PART 2: THE BOSS AT THE KIDS’ TABLE
The room went still. Not a whisper, not a clink of a glass. The violinist paused mid-note. My stomach flipped. Xavier Thorne stepped through the entrance, tall, impossibly confident, dressed in the kind of Italian suit that could make CEOs swoon. His eyes swept the room, sharp as a hawk, until they landed on me.
Jeffrey was still laughing with the board members, oblivious. My mother’s smile faltered as her gaze followed his. And I, sitting at table nineteen with crayons and juice boxes, felt something surge inside me—something I hadn’t felt since I’d discovered how invisible I’d been to my family all my life: power.
Xavier moved closer. The chair across from me cleared. He sat down. Slowly. Deliberately. The smell of his cologne hit me like a jolt, and I could see the faint recognition in his eyes.
“You’re Cassidy,” he said quietly, leaning forward. His voice wasn’t loud, but somehow it carried. “The one behind the speech for the London summit?”
I froze. My fingers tightened around the green-crayon dragon.
“I… uh… yes,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Good,” he said, smiling just enough to unsettle me. “Because someone has been doing a very impressive job while pretending to be ‘invisible.’”
The room had stopped breathing. Executives were looking over, unsure if they should intervene. Jeffrey’s jaw went slack. My mother’s hand hovered over her glass.
I realized then—he knew everything. Every contract, every article, every speech I had written in secret. He wasn’t here to congratulate me. He was here to make a point.
Xavier’s gaze flicked to Jeffrey. “And you,” he said, calm and deadly, “keep underestimating your own family. Big mistake.”
Jeffrey’s face paled. He stumbled over his words. “I… uh… Cassidy is my sister…”
Xavier leaned back, eyes never leaving me. “And she’s the reason your last campaign went viral. The reason your investors are still buzzing. The reason your stock doubled in six months. Do you get it now?”
Jeffrey opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
