Julian couldn't speak. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
James walked to the head of the table, pulling out the center leather armchair and sitting down comfortably. He unbuttoned his brown corduroy jacket, leaning back.
"Mr. Sterling," James said calmly to the elder titan. "Your son can't execute the defense transfer tonight."
"And who the hell are you?" Arthur Sterling demanded.
"This is James Vance," one of the Skadden Arps attorneys interjected smoothly, dropping a three-hundred-page legal filing onto the glass table with a heavy, echoing THUD. "Sole owner of Vance Global Enterprises, primary patent holder of the Aegis Quantum Protocol, and as of four minutes ago, the primary lienholder of Sterling Holdings' credit facility."
Arthur Sterling blinked, his hand flying to his chest as if he had just suffered a physical blow. He looked at Julian. "Julian... what did you do?"
"Dad... he's bluffing!" Julian panicked, pointing a shaking finger at James. "Vanessa said he was broke! She said he signed away his IP rights when we kicked him off the board!"