Lord Sterling stared at the young woman standing behind Damien's chair. He blinked, his brain trying to reconcile the image of the "scandalous actress" from the tabloids with the shark in high heels who had just threatened to buy him out.
Then, he laughed.
It was a wet, condescending sound that broke the tension in the room. "Buy me out? You?" Sterling looked around the table, seeking validation from the other board members. "Did you hear that? The little girl thinks her piggy bank is big enough to sit at the grown-ups' table."
He turned his sneer back to Aria, who was still standing calmly behind her husband. "Miss Vale, your 20% of Vale Entertainment is cute. But Sinclair Corp deals in billions. Your entire net worth wouldn't pay for the jet fuel on the company plane for a week."
Aria didn't flush. She didn't stammer. She simply removed her hand from Damien's shoulder and walked calmly back to the foot of the table where she had left her purse.
