“That’s quite an insinuation, Sebastian,” Rodger says.
Come on, Lauren, where are you?
All I can do is hold my ground. It’s not like I have any proof that Vincent is after my job, so I can’t outright accuse him of it, though it’s not fucking far-fetched from how hard he went for the position after my dad died.
“We’re going to have to ask you to leave the room while we discuss where to go next with this,” Rodger says before looking to Vincent. “Mr. Woods, you’ll also need to remove yourself from the meeting as this is a direct conflict of interest.”
“But—”
“Mr. Woods, you have brought serious claims against your CEO. Therefore, it would not be ethical for you to participate in the resulting discussions.”
A soft knock sounds on the door behind me, and I open it to find Lauren on the other side. “I hope this helps,” she says quietly, handing me the thick file.
I hope so too.
“Thank you,” I say before shutting the door. Then with a deep breath, I turn back to the board. “Before you make any decisions, I urge you to take these files into consideration. No other member of management, let alone senior management, has a complaints file as extensive as this.” I lift the folder in my hand and start making my way to the head of the table.”
“What is this, Sebastian?” Vincent seethes, but I ignore him.
When I’m standing in front of Rodger, I hold out the file, making sure to keep most of my hand hidden beneath the file. The last thing I need is for him to see my fucking swollen and torn knuckles. “If it got out that not only the VP but also a member of the board of directors had an HR file this thick and full of employee mistreatment, it could be extremely damaging.” I level him with a stare. “I can assure you, in all my time with Reed Shipping, before and after you appointed me CEO, I have never been accused of assaulting an employee. Though, I can’t say the same for Mr. Woods.” I flick my gaze towards Vincent, whose glare is burning a hole in the side of my head. His face is red, and his fists are clenched atop the table. “How do you think our shareholders would react tothis?” I ask as he takes the file from my hand.
“This is ridiculous!” Vincent yells.
“Mr. Woods, I suggest you calm down. Now,” Rodger says. He flips through the folder before his eyes find mine again. His gaze shifts to my neck, lingering for a moment.Shit.My collar doesn’t fully cover the scratches left behind from Grace’s nightmare last night. Rodger clears his throat. “We have a lot to discuss,” he says after a moment, and I take the hint. I leave the conference room with a nod, hoping I’ve done enough. With any luck, whatever is in that file will also distract him enough to forget what he saw.
Not long after me, Vincent comes storming out of the room and heads straight for me. “What the fuck are you playing at?” he grits out, and I let out a laugh at the utter ridiculousness of his question.
“That’s rich coming from you.”
Vincent takes a step closer until he’s basically pressed against me. “I’mwhat’s best for this company. You have no idea who you’re messing with,boy.” I clench my teeth at his words but responding tothatisn’t going to do me any favours with the board.
We’re far enough away from the conference room that they likely wouldn’t hear our conversation, but we aren’t secluded by any means. I raise my brow at him and look over his shoulder. Every employee within earshot is staring at us, even those who aren’t. Vincent seems to realise the same thing as he takes his gaze off me for a moment before quickly stepping out of my space. Then, with one more glare my way, he storms off.
Shit, I really don’t need this. The last few days have been a mess and exhausting, to say the least, all starting with the fucking meeting Vincent sent us to. Maybe it’s a good thing Vincent is trying to get me fired from my own fucking company today because after what I found out last night, what happened in his office the other day should be the least of his worries. And if it weren’t for this, the board sitting in our conference room, I likely would have confronted him already.
“Have you heard anything?” Lauren asks, approaching my desk with a fresh cup of coffee.
“Not yet.” I rub a hand over my mouth. I can’t remember the last time I missed work, but I really didn’t want to leave Grace for this long today. I thought I could come in for a few hours and at least get some things done before heading back, but not only have I got next to nothing done, I’m still waiting to hear from the board. At least I know she’s with Mason.
“Thank you,” I say and take the mug from Lauren’s outstretched hand. Her gaze catches on my hand before shifting to my neck and I can practically hear the questions swirling in her eyes. I’m lucky Vincent was too wound up during our earlier altercation to notice the wounds. I have no doubt he would have come up with some way to use them against me. Ignoring Lauren’s stare, I’m about to take a sip of the coffee she just handed me when my phone dings. Looking at Lauren, who’s waiting anxiously—momentarily forgetting the questions I don’t doubt she was seconds away from asking—I put down the mug and pick up my phone whilst unplugging it from the charging cord.
“They’re ready,” I say, reading the message on the screen.
My confidence slightly wavers as I make my way to the conference room. It’s not that I think Vincent has a case, regardless of what really happened, but he’s been on the board for as long as this company has been running. And as much as most people think he’s an asshole, the board could go either way on this. Though they’d be fucking nuts given what I dropped in their laps with Vincent’s file. I don’t know how he’s managed to keep his file from the board for this long. Likely threats or paying people off. Probably both.
I should have pulled something together on him long ago, but it didn’t seem like an urgent matter with everything that came from taking over the company. Sure, Vincent’s been lingering around, but I didn’t think he’d stoop this low. There’s no way what I gave them is everything, but it’ll have to be enough for now on such short notice.
When I enter the conference room, I half expect to see Vincent already inside, but I’m only greeted by the remaining board members.
“Why don’t you take a seat, Mr. Reed,” Rodger says.
“That bad?” I ask with a raised brow.
Rodger narrows his eyes slightly at me but gives nothing else away. “Suit yourself. I just thought it would be more comfortable.”
Feeling too tense to sit, I remain standing, and Rodger flips open the notebook in front of him after a moment. “Taking into account both of your statements and that of several employees.” He glances up at me.Shit. “With a majority vote, we have decided there is not enough evidence to support the claims against you and will not be pursuing this any further.”
I let out an internal sigh of relief. It’s unknown whether their verdict was truly based on their briefinvestigationor if the files on Vincent, combined with my thinly-veiled threat to go public, swayed their decision. Although, it seems Rodger hasn’t finished.