sliding through the strands as he turns around briskly and walks back to his chair. My neck is still bent over the head of the chair. I stare at the ceiling as tears leak out of my eyes. My chest shakes with silent sobs as images of when they lowered Dad into the earth flash in front of my eyes.
It’s not fair.
I wipe my face and pull my laptop in front of me so that I don’t have to look at him. I go through the list of accounts I have to reopen and make the necessary phone calls, reopening all of them as Joe listens silently. Then I slam the lid down and glare at the man lounging in the chair.
“There. Will you leave me alone now?”
He merely looks up. “You have a board meeting in five minutes.”
“What?” I open my laptop and look at my calendar. “Fuck!” I stand up abruptly and Joe follows suit as I sprint across the room and yank open the door.
Joe jogs at my side as I walk down the hall at a brisk pace. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“I’m the goddamn President of the company!”
“Exactly. You can do whatever the fuck you want.”
I make a frustrated sound as I tear around the corner. I yank open the doors to the conference room and catch Nathan’s beady look, and Jessica’s smirk—wait, what? Why is Jessica here? The rest of the board members smile at me when I enter the room.
Chimes of “Good morning!” echo around me and I murmur back in response, still flummoxed by Jessica’s presence. Their eyes zero in on something over my shoulder, and I turn around to come face to face with Joe. Oh, right.
“Um—this is Joe DiFiore. He’s a personal advisor and he’ll be attending board meetings from now on. I apologize; I know that this is unusual.”
I recognize Mr. Blackwell from the funeral. He nods his head. “Not at all.”
It’s much harder to face them when I know now that Dad was deceiving them by providing fraudulent financial reports.
Nathan gives me an icy stare as we take our seats. We still haven’t talked since that disastrous meeting at the attorney’s office. It’s clear from looking at his face that his opinion of me still hasn’t changed. My insides squirm unpleasantly. I didn’t want this.
“Marisa, the board convened today because there has been an offer from Lences Holdings to buy out the company—”
“No,” I say in a loud voice, cutting him off. Jesus, the hair on the back of my neck rises as they all look at me. “I’m not interested in selling the company.”
I’m acutely aware that Joe sits beside me. If there’s an inkling of a sale, I could get in a lot of trouble.
Blackwell raises an eyebrow. “We’ve received a very generous offer. Are you sure you don’t want to hear the details? Your father was considering selling the company before he passed away, that’s why I bring it up.”
“I’m positive,” I say in a firm voice.
“I’d like to put it to a vote.” My brother’s cool voice cuts through mine and the blue eyes seem to stab at me from across the room.
Goddamn it, Nathan. You don ’ t know what you ’ re doing.
“No.”
Jessica’s face looks puffy and tired, as if she spent the night drinking. She lifts her head, a defiant gleam shining through her eyes. “Yes.”
What the fuck?
My hands balled into fists, I watch as Nathan gives a hissing “yes” without a moment’s hesitation. I glare at both of them and Jessica blushes pink and looks away. The rest of the board votes negatively, and I try to savor my triumph over the bitterness I feel over Nathan.
My hands tremble over the table. “If that’s all, can we adjourn?”
“Certainly.”
Chairs scrape back as people stand up, and Nathan stands up stiffly, walking past me without a word. I follow him outside, determined to talk. My heart pounds as I chase him in the hall. He seems determined to ignore me forever.
“Nathan, we need to talk. I don’t understand why you’re trying to rope Jessica into this.”
He whirls around finally and I stumble
It’s not fair.
I wipe my face and pull my laptop in front of me so that I don’t have to look at him. I go through the list of accounts I have to reopen and make the necessary phone calls, reopening all of them as Joe listens silently. Then I slam the lid down and glare at the man lounging in the chair.
“There. Will you leave me alone now?”
He merely looks up. “You have a board meeting in five minutes.”
“What?” I open my laptop and look at my calendar. “Fuck!” I stand up abruptly and Joe follows suit as I sprint across the room and yank open the door.
Joe jogs at my side as I walk down the hall at a brisk pace. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“I’m the goddamn President of the company!”
“Exactly. You can do whatever the fuck you want.”
I make a frustrated sound as I tear around the corner. I yank open the doors to the conference room and catch Nathan’s beady look, and Jessica’s smirk—wait, what? Why is Jessica here? The rest of the board members smile at me when I enter the room.
Chimes of “Good morning!” echo around me and I murmur back in response, still flummoxed by Jessica’s presence. Their eyes zero in on something over my shoulder, and I turn around to come face to face with Joe. Oh, right.
“Um—this is Joe DiFiore. He’s a personal advisor and he’ll be attending board meetings from now on. I apologize; I know that this is unusual.”
I recognize Mr. Blackwell from the funeral. He nods his head. “Not at all.”
It’s much harder to face them when I know now that Dad was deceiving them by providing fraudulent financial reports.
Nathan gives me an icy stare as we take our seats. We still haven’t talked since that disastrous meeting at the attorney’s office. It’s clear from looking at his face that his opinion of me still hasn’t changed. My insides squirm unpleasantly. I didn’t want this.
“Marisa, the board convened today because there has been an offer from Lences Holdings to buy out the company—”
“No,” I say in a loud voice, cutting him off. Jesus, the hair on the back of my neck rises as they all look at me. “I’m not interested in selling the company.”
I’m acutely aware that Joe sits beside me. If there’s an inkling of a sale, I could get in a lot of trouble.
Blackwell raises an eyebrow. “We’ve received a very generous offer. Are you sure you don’t want to hear the details? Your father was considering selling the company before he passed away, that’s why I bring it up.”
“I’m positive,” I say in a firm voice.
“I’d like to put it to a vote.” My brother’s cool voice cuts through mine and the blue eyes seem to stab at me from across the room.
Goddamn it, Nathan. You don ’ t know what you ’ re doing.
“No.”
Jessica’s face looks puffy and tired, as if she spent the night drinking. She lifts her head, a defiant gleam shining through her eyes. “Yes.”
What the fuck?
My hands balled into fists, I watch as Nathan gives a hissing “yes” without a moment’s hesitation. I glare at both of them and Jessica blushes pink and looks away. The rest of the board votes negatively, and I try to savor my triumph over the bitterness I feel over Nathan.
My hands tremble over the table. “If that’s all, can we adjourn?”
“Certainly.”
Chairs scrape back as people stand up, and Nathan stands up stiffly, walking past me without a word. I follow him outside, determined to talk. My heart pounds as I chase him in the hall. He seems determined to ignore me forever.
“Nathan, we need to talk. I don’t understand why you’re trying to rope Jessica into this.”
He whirls around finally and I stumble
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