CHAPTER 61LeviAureliaLevi
Levi
Three weeks of relentless planning and sleepless nights were finally about to pay off. Levi couldn’t stop smiling at his reflection as he ran a hand through his hair, making the final adjustments.
The past few weeks replayed like his favorite victory montage, each memory sweeter than the last.
The employee walkout was staged by Martin Strasburg and had been far bigger than anyone anticipated.
What started as a symbolic protest turned into a full-scale exodus.
Entire departments followed suit, crippling Neuronix from the inside out.
But it was the IT department’s grand finale that stole the show.
Martin’s call two weeks ago had been the highlight of Levi’s year.
“No one should ever experience this level of workplace chaos,” Martin had laughed, “but damn, was it satisfying. You should have seen Wilkerson’s face when we all quit at the same time.
He looked ready to wet himself. My only regret is not sticking around long enough to watch him realize we’d disabled everything—internally and for every customer too. ”
Levi couldn’t stop laughing when he told the story to his friends. When the news broke later that evening, they’d all gathered at Aurelia’s house for an impromptu watch party, celebrating with a mix of champagne and pure, unfiltered satisfaction.
The media called it “ the most epic mass resignation in corporate history .”
And every time Levi thought about it, he smiled even wider.
After one last glance in the mirror, he left the bathroom, smoothing his sage green sweater over his dark jeans. Today was a big day, but he and Aurelia had agreed there was no need for suits or pretense. This wasn’t about impressing anyone. This was about reclaiming what was his.
She was already in the kitchen waiting for him.
A vision in a soft violet sweater dress and brown leggings, her freshly colored signature rainbow highlights catching the light like streaks of spun glass. Even with that walking boot on her injured foot, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.
She didn’t need to dress up to take his breath away. She was his breath, the very air he needed to survive.
Levi crossed the room in three long strides, pulling her gently into his arms. He savored the warmth of her against him, the soft press of her body fitting perfectly into his own.
They had a meeting to attend—a showdown with Neuronix’s desperate Board. Charles had already gone ahead, posing as the lead representative for the mysterious “buyers” circling the company’s remains like vultures.
And what delicious remains they were.
Neuronix stock had fallen to a single digit, and the Board was scrambling, desperate to offload what was left before the entire ship sank. Tyler Faulkner, that arrogant bastard, had lost millions trying to secure control, only to watch it all burn to ash in his hands.
Greed. That’s what took the Board of Directors down in the end. Their own unchecked greed.
Aurelia gave him a soft, lingering kiss before stepping out of his embrace. Slinging her purse over her shoulder and slipping on her sunglasses, she turned to him with a brilliant smile.
“Are you ready, my fearless leader?” she teased.
Levi smirked, savoring the spark in her eyes. “With that sass, you’re going to steal the entire show today.”
She turned toward the door, glancing back with a mischievous grin. “Well then…what are we waiting for?”
Levi stood straighter, his chest tight with purpose.
“Let’s go get my company back.”
Aurelia
The towering skyscraper loomed before them, an endless expanse of glass and steel that seemed to scrape the clouds.
Aurelia had only been here once before, for a lunch she would never forget. She pressed her thighs together at the memory that surged unbidden through her mind.
Levi must have been reliving it, too. His sidelong glance, eyes dark and glazed with the same hunger she felt, confirmed it.
That day…seeing him in his element, commanding from behind his massive desk…
She hadn’t just surprised him with his favorite takeout. Behind that desk, she had dropped to her knees before him, her brand of dessert taking priority over the meal she brought. The way his head fell back, fists tangled in her hair, his barely restrained groans as she tasted him—
“You need to stop looking at me like that before we go in there,” Levi rasped, his voice thick with longing. “If this goes the way we hope, you’ll be able to show up for lunch whenever you want.”
Heat crawled up her neck as she turned away, caught red-handed by his smoldering gaze.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, husband. You’re still very much on probation,” she teased, her voice light but her pulse pounding.
Levi sobered instantly. He held out his hand, palm open, his eyes searching hers with a quiet intensity that made her heart clench.
Sliding her hand into his, she gave him a small, confident smile.
“Let The Reckoning commence.”
Levi
“Such a unique perspective, sitting on this end of the table. I have to admit, I understand the allure now,” Levi mused, settling comfortably into his seat.
Across from him, Tyler Faulkner sat in the chair Levi once occupied as CEO, scowling like a petulant child. The rest of the Board wore equally sour expressions. Meanwhile, their side of the table—Aurelia, Charles, Owen, Ivy, Grace, and Isaac—stood united, a wall of calm defiance.
“But let’s skip the pleasantries,” Levi continued smoothly. “We’ve all been enjoying our newfound free time, only to be disturbed by news of how effectively you’ve run this company into the ground in record time.”
Before Tyler could react, Aurelia began clapping…slow, deliberate, and mocking. Owen and Ivy immediately joined in, adding dramatic flair. Levi bit back a grin.
So much sass indeed.
“Imagine my surprise,” Levi drawled, “when I learned Neuronix’s stock price had plummeted from a steady $154 a share to—what was it yesterday? Right under $2?”
Aurelia leaned in, her hand slipping into Levi’s as she spoke, voice honey-sweet and razor-sharp. “My dear husband, don’t be so hard on him.” Levi shot her a questioning glance, not expecting her to join in, but she continued, her sarcasm on full display.
“It’s not every day someone orchestrates a hostile takeover only to spectacularly crash and burn as a leader.”
Tyler’s face turned an alarming shade of red, the veins in his neck pulsing.
“I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now,” Aurelia went on, her eyes cold despite the faux sympathy in her voice.
“Ousting the people who own the rights to the products you can’t legally sell.
Watching your employees stage a very public walkout because no one wants to work for a selfish tyrant.
Not a single paying customer left happy.
And now…” She slowly scanned the length of the table, meeting the eyes of each Board member before returning her gaze to Tyler.
“…you’ve all lost millions on the stock collapse. Such a difficult season for you all.”
She smiled sweetly, while Ivy dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief— where had she even gotten that? —and Owen made loud, tragic tsk tsk sounds.
Tyler was visibly shaking, but Levi let them have their fun. After all, weeks ago, Tyler had planned for their public humiliation. It was only fitting they returned the favor.
“Well, in his defense,” Isaac added with mock pity, “it’s hard to run a tech company when you have zero experience or credentials. I always thought being CTO was easy since I actually knew how to code . But hey…guess that’s just me.”
“A PR nightmare!” Grace gasped dramatically. “Is it true even the marketing team walked out?”
Owen nodded somberly. “And the security team. And sales. And legal. Finance. Operations. Honestly, I’m surprised there’s anyone left to turn the lights on in this drafty building.”
Ivy let out a fake shiver. “Drafty and depressing,” she sniffed into her handkerchief.
Levi almost laughed aloud, but now it was time for the grand finale.
“Luckily for all of you,” he said, voice turning steel-cold, “we’re a forgiving and benevolent group. We’ve come today with a proposal—a generous offer to buy whatever’s left of this crumbling empire. As is. Assets and all. In cash.”
That certainly got their attention.
Charles stepped in to lay out the details, but when a Board member blustered, “We’ll lose complete ownership!” Aurelia’s voice cut through the room.
“That’s generally how buying you out works,” she snapped. “Why would we want you involved after you ran this company straight into the ground? If you want to walk away with anything left in your pockets, you’ll take the deal.”
She gave Levi’s hand a quiet squeeze. He had never seen this side of her before and fell in love even more.
Tyler slammed his fists on the table. “You think I’m too stupid to realize this was all orchestrated? The walkouts, the resignations—you ruined me! I should report you to the SEA!”
“Oh, I’m so glad you brought that up,” Levi said smoothly. He glanced at Owen, who practically vibrated with excitement.
“We already filed a complaint with the SEA,” Levi continued. “After Harris Wilkerson…shared some fascinating details with us.”
Tyler visibly paled.
Owen stood, already uncapping a marker as he marched to the whiteboard. “Time for a story!”
“Wait! I can explain—” Tyler began, but Owen held up a hand.
“Nope. You’re going to listen for once.”
With dramatic flair, Owen began diagramming the entire scheme…from Tyler’s stock grabs to his bribes, the planted backdoor in the software, and the final attempted data breach.
“And that brings us back to the start,” Owen said with a satisfied grin, circling the final item on the list. “You were working with a foreign military group, planning to use our technology as a Trojan horse for a cyber attack.”
Tyler erupted, shouting denials as chaos broke out—when the doors burst open. A swarm of National Bureau of Investigation agents flooded the room.
“Perfect timing, gentlemen,” Owen called cheerfully, snapping photos of Tyler’s arrest as he was shoved face-first onto the conference table and cuffed.
Levi and Owen looked at their friends, all wearing matching expressions of shock and disbelief, as the agents arrested Tyler. To his friends, Owen casually shrugged. “Turns out that the NBI has been watching him for a while now. Harris’s betrayal simply helped speed up the process.”
Through the pandemonium, Levi turned calmly back to the remaining Board members, casually pushing the paperwork Charles initially presented towards them.
“The SEA is about to launch its own investigation into securities fraud,” he informed them coolly.
“This deal is the only chance you have left to walk away from this mess with anything resembling dignity…and I want your greedy asses as far away from this company before I close every security gap you’ve helped expose. ”
They voted to sell what was left of the company and immediately signed the paperwork without hesitation.
As the group left the building, Aurelia leaned in close to Levi and whispered with a smirk, “That was quite a reckoning. At least life with you will never be boring.”
Levi wrapped an arm around her waist, a rare, genuine smile lighting his face.
“Never again.”