You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 525

Curtis, always the one trying to keep the peace, spoke up from the side. “Ms. Klotz, you have to give us a real timeline here.”

He didn’t stop there. “Honestly, these past couple of weeks, it looks like you and Mr. Martin have been focused on everything except saving the company’s stock price.”

Everyone around the boardroom table had their own people in the company. There were always eyes and ears everywhere. On a normal day, you’d never know who was loyal to whom. But when something went wrong, those connections suddenly mattered. How else would anyone outside the building know that Tina and Emerson’s attention had drifted so far from fixing the company’s biggest problems?

Curtis wasn’t usually the type to get involved in these power plays. He was known for being easygoing. But today, he didn’t hold back. “Ms. Klotz, we’re all on the same side here, so I’ll be honest with you. When a company changes hands, there’s always some fighting for power. Everyone here has played the game. Some do it cleanly, some don’t. If all of this really is Mr. Martin’s doing, then for the sake of everyone—”

He paused, his gaze landing on Tina and staying there for a long, heavy moment. “And for your own good—maybe now’s the time, before anything’s decided, to pick someone who’s actually good for the company’s image and can turn things around.”

No one missed the subtext. Curtis was telling Tina to get rid of Emerson and take charge herself. He was trying to stir things up between them, dangling power as the prize.

It was harsh. Cold.

And it worked.

Patricia had been standing just outside the door, listening in. When she heard her cue, she stepped right in.

If Tina had still been on the fence, Patricia’s entrance settled it for her.

As the board members left, headlines exploded online. Emerson questioned by the police, the board stepping in—news spread like wildfire, and the company’s stock sank even lower.

Tina went back to her office, shut the door behind her, and leaned on her desk. Her back was tense, her breathing shallow.

“That’s why, before your dad is taken away, he has to name me as his successor and step down himself.”

“But Mom, Dad would never agree to that. Isn’t this just like some kind of palace coup?”

Ruby had never thought her own family could fight like this.

Tina let out a bitter laugh. Of course—that’s what kids always want, a happy, peaceful family. But adults have to think about survival.

Her laughter faded. She looked Ruby straight in the eye, her voice flat and cold. “He could betray thirty years of marriage. Why can’t I take his place?”