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Chapter Fifteen – Trouble in Techland: Jealous Execs and Sabotage Schemes

RoweTech was built on ambition.

But ambition, in the wrong hands, could easily become sabotage.

And now that Tina Rowe was busy trending for her kiss rather than her quarterly earnings, some boardroom vultures began circling.

---

RoweTech Conference Room – Monday Morning

The board meeting started at 10:00 AM sharp.

Tina arrived at 9:59, coffee in one hand, steel in her eyes. The kiss, the livestream, the trending hashtags — she’d worn them all over the weekend. Today, she was back in CEO mode.

Power suit? On.

Smile? Barely there.

Mercy? Nowhere in sight.

But even before the lights dimmed and the first slide popped up, Tina noticed it.

Whispers. Eyes that lingered too long. A smirk here. A frown there.

And one chair conspicuously empty.

She narrowed her eyes.

“Where’s Jonathan Klein?” she asked.

Her CFO, a tight-faced woman named Marla, replied coolly, “Called in from the Zurich office. Said he had an emergency review.”

Tina’s jaw ticked.

Jonathan Klein was her Chief Strategy Officer — and the first exec to publicly question the fake dating plan. Now he was skipping board meetings?

Something stunk.

---

Meanwhile… Across the City

Malik had never seen his face on a gossip blog and a tech finance forum on the same day.

He wasn’t sure whether to be proud or terrified.

Jay, of course, was both.

“You’re officially a power couple, bro,” he said, tossing Malik a bagel. “They’re calling you 'New York’s Most Unlikely Boyfriend.’”

“Unlikely is right,” Malik muttered, scrolling through articles.

But it wasn’t just gossip anymore.

One headline caught his attention:

> “RoweTech Slipping? Inside the Boardroom Drama Behind the Romance”

The piece suggested that Tina’s focus on her personal life had caused a “shift in leadership tone” and that certain shareholders were “questioning her priorities.”

Malik felt his stomach sink.

They were coming for her.

Because of him.

---

Back at RoweTech – 3:00 PM

Tina’s office door slammed shut behind her.

She yanked off her heels, paced once, and finally dialed Dani.

“Get me a full report on Klein’s last two weeks,” she said.

“Already did,” Dani replied. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Hit me.”

“Three off-the-record meetings with Vortex Capital. One of our biggest competitors.”

Tina stopped pacing.

Her breath caught. “That’s grounds for removal.”

“It would be,” Dani said carefully, “if we had proof he passed anything along.”

Tina sat down slowly. “Then we find proof.”

---

The Set-Up

Dani worked fast.

By the next morning, they had pieced together emails, travel logs, and even a suspiciously timed expense report with a hotel that just so happened to be hosting the Vortex executive summit.

“Coincidence?” Dani asked.

“Never,” Tina muttered. “This idiot’s selling my company’s future to the competition.”

“And blaming your love life while doing it,” Dani added.

Tina’s eyes burned. Not with embarrassment — with rage.

He thought the headlines made her weak.

He forgot who he was messing with.

---

The Confrontation – Private Boardroom

Three days later, Tina called a special meeting.

Jonathan walked in smugly, adjusting his $5,000 cufflinks and smirking like he’d already won.

She let him talk first.

He presented a “strategic growth proposal” — full of vague language, new mergers, and plans that subtly, but very deliberately, edged her out of key decision-making.

When he finished, the room was silent.

Then Tina stood.

“Jonathan,” she said softly, “I hope Vortex Capital paid you well. Because after today, that’s the only company you’ll be welcome at.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

She clicked a remote.

The screen behind her lit up with three damning files:

1. His expense reports showing dinners with Vortex execs.

2. A leaked internal memo from Vortex referencing RoweTech data.

3. A time-stamped hotel meeting log — right after he claimed to be “on vacation.”

Silence.

Then gasps.

Then Jonathan’s face drained of color.

“You can’t prove—”

“I don’t need to. The board already voted to suspend you pending investigation. I’ve frozen your access. Security is waiting outside.”

Right on cue, two guards appeared.

He looked around for help.

No one spoke.

Tina raised an eyebrow. “You’re dismissed.”

---

Later That Night – Tina’s Penthouse

Malik came over with takeout and two bottles of wine.

“You burned a man alive in public today,” he said, raising his plastic fork.

“I did,” Tina replied.

“Do I need to start fearing you?”

She smiled. “Only if you betray me to a corporate rival.”

“Noted.”

They ate in silence for a while, the TV playing in the background. Then Malik asked, more quietly, “Does it ever get tiring?”

“What?”

“Being in charge of everything. Everyone.”

Tina thought for a moment.

“Sometimes. But it’s better than the alternative.”

Malik nodded.

“I’d still rather be broke and at peace.”

She laughed. “You say that now.”

“I’ll say it forever.”

There was something calm about him. Something grounding.

After a day of war, he felt like truce.

---

Last Scene – Trouble Still Lurks

Across the city, in a sleek office overlooking Wall Street, a woman sipped wine as she watched Tina’s livestream for the third time.

On her desk sat a thick manila folder labeled ROWETECH: STRATEGY + WEAKNESSES.

She smirked.

“She’s good,” the woman whispered.

“But not good enough.”

She clicked “Send” on an encrypted email.

Subject: Let’s take her down.

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End of Chapter Fifteen.