Bailey just hung up with Reese, so he figured she must havee straight to ckOak. She was definitely hoping to use Matthew to put pressure on him for Marie''s shares.


    He shot Hank a look, silently telling him to get Reese out of the room before she could stir up any more trouble.


    Hank caught on in a sh. He strode over and, before Reese could react, grabbed her wrist and started pulling her toward the door. "Come on. We need to talk."


    "If you''ve got something to say, say it here."


    Reese frowned and tried to yank her arm free, but Hank''s grip was unyielding. As she struggled, red marks bloomed on her skin.


    "Reese, could you just listen to me for once? Stop interrupting while Dad and Matthew are having a serious conversation."


    When she kept resisting, Hank''s hold tightened. He gave a hard tug, and Reese stumbled, her heel screeching across the polished tile. The sound sliced through the tense silence.


    Matthew''s hand clenched on the table, his eyes turning icy as he red daggers into Hank''s back.


    He stood up, ready to intervene, but Bailey blocked his way.


    "Sorry, Matthew. Reese was spoiled by her uncle and never learned when to stop. Please don''t mind her."


    Bailey forced a smile, relieved as Hank dragged Reese out of the room.


    "By the way, when is this de project manager you mentioned supposed to arrive?" he asked, changing the subject.


    Matthew''s jaw tightened as he watched Reese get pulled out, the atmosphere in the room turning even colder.


    He kept his eyes on the conference room door, barely open, his voice sharp as ice. "She was already here. But you just kicked her out."


    Bailey blinked, then let out a disbelievingugh. "You can''t be serious, Matthew.


    "I know exactly what Reese is capable of. She didn''t even finish college let alone understand anything about artificial Intelligence. How could she possibly be the lead on de?"


    He hesitated, his tone growing "If you want to help her get the


    Meyer family shares, let''s talk about


    it directly. Don''t pretend she''s the


    de project manager hel.ne


    ??????


    "And anyway, de is a top-level military project. They wouldn''t just hand it to anyone. Reese isn''t cut out for that."


    Just as he''d thought, Reese was here to scheme with Matthew for the shares. And Matthew had actually gone along with it, making up this story about her being de''s lead.


    "She is qualified," Matthew said, his voice clipped.


    He didn''t want to argue anymore. Grabbing his jacket off the chair, he strode for the door.


    As he passed Bailey, he shot him a look full of disdain.


    "Funny, Mr. Meyer. You''re supposed to be Reese''s father, but you don''t know the first thing about her. Maybe you should ask yourself why that is.”


    Bailey flushed, stung by the words. He wanted to snap back, but nothing came to mind. He could only watch as Matthew walked out, realizing he''d just burned a bridge.


    He cursed Reese in his mind. If she hadn''t shown up and made a scene, he wouldn''t be in this mess. Not only had missed meeting de''s real. project manager, now Matthew was furious with him.


    Outside the conference room, Hank pulled Reese into a quiet corner before finally letting go of her wrist.


    She rubbed the sore spot, ring at the red marks on her skin, her eyes cold as ice.


    "Hank, what the hell is your problem?"


    Hank let out a shortugh, crossing his arms and looking down at her like she was nothing.


    "Reese, I know you want Mom''s shares so badly, but you can at least pick a better time to throw a fit.


    "Do you even get how important this project is to Dad? If you can''t help, the least you could do is stop making things worse for him.”