Chapter 4 - The Executive Confrontation
The thirty-seventh floor was silent as a tomb. All the administrative staff had been quietly cleared from the hallway by Geno’s men, leaving the long expanse of marble floor and oak-paneled doors empty.
Inside Hal Grayson's corner office, the scene was chaotic. An overturned leather armchair lay near the window, a glass coffee table was cracked, and loose papers were scattered across the Persian rug.
Hal was pinned against the oak wall near his desk, his silver tie torn open, his arms secured behind his back by Frank, a six-foot-four security officer with a quiet, menacing demeanor. Hal’s face was red, sweat slicking his thin hair back against his forehead.
When the heavy office door opened and Roman walked in—with Iris right behind him—Hal’s eyes widened in a mixture of panic and fury.
"Roman! What the hell is the meaning of this?!" Hal shouted, struggling against Frank’s iron grip. "You have your muscle putting hands on me in my own office?! This is assault! I’m a fifteen percent equity shareholder in this firm!"
Roman walked slowly across the room, his heavy steps making no sound on the thick rug. He didn't look angry. He looked like a man evaluating a piece of spoiled meat.
He stood two feet from Hal, his broad frame casting a long shadow over the pinned executive.
"You had a man wait for Iris in her apartment garage this morning, Hal," Roman said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Hal flinched, his eyes darting briefly toward Iris before snapping back to Roman. "I don't know what you're talking about! She showed up late for a board meeting and made up some ridiculous story to cover her incompetence!"
"He had a box cutter, Hal," Iris said, her voice steady as she stepped out from behind Roman, holding her bandaged hand up where he could see it. "He knew my name. He asked for my Meridian access key, and when I refused, he cut my bag and my hand. The man drove a vehicle registered to Apex Capital Consultants."
Hal’s jaw tightened, a drop of sweat sliding down his temple. "Apex Capital is a separate legal entity! Any vehicle registered to them has nothing to do with my daily operations!"
Roman reached out, took Hal’s silk necktie, and slowly tightened it around Hal’s collar until the CFO was forced onto his tiptoes, his breathing coming in ragged, shallow gasps.
"Where is Viktor Vanev?" Roman asked softly.
Hal’s face began turning purple. "I... I don't know..."
"Don't lie to me, Hal," Roman whispered, leaning close enough that his lips almost touched Hal's ear. "You sold customs clearances through the Port of Miami using my algorithmic signature. You took eight million dollars in offshore kickbacks into a UBS account in Zurich under the name Apex Holdings. And when my analyst found the second set of books, you hired a contractor to slice her open in a dark parking garage."
Roman tightened his grip on the tie by half an inch. "I don't care about the eight million dollars, Hal. Money is easy to make. But you brought violence into my house. You put a knife near a woman who works under my protection."
"Roman... please..." Hal choked out, his eyes rolling back slightly. "It wasn't my idea! Vanev... Vanev insisted on securing the hard drive! He said if the audit got to the board, he'd kill me and my family!"
Roman held him there for three agonizing seconds, letting the silence fill the room, before releasing his grip completely. Hal collapsed onto his knees on the rug, coughing violently and clutching his throat.
Roman looked down at him with utter disgust. "Geno."
"Yeah, boss?"
"Take his phone, his wallet, his security badge, and his watch," Roman ordered. "Put him in the holding room on sublevel two. Don't let him talk to anyone until I deal with Vanev."
"You can't hold me here!" Hal croaked from the floor, his voice hoarse and broken. "My lawyers will have federal marshals in this building by noon!"
"Your lawyers don't know where sublevel two is, Hal," Roman said coldly. "And neither do the federal marshals."
Geno dragged Hal up from the carpet and pulled him out of the office, Frank following closely behind with Hal’s personal belongings gathered in a clear plastic bag.
The office became quiet again.
Iris looked at Roman, who was standing beside the window, staring out at the bay. His broad shoulders were tense, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.
"What happens now?" Iris asked quietly.
Roman turned around to look at her. "Now, Viktor Vanev realizes his window of opportunity is closing. Hal was supposed to confirm the destruction of your hard drive by ten o'clock. When Hal doesn't call, Vanev will know the deal is dead."
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"And what will he do?"
"He'll try to eliminate the source of the leak," Roman said, walking over to her and looking down into her hazel eyes. "He'll come after you."
