Michael: Get your clothes on, Chloe! We need to get down to the ballroom before Harrison executes that order!
Chloe: Michael, my dress is hooked under the bed! Help me!
Michael: Figure it out yourself! I'm losing fifty million dollars right now!
Michael jammed his feet into his leather shoes, not bothering to button his shirt or tie his bow. He sprinted out of the bedroom and into the hallway, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the hotel's executive lobby, Harrison, the chief legal counsel for Sterling Enterprises, stood beside the grand ballroom entrance. He was holding a leather folder, surrounded by four suit-clad security guards.
Audrey stepped off the glass elevator, her white lace dress trailing behind her. Her face showed no tears, only a fierce, sharp focus that made the hotel staff step back in respect.
Harrison: Miss Sterling! I received your call. Is everything alright upstairs?
Audrey: Michael was caught in bed with my assistant ten minutes ago, Harrison.
Harrison: Good heavens... On the wedding day?
Audrey: Did you issue the share revocation order to the transfer agent?
Harrison: The paperwork is ready, Audrey. But under clause four of your father's trust, revoking a proxy share grant requires a formal board notification.
Audrey: The board is sitting inside that ballroom right now. Let's give them their notification.
Harrison: Are you sure you want to handle this publicly, Audrey?
Audrey: Michael thought he could use my family name to secure his position while treating me like a fool. He is going to learn today that every dollar he possessed came from my signature.
Michael came bursting out of the stairwell door at the far end of the lobby, his shirt unbuttoned, his hair disheveled, sweat dripping down his temples.
Michael: Audrey! Stop! Don't open those ballroom doors!
Audrey: Look at you, Michael. You look like a panicked criminal running from the scene of the crime.
Michael: Harrison, listen to me! I am still an executive vice president of Sterling Global!
Harrison: Actually, Mr. Vance, your executive appointment was contingent on your marriage to Miss Sterling. Without the marriage certificate, your contract is voidable at will.
Michael: I signed a five-year employment agreement last year!
Audrey: You signed an agreement that included a strict morality clause, Michael. Breaking that clause voids your severance, your stock options, and your corporate penthouse lease.
Michael stopped two feet away from Audrey, his breathing ragged as he looked at the guards standing beside Harrison.
Michael: Audrey, my family spent two hundred thousand dollars preparing for this merger! My mother's estate is tied up in those shares!
Audrey: Then your mother should have taught you how to remain faithful to the woman who rescued your family from bankruptcy.
Michael: I was stressed! The board was pressing me about the quarterly audit!
Audrey: Stress doesn't strip a man of his pants, Michael. Greed does.
Audrey turned away from him and gestured to the two guards standing near the heavy double doors of the ballroom.
Audrey: Open the doors, gentlemen. It's time to address our guests.