Chapter 37: The Evening Meeting(Part-2)

"We'll sign this version, allocating me the full forty-percent equity stake as I initially proposed, inclusive of performance incentives and executive compensation packages at the standard contracted rates."

As he spoke, Victor's gaze remained locked with Davis's, his expression utterly inscrutable. "However, it will also include a unilateral stipulation - if I cannot provide comprehensive evidenced verification of my claimed capital assets by..." His voice trailed off inquisitively. 

For a long moment, Davis said nothing, merely regarding the younger man with that same intense, challenging stare. At last, he gave the barest incline of his head. "Ninety days," he stated flatly. "You have ninety days to satisfy this 'evidence' requirement, or the entire arrangement is null and void."

"Fair enough," Victor agreed with a short nod.

"Ninety days to produce the requested proofs to your satisfaction. If my comprehensive verification of assets is unsatisfactory to all parties after that window closes..." He paused meaningfully, allowing the weight of the moment to breathe.

"Then the contract will automatically revert to a revised version with my equity stake limited to the twenty-percent you initially proposed, Mr. Davis. All performance incentives and direct compensation would be excluded beyond basic profit-sharing metrics." Victor cocked an eyebrow inquiringly. "Would those revised terms prove more structurally acceptable to you?"

For a stretch of silence that seemed to last an eternity, Reginald Davis regarded Victor Mallory with an inscrutable intensity. Sarah found herself holding her breath almost involuntarily, the study seeming to constrict around them all like the walls of a gradually shrinking cell. 

At last, Davis gave a slow, considering nod, stroking his jaw with one hand as he clearly weighed the potential upsides against the inherent risks of such an unorthodox arrangement. When he spoke, his voice was toneless, devoid of any inflexion or tells.

"While I cannot deny the potential upside you've outlined, Mr Mallory, I must call into question certain...ethical qualms about your background and moral fibre as a prospective partner." 

The words seemed to hang in the charged air like a condemned man's noose, weighty with ominous implications. Even the unflappable Higgins seemed to stand that much more rigidly upon hearing them spoken aloud.

"How can we ascertain there are no concealed ulterior motives or hidden skeletons that could threaten to undermine this family's hard-earned reputation?" Davis demanded bluntly, his eyes boring into Victor's with undisguised challenge. 

"What assurances do we have that we would not be opening our beloved legacy up to potential...contamination from your unknown provenance?"

Jonathan frowned deeply at his advisor's thinly veiled insinuations. Yet Sarah couldn't help but feel a dawning sense of curiosity over what sort of spectres from Victor's past could have prompted such unabashed hostility from the normally unflappable Mr. Davis. 

For an interminable moment, Victor held the older man's gaze without so much as a muscle's twitch betraying his inner thoughts or emotions. When he spoke, at last, his voice was low and utterly devoid of inflexion.

"You need only judge me by the contents of my character and the virtue of my actions, sir," he stated flatly. "I am a proponent of complete transparency in all my dealings - business and personal alike. If any ethical shortcomings or criminal improprieties are uncovered during your scrutiny, I shall make no objections to immediate termination of this endeavour." 

For the briefest of moments, it seemed as though Victor's eyes flickered and danced with some invisible inner fire as if stoked by indiscernible catalysts and impulses burning just beneath that placid façade. Yet just as quickly, the phantom impression was gone, leaving everyone subtly unsettled yet curiously unable to pinpoint precisely why.

The weighted silence stretched onward until Sarah felt her lungs burning with the need to draw breath. She watched, scarcely daring to blink, as Reginald Davis gave a tight, curt nod of acceptance.

"Very well, Mr. Mallory," he said at last, extending his hand across the table in an unmistakable gesture of ritualized dealmaking. "I accept those annexed terms and contingencies, pending comprehensive review with our legal team."

As Victor clasped the proffered hand and they shook, Sarah saw her father's expression contort ever-so-slightly, as if jolted by an unexpected static shock or subliminal revelation. For the briefest of instants, Davis's eyes seemed to glaze over, his grip going momentarily limp and indistinct against Victor's own reassuringly solid grasp. 

The look of disquieted bewilderment vanished as quickly as it had manifested, leaving only an inscrutable blankness in its wake. Yet Sarah couldn't quite chase away the nagging sense that, in that fleeting moment, Reginald Davis had been struck by a shard of eldritch insight - a visceral glimpse behind the veil at whatever profound mystery lay coiled at Victor Mallory's core.

If Davis had indeed experienced such an epiphany, however, he gave no outward sign of it as he pulled his hand away and reclaimed his customary calculated demeanour. Clearing his throat, he refocused his attention on the sheaf of documents before him.

