A message appeared.
JAMES: Emergency board call in three minutes.
Another message followed.
MICROSOFT LEGAL: Signing deadline remains 10:15 p.m.
Maya looked at the clock.
10:10.
Five minutes.
Victoria noticed the phone.
"And there's the proof."
She pointed at Maya.
"She's coordinating with someone."
Two security guards approached.
Maya looked at them.
Then at the hotel manager.
"Mr. Carter."
Marcus Carter, the hotel's general manager, stepped forward.
He looked deeply uncomfortable.
"Yes, ma'am?"
Maya reached into her purse.
She removed a business card.
She handed it to him.
"Please verify my credentials before this continues."
Marcus took the card.
He looked down.
His expression changed instantly.
Dr. Maya Washington
Senior Vice President — Microsoft Azure
Marcus looked at Maya.
Then at Victoria.
Then at the card again.
Victoria snatched it from his hand.
She read it.
Then laughed.
"This?"
She waved the card.
"This is the worst fake I've ever seen."
Maya remained silent.
Victoria looked around.
"Microsoft executives don't look like this."
The ballroom went still.
A man near the bar whispered:
"Jesus."
Victoria pointed at Maya.
"She's obviously pretending."
Maya reached into her purse again.
She pulled out her Microsoft executive badge.
Marcus stared.
Victoria's smile weakened.
Maya spoke calmly.
"Mr. Carter, call Microsoft's headquarters."
Victoria's face tightened.
"Don't."
Maya looked at her.
"Why not?"
"Because this is ridiculous."
"Then the call will prove you right."
Marcus picked up the phone.
Victoria stepped forward.
"Marcus, if you make that call, you're finished."
He hesitated.
Maya simply looked at him.
"Verify."
Marcus dialed.
The call went through.
"Microsoft Corporation. How may I direct your call?"
Marcus swallowed.
"I'm trying to reach Dr. Maya Washington's office."
"Certainly. Please hold."
The ballroom became silent.
The call transferred.
A woman's voice answered.
"Dr. Washington's executive office. This is Jennifer."
Maya took the phone.
"Jennifer, it's Maya."
A gasp came through the speaker.
"Oh my God."
Jennifer's voice immediately changed.
"Dr. Washington, are you okay?"
Maya glanced toward Victoria.
"I'm fine."
"Your face is covered in cake."
"I noticed."
Jennifer sounded horrified.
"We've been watching the livestream."
Maya looked at the camera.
"Apparently so."
"Legal is watching too."
Jennifer paused.
"Should we call the police?"
Maya took a breath.
"Not yet."
Victoria's face had gone pale.
Jennifer continued.
"The board is asking whether the signing is still happening."
Maya looked at the clock.
10:12.
Three minutes.
She looked at Victoria.
Then at Jonathan Sterling's empty chair near the stage.
And she realized something.
The Sterling family had spent decades building an empire.
Victoria had nearly destroyed it in thirty seconds.
But Maya wasn't finished.
Not yet.
The Name Behind the Badge
The ballroom's giant projection screens suddenly changed.
The presentation celebrating Sterling Industries disappeared.
A Microsoft verification portal appeared instead.
Marcus Carter had connected Maya's credentials to the hotel's presentation system.
The screen displayed:
MAYA WASHINGTON
Senior Vice President, Microsoft Azure
Executive Contract Authorization: $5 Billion
Current Assignment: Sterling Industries Partnership
Contract Value: $4.2 Billion
A collective gasp rolled through the room.
Victoria stared at the screen.
"No."
Maya said nothing.
The viewer counter climbed.
89,000.
Then:
101,000.
Then:
125,000.
Comments were flooding the livestream.
That's actually a Microsoft executive.
Victoria just assaulted a Microsoft VP.
This cannot be real.
Someone needs to call the police.
She called her ghetto trash.
Sterling is finished.
Victoria shook her head.
"This is fake."
Marcus looked at her.
"Miss Sterling, I personally verified the credentials."
"You don't know anything."
"I have been general manager of this hotel for twelve years."
Victoria turned toward him.
"You work for us."
"No, ma'am."
Marcus's voice was quiet.
"I work for the hotel."
That distinction mattered.
For the first time, Victoria looked around and realized the room was no longer on her side.
She tried another strategy.
"You don't understand."
She pointed at Maya.
"She attacked me first."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
Maya's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"I did?"
"You were sneaking around."
"I was standing beside the contract table."
"You were looking through documents."
"I was reviewing the agreement."
Victoria shook her head.
"You're lying."
Maya looked at her.
"The agreement has my signature block on every page."
Victoria's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
At that moment, the ballroom doors opened.
Jonathan Sterling walked in.
He was sixty-two.
Silver hair.
Expensive black tuxedo.
The kind of man who could silence a boardroom simply by entering it.
He had been upstairs meeting with several investors.
He stopped when he saw the crowd.
Then he saw his daughter.
Then Maya.
His face changed.
He recognized her immediately.
Not from television.
Not from the livestream.
From eight months of meetings.
Eight months of negotiations.
Eight months of conversations about the future of his company.
"Dr. Washington?"
His voice was barely audible.
Victoria turned toward him.
"Daddy!"
She rushed toward him.
"Thank God you're here."
Jonathan looked at her.
"What happened?"
"This woman crashed our gala."