Aria's phone chimed a final time; a fifteen-minute warning before her meeting followed. She stiffened and smoothed over her charcoal pencil skirt, fixing her cream silk blouse. Out of the personal crises that fill her life, this is one she can't seem to slot at all into the working hours. It would be put into a compartment until it could be examined more thoroughly. Meeting first, life-changing decisions after that,' she murmured under her breath while freshening up her lips with red lipstick-no smudges this time intentionally.
"The acquisition proposed for SmartTech Solutions would adequately seal a direct contest with Knight Enterprises in the arena of marketing automation with AI," Aria finished her presentation while clicking to the last slide showing projected revenue growth for five years. They have their proprietary algorithms that will give us an edge, and our research indicates that Knight, Xavier, is also looking towards acquiring them."
Richard Harmon, however, as he studied the projections with interest from his position as chief executive officer of Pinnacle Marketing Group and direct superior of Aria, commented, "Knight's been aggressively expanding. First Meridian, now potentially SmartTech." He looked up at Aria. "You're suggesting we outbid him?"
"I'm suggesting we move faster and more decisively," Aria said while keeping her eyes fixed on his. Even beneath the nausea trying to crawl up her throat to effortlessly spoil her calm guise, she could face up the existential debate all alone, without having to come shoulder to shoulder with anyone else in the room. "Knight will offer more money, but SmartTech's founder, Dr. Liang, values creative autonomy above all. Our proposal includes a dedicated research division under her continued leadership-something Knight Enterprises' acquisition history suggests they won't offer."
The silence in the boardroom now extended as everyone on the executive team pondered her strategy. Aria stood her ground, her attention not wandering even once from the beads of cold sweat forming at her temples. It was early morning sickness when it was 10:15 A.M. on the day of the most important presentation in her new position.
"That's aggressive," Marcus Wei, Chief Financial Officer and Aria's closest ally on the executive team, finally said. "But Chen's right about Knight's acquisition patterns. They buy, they gut, they absorb. Dr. Liang won't respond well to that approach."
Richard nodded slowly. "Prepare a formal proposal. I want to act on this by the end of the week." He turned to Aria. "Good work, Chen. This is why we promoted you."
The meeting adjourned, executives filing out with low murmurs discussing the presentation. Aria stayed behind to gather her materials, though she really needed a moment to get herself together to walk without betraying her physical distress.
"You look like shit," Marcus said bluntly as he closed the boardroom door after the last executive.
Not that she was going to lie about it. Aria saw Marcus as the only one of her friends from business school who could see right through her carefully constructed professional façade. "Food poisoning," she said smoothly. "Bad sushi."
Marcus narrowed his eyes. At thirty-five, he had already made his mark as one of the sharpest financial minds around, somewhat unfortunately helped by a keen instinct to sniff out a lie. "You don't eat sushi. You think raw fish invites parasites."
"Fine. The stomach bug."
"For the third time this week? Well, then maybe you're developing an immune disorder, or—" And then he broke off, an odd expression running through his features as mercurial doubt merged slowly into the bright glow of understanding. "Aria. Are you pregnant?"
The question hung in the air, a tremor in that word being felt in resonance in the hollow boardroom. Aria felt her composure crack just the tiniest bit.
"That's hardly something to discuss at work," she retorted, her voice stiff.
"Jesus! " He was looking down at the floor. He pulled a chair up beside him and sat. "Right? So who is the—" He trailed off again, almost sheepishly. "Forget about it."
Without a shred of restraint, Aria aggressively completed the zipper on her laptop bag. "Right. It's really not."
"But whatever you decide, I've got your back, you know?" His tone softened, and that's why she had chosen to keep Marcus alone from her past inside her present.
His dark eyes were sincere with concern; she felt it for the wink of an eye before getting away. "I have made no decisions yet."
"Bring me up to date when you do..." He lapsed into silence and merely nodded. "Call me. Anytime you want."
Aria permitted herself a small nod as she straightened her shoulders and walked out. "I have a client call in ten minutes, and we will discuss the SmartTech proposal later."
Back in the office with the door shut tight, Aria gave herself enough room to sit down, hands pressed against her abdomen. The nausea had transformed into a strange emptiness that had little to tell about physical well-being. She opened her laptop to prepare for the call, but there she was, searching for "Xavier Knight."
The latest report headlines appeared in a flash: "Knight Enterprises Expands Asia-Pacific Operations"; "Xavier Knight Among 40 Under 40 Business Leaders"; and "Tech Titan's Ruthless Acquisition Strategy Continues to Pay Off."
She clicked on a recent interview and studied very carefully the man who had unwittingly made her life so complicated: In the professionally photographed views, his features could have seemed sharper than she remembered, less human and more like a stone carving. His "uncompromising leadership style" and "legendary focus on results over relationships" were described in the article.
One quote stood out: "Family is a distraction I can't afford in this stage of my career. Knight Enterprises is my legacy."
Aria exited the browser window, her mind made up. Xavier Knight would never know about this pregnancy.