Page 33 of Her Billionaire Bossholes

I decide not to respond.

Just as we fall into silence, the sound of footsteps echo in the corridor outside. The door swings open to reveal Charlie, her usually calm demeanor replaced by a look of urgency.

"Good, you're all here," she says contently. "Sorry I took so long."

She strides to the conference table with purpose, her heels clicking against the polished wood, the echo bouncing off the walls like a thousand minuscule pebbles landing on a quiet pond.

Charlie's eyes scan the room, her gaze lingering briefly on each of our faces - inquisitive, almost as if she's searching for a hint of recognition or panic.

I watch her approach, my heart pounding in my chest. She’s too damn beautiful for her own good.

She slams the stack of papers onto the table with a thud, the sound resounding through the room with an intensity that mirrors her demeanor. The documents rustle slightly, the pages fluttering like fallen autumn leaves in the wind.

"You're all in danger."

28

LEO

"Do you know what Project Prometheus is?" Charlie asks, staring directly into our eyes.

We exchange looks of complete bewilderment and shake our heads.

"Charlie, what are you talking about?" Caleb asks. "We're not in danger."

She skewers him with the most intense look I've ever seen. "You are. Your entire company is."

BioCore is in danger? How is that even possible--it's a company, not a person.

"I was doing some research and I came across someone claiming to be a former employee of BioCore Solutions-"

"Impossible," Jackson jumps in.

"I know," she pointedly shoots back, not impressed with his interruption. "This person is claiming to have insider information on your company and is telling the world that you three are running a secret operation that weaponizes your research for the government.”

"Project Prometheus?" I ask, almost tempted to laugh at the name.

"Yes. And, of course, that isn't true." Her voice is so confident that, frankly, I feel flattered about her faith in us.

Caleb smirks, crossing his arms. "What if it was?"

She rolls her eyes, not at all near a joking mood. "It isn't. I know you all well enough to know that you would never disrespect your life's work by selling it to the government."

"Good," I chime in.

She sighs, bracing her hands on the table and giving us a nice glimpse of her cleavage. "Just because I know that doesn't mean the rest of the world does."

Jackson leans back in his chair, his expression thoughtful as he absorbs Charlie's words. "Look, Charlie," he begins, his voice steady and reassuring, "I understand that this claim might be unsettling, but we have to consider the source. Slanderous accusations like this are unfortunately all too common in our line of work. There are always people out there who want to bring down successful companies like ours."

Caleb nods in agreement, his arms still crossed defiantly over his chest. "Exactly," he says with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We've faced our fair share of false rumors in the past. Remember the time when they said we were secretly experimenting on alien DNA? Ridiculous!"

I interject gently. "Charlie, I understand your concern, but let's not jump to conclusions. We've faced challenges before and we've always come out on top. This will be no different."

Charlie's eyes dart between each of us, her gaze filled with passion. "It isn't simple slander."

"Charlie, we appreciate your tenacity and your dedication to your job, but it is slander." Jackson shrugs dismissively. "We don't have any former employees. At least, none that could leak anything."

Caleb leans forward, his voice filled with determination. "We should let the board handle it. They have the power and resources to investigate the allegations thoroughly."

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