Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

It was crazy, but as they walked Simon couldn’t shake the feeling that all the employees were staring at him. Staring and whispering about the scandal that was about to blow up in his face. For ten years, his reputation at Dover had been spotless. That was about to end abruptly. His position as CEO was on the line. It was a risk he had been willing to take to be with Heather. But she hadn’t wanted that. Hadn’t wanted to start a real relationship. Somehow that hurt a hell of a lot more than the prospect of losing his job.

When he stopped at the conference room door he opened it, letting the executive assistant walk inside. Before Heather stepped in after her, he gently touched her shoulder.

“Remember, let me do the talking,” he said. “Go in ahead of me and keep your head up. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.” Inhaling sharply Heather swept inside, leaving him behind.

He lowered his hands to button up his jacket, preparing himself to project the same confidence he always did. This was his company. It was time to show the board that he was still in charge.

Simon stepped inside the freezing conference room, keeping his face expressionless. Whatever they wanted to say, he was prepared. He could handle this. He swallowed. So why did he feel so nervous, then? He had nothing to worry about, right? Except, this was it. The moment of truth.

Chapter 2

They were all staring at her.

Watching her every move as she made her way to an empty seat at the round conference room table. All of Dover’s conference room tables were round, to foster a certain egalitarian vibe.

None of that made her rising queasiness go away. The entire board was sitting at the table, staring daggers at her. Nobody said a word as Simon stepped in after her and took the empty seat beside her.

Like she’d predicted, everybody on the board was impeccably dressed. Suits for the men and pantsuits for the women. The board was totally different from the rest of Dover’s relatively laid-back staff. She suspected that none of the board members would ever dream of wearing jeans to work, and she was glad she managed to get Simon to wear his immaculate designer suit.

And right now, he looked unbelievably sexy in the Italian suit. It was perfectly tailored, and it gave him an aura of power. He might be in trouble with the board, but there was no denying that he was the one steering everything. Simon was in command of the room.

“Glad you could join us,” Linda said from her seat at the table.

Simon frowned. “You’re not a board member, Linda.”

“No. But we need a strong media person to deal with this situation,” Everett Eastman said. Heather ran through the list of those present. She knew Everett. He was an esteemed board member, brought in from Britain in the early days of the company to give it an air of polish. If Everett thought they needed to deal with the media that he loathed almost as much as Simon did, he was probably extremely unhappy.

“I know what this is about.” Simon glanced at her, and her anxiety subsided. As terrifying as a meeting like this was, Heather knew she could get through it if Simon was on her side. “None of this is Heathers fault.”

“We’re not here to cast blame. All we want is to get to the bottom of this,” Everett said, his dark eyes narrowing. “Dover’s rules are quite clear. If there is a romantic relationship going on between two employees—CEO included—you’re expected to report it. Yet, no report has been made.”

“That’s my fault,” Heather murmured, hating that her face felt like it was heating up. “I told Simon not to—”

“What my assistant means is, I neglected my responsibilities,” Simon interrupted, shooting her a warning glare. “I should’ve made a report. I didn’t. There’s no excuse for what I did.”

She knew he had insisted on doing all the talking at the meeting, but she wasn’t going to stay silent while the board made accusations against him. This situation was just as much her fault as it was his. Simon had decided not to report their relationship because she had begged him not to.

Everett frowned. “Well, it looks like you two are going to defend each other. I can’t fathom why.”