deposit if we feel the transaction poses a risk to our institution. Given the circumstances,
the irregularities, and your lack of history with our bank, I am going to have to decline this
deposit."
Andrew smirked behind his manager. He felt vindicated.
Elena did not move to take her check back. She just stared at Richard Sterling. "You are
refusing a valid, certified check backed by a major international law firm without even
reviewing the documentation?"
"I am exercising my discretion as the branch manager," Richard said smoothly. "I
suggest you take this check to a commercial bank. Perhaps one more accustomed to... retail
transactions. We simply cannot assume the risk."
Elena stood there for a long moment. The lobby seemed to grow silent around them.
She looked at Richard, then at Andrew. She didn't look defeated. She looked like someone
who had just won a chess match five moves in advance.
"Mr. Sterling," Elena said, her voice dropping an octave, carrying a weight that hadn't
been there before. "I am going to ask you to look at page four of that folder."
"Ms. Brooks, I have already made my decision—"
"Look at page four," she commanded. It wasn't a request. It was an order from someone
used to being obeyed.
Caught off guard by her sudden shift in demeanor, Richard frowned and opened the
folder. He flipped past the Sterling, Vance & Sterling cover letter. He flipped past the transfer
instructions. He arrived at page four.
It was a legal document. A notice of intent. His eyes scanned the dense legal jargon,
looking for whatever she thought was so important. And then, he saw the name of the
intellectual property that had been sold.
His face froze.
The blood drained from his cheeks so quickly he looked as though he might pass out.
His mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.
The intellectual property was a proprietary algorithmic trading software called 'Aegis'.
Richard knew that name. Every senior executive in the banking world knew that name.
It was the Holy Grail of risk management software, a program capable of predicting market
fluctuations with terrifying accuracy. It had just been acquired by a massive global
conglomerate.
But that wasn't what made Richard Sterling stop breathing.
What made him stop breathing was the name of the conglomerate that had bought the
software.
Harrington & Cole Global Holdings.
The parent company of the very bank he managed.
His eyes darted further down the page to the terms of the sale. The $4.8 million check
was merely the initial signing bonus. The total acquisition price was over two hundred
million dollars. And the contract clearly stipulated that all future royalties, maintenance
fees, and the principal payout were to be deposited exclusively into the creator’s chosen
banking institution.
Richard slowly looked up from the document. The woman in the faded denim jacket
was staring back at him.
She wasn't just a client.
She was the architect of the software his bank had just bet its entire future on. She was
Elena Brooks, the reclusive coding genius that the Harrington & Cole board of directors had
been desperately trying to woo for eighteen months.
And he had just told her to take her business down the street.