Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)
“We can release a statement,” Linda spoke up. “Heather, if you’d like to give a statement, that would be great. The situation would look more like a mutual relationship that’s fizzled out, rather than a scandal.”
“No.” Simon sat back down and narrowed his eyes at Linda.
Lind frowned. “What?”
“I’m not dragging Heather into this media storm,” he said. “She has a son to think about. Let me deal with making a statement.”
“I don’t mind making a statement,” Heather breathed