The Ice Princess of Fifth Avenue
The Lambert Meeting
Location: Valtieri Global Holdings, Conference Suite | Manhattan
The glass walls of the executive conference suite shimmered with rain and city light, distorting the view like a mirage. Beyond them, Manhattan pulsed with indifferent life. Inside, the air hung heavier — with power, expectation, and fear.
At the head of the table sat Celeste Valtieri.
Perfect posture. Perfect poise. Perfect silence.
Her navy pinstripe suit was armor. Her icy blue gaze, a loaded gun.
She hadn’t spoken since entering the room. Not a single word.
And that silence had stretched thin across the backs of the men seated before her.
Richard Lambert — CFO of Lambert Holdings, a man who had once thought himself too wealthy, too important to wait for anyone — now sat like a schoolboy summoned to the principal’s office. His hand tightened around his expensive Montblanc pen as if that might anchor him.
To his left and right, his advisors shifted uncomfortably. No one here was immune to reputation. No one here was stupid enough to forget who sat at the head of this empire.
Richard Lambert
Miss Valtieri,
Lambert began with a forced, oily smile,
Richard Lambert
I appreciate you making time. The weather—
Celeste Valtieri
You’re late.
Celeste’s voice cut through the room like a scalpel through silk.
Celeste Valtieri
You were warned about punctuality.
Her gaze moved down the table like a predator selecting which throat to bite first.
Celeste Valtieri
You arrive late to my building. You arrive late to my floor. You arrive late to my time.
Richard Lambert
There were—complications with the—
Celeste Valtieri
No one cares.
Celeste Valtieri
This meeting was not scheduled for your convenience. It was scheduled as a courtesy.
Celeste’s fingers tapped once against the polished black marble of the table. The sound was soft.
Celeste Valtieri
That courtesy has now expired.
One of Lambert’s men — younger, brasher, probably from the PR department — opened his mouth to speak. Nicolo Bianchi moved before the words left his throat.
A shadow in black at the far end of the room.
Nicolo didn’t need weapons to terrify. His eyes did the work for him.
The man’s mouth snapped shut. His chair scraped subtly backward.
Celeste’s attention didn’t waver.
Celeste Valtieri
You’re here to beg for my continued support. For the survival of your sinking ship of a company. And yet… you keep me waiting.
Lambert’s skin shone with nervous sweat.
Richard Lambert
We— We value Valtieri Global as a partner. We—
Celeste Valtieri
You value my money. You value my reputation keeping your creditors from chewing off your limbs like dogs at a corpse. Let’s not insult each other’s intelligence further.
Nicolo shifted at the wall. No words, just the soft flex of tattooed knuckles adjusting his watch. A silent predator counting down the minutes until bloodshed was necessary.
Her presence filled the room even more when she moved.
Celeste Valtieri
Here’s what’s going to happen, Mr. Lambert.
She leaned forward, hands braced on the table.
Celeste Valtieri
You will sign over controlling interest. Today. To me. You will resign, effective immediately.
Celeste Valtieri
You will walk out of this building with your pride intact because I am gracious.
Celeste Valtieri
Because I am merciful.
Celeste Valtieri
Because I am sparing you the humiliation of having your sins paraded through the media like a dead rat held up by its tail.
Her smile widened, teeth sharp behind velvet words.
Celeste Valtieri
You will take this gift I am offering you and disappear.
A silence thick enough to choke on.
Richard Lambert
Of course…
Richard Lambert
We’ll need to review the terms—
Celeste’s gaze snapped to Nicolo.
Celeste Valtieri
Bring the documents.
Nicolo moved like a shadow peeling itself from the wall. A leather folder slid across the table to Lambert without a word. Black, embossed with the Valtieri crest — a lion strangling a serpent.
Lambert’s signature trembled as he signed.
The ink wasn’t even dry before Celeste spoke again.
Celeste Valtieri
Thank you, Mr. Lambert. You’ve just ensured your children will still be able to afford private school.
She straightened, smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle from her sleeve.
He didn’t need to be told twice.
As the door closed behind them, Nicolo remained. Watching. Waiting.
Nicolo Vittore Bianchi
You shouldn’t waste your talent on worms like him,
Nicolo said quietly. His first words since entering the room.
Celeste Valtieri
I don’t waste talent,
Celeste gaze fixed on the Manhattan skyline.
Celeste Valtieri
I sharpen it.
Her reflection in the glass smiled back at her. Cold. Beautiful. Untouchable.
Nicolo’s hand hovered briefly over his pocket. The silver glint of his Zippo lighter caught the light before vanishing again.
Celeste Valtieri
More threats came this morning,
Nicolo Vittore Bianchi
I know.
His voice was lower now. For her ears alone.
Nicolo Vittore Bianchi
I’ll find them. I’ll kill them.
She turned then, finally looking at him.
For a moment, something soft flickered in those glacier-blue eyes. Something no one else ever saw.
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