to ghostly white.
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"What?" he breathed.
"I signed the disqualification order at fourteen-hundred hours today, Mr. Mercer," I whispered. "Your company isn't getting the contract. In fact, federal auditors will be arriving at your corporate headquarters in Austin tomorrow morning at eight AM."
