Chapter 150 A Lot of Chaos
Athena had been sluggish all morning.
Her eyes were still a little swollen despite the ice she’d applied earlier. She had cried too much, and the exhaustion clung to her like a weight.
The atmosphere in the conference room was stifling. She had spent the entire night preparing documents for the meeting, but they were barely touched.
Instead, the room was consumed by chaos.
Two factions—executives from the Crawford Group and Byron’s Imbe Group—sat in opposing rows, dressed in sharp suits but acting like children in a schoolyard brawl. Voices rose, fingers jabbed the air, and accusations flew back and forth.
The energy company they were creating promised enormous profits. Everyone wanted control, everyone wanted power.
Though the Crawford Group and Imbe Group were publicly united, internally they were still separate empires—one inherited, the other built from scratch.
And today, those empires were at war.
Byron sat silently at the head of the table, watching the clash unfold without interrupting. From time to time, though, his gaze drifted to Athena.
She sat off to the side, seemingly focused on the papers before her. Her long, loose waves framed her small, pale face—so unlike the sleek, straight hair she used to style just to please him.
Byron knew she wasn’t really reading.
She was elsewhere, locked in her thoughts, trying to pretend she wasn’t being dissected in whispers and side-glances.
Then a middle-aged man from the Crawford side stood up abruptly, his voice cutting through the noise.
“Mr. Crawford,” he said. “There’s something we should clarify before moving forward.”
Byron’s eyes returned to him. The man’s name was David Zucker, one of the old hands in the Crawford Group—someone who had worked under Byron’s mother, Lola.
“Go ahead,” Byron replied evenly.
David’s expression twisted as he raised his chin. “Yesterday at the new factory, Mr. Lawson said something… interesting. He claimed you’ve already decided to appoint your secretary—Miss Newton—as president of the energy company?”
His tone was dripping with condescension, and his meaning was clear.
The conference room grew quiet in an instant.
The implication hung in the air like a bad smell: how could a woman like Athena—rumored to be Byron’s mistress—possibly be worthy of such a position?
Whispers had been swirling all week. Some even claimed Byron intended to push Lola out, piece by piece, just for this woman.
Zucker didn’t say that part out loud—but everyone was thinking it.
Over the years, Byron had grown too powerful. In the beginning, these older executives had supported him, even encouraged him. They thought of him as the bright young heir—manageable, malleable.
But Byron wasn’t a man to be molded.
By the time they realized that, it was too late. He had seized control of the core operations of the Crawford Group, leaving them with little more than titles and memories of better leverage.
Now, even if they wanted to rebel, they knew the result: punishment or dismissal. Byron didn’t care about loyalty, history, or past contributions.
He was ruthless.
But this—the energy company—was too big to let slide. The profits at stake were astronomical. If Byron handed it over to Athena, they would lose everything.
“Yes,” Byron said calmly. “Miss Newton has the ability.”
Zucker’s face flushed. “Ability?” he snapped. “You call that ability? The only thing she knows is how to climb into a man’s bed!”
Gasps echoed around the room.
Athena blinked, finally brought back from her daze. Her gaze shifted slowly to David Zucker.
The room was dead silent.
Zucker leaned back in his chair, as if satisfied to have thrown the first real punch.
“Mr. Zucker,” Athena said quietly, her voice steady.
He snorted, “Ah, so you do recognize us old men.”
“Of course,” Athena replied, meeting his gaze directly. “As the president’s secretary, it’s my job to remember the names and positions of all the senior executives.”
Her tone was calm, but her eyes sparkled with clarity and challenge.
“But you,” she added, “are nearly the same age as my father. It’s a shame to see a man of your status speak with such rudeness toward a junior, especially in front of your colleagues.”
The room froze.
Zucker’s smug expression faltered, but Athena didn’t stop.
“I respect your experience, Mr. Zucker. But respect goes both ways. If you truly believe I lack the qualifications, I’ll gladly have that discussion with you. But if you’re simply here to humiliate me—then I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood what kind of woman I am.”
Byron’s eyes darkened.
The silence that followed was not awkward—but powerful.
And for the first time, the room wasn’t looking at Byron. They were looking at Athena.
And she didn’t look like someone who belonged in a man’s shadow.