"There is one final provision I must insist upon before any agreements can be formalized," Davis stated, already making notations with his characteristic brisk efficiency. "Concerning the designated partners to directly oversee and vet operations for this venture."

A tense hush fell over the study once more as all eyes turned toward the Whitmore family patriarch. Even Emily tensed slightly, wondering if Davis intended to insert himself into a managerial role over the proposed business initiatives. 

To her surprise - and Sarah's thinly veiled consternation - Davis's next words put that assumption firmly to rest.

"Ms Emily Whitmore shall be designated as your primary partner in this endeavour, Mr. Mallory," he announced flatly. "Retaining a forty percent controlling stake as the Whitmore family's official representative and final authority on all operational decisions."

A stunned silence greeted this proclamation as Emily's eyes widened with shock, her mouth dropping open in a soundless 'o' of disbelief. For the younger Whitmore daughter to be entrusted with such a critical leadership role over one of the family's largest new business initiatives was not just highly irregular - it was virtually unheard of.

Across the table, Sarah felt a hot surge of indignation and bitter dismay lance through her like a physical blow. Surely she should have been the natural choice for such a prime opportunity, given her extensive business experience and grooming to one day assume the reins of Whitmore operations? Her hands clenched beneath the table as she struggled to maintain an appearance of unruffled poise.

Davis, seemingly oblivious to the rising tensions, continued in that same clinical tone of pronouncement. "Ms Sarah will assume an advisory role with a twenty percent minority interest. Her prior experience and guidance will be invaluable as this venture progresses."

The subtle emphasis he placed on the word "advisory" felt like salt in an open wound to Sarah. Yet Jonathan gave a slow, solemn nod of approval, clearly seeing the wisdom in Davis's determination.

"A fair compromise, I think," the family patriarch said, turning to level a meaningful look at his elder daughter. "Emily will oversee our interests first-hand in this pioneering new initiative, while Sarah provides knowledgeable counsel to facilitate its success. She does, after all, have many other immense obligations to prepare for in the coming year."

Sarah is uncertain whether her father is discussing her marriage to James or the other business ventures she oversees with the assistance of Davis.

All eyes turned toward the unflappable Victor Mallory, silently gauging his reaction to this unexpected restructuring of agreed-upon terms. To no one's surprise, the younger man displayed no outward perturbations whatsoever in the wake of Davis's pronouncement.

"I have no objections to those governing arrangements if the ladies agree to them," Victor replied evenly, seemingly unconcerned with such minor reshufflings of authority. "In fact, I welcome the unique insights and breadth of experience both Ms. Whitmores can provide to ensure this venture's ultimate success."

Emily managed a tight, polite nod, her ramrod posture betraying the tightly coiled mixture of honour and trepidation roiling within her at being thrust so unexpectedly into a role of such immense responsibility. Sarah, meanwhile, forced what she hoped was a convincing smile of gracious acknowledgement even as frustration and resentment burned like acid in her breast.

As Reginald Davis made the addendum official through crisp, precise notations and contractual amendments, the atmosphere in the Whitmore study seemed to thicken almost palpably with rising tensions and subtly shifting power dynamics. Yet through it all, Victor Mallory remained the unreadable eye of an increasingly turbulent storm - a strange enigmatic constant amid the escalating machinations and scheming of Albion's financial elite.

Davis straightened the document with precise fastidiousness before sliding it across the polished table surface toward Victor Mallory.

"I trust these revised provisions and arrangements meet your full approval?" his voice sliced through the charged stillness, his piercing gaze fixing Victor with an unspoken challenge as he awaited the younger man's response.

Victor gave a courteous nod and drew the document nearer, his eyes roving over each clause with meticulous focus. The others looked on with bated breath, the weight of the moment stretching taut between them.

After what seemed an eternity, Victor finally placed the contract down and retrieved an antique fountain pen from his jacket's inner pocket. He rolled it between his fingertips contemplatively.

"You've represented your family's interests admirably, Mr. Davis," Victor said, his deep voice resonating across the study. "I have no further objections."

He leaned forward, poising the pen's nib above the signature line. "Shall we seal our fates to this extraordinary endeavour, then?"

"See that you do, Mallory," Davis said with a hint of warning beneath the carefully measured words. "We shall hold you to every syllable."

Victor's lips quirked in an inscrutable smile as his pen stroked out a flowing calligraphic signature rich with precise embellishments. When he lifted his gaze at last, there was no mistaking the glimmer of finality in his eyes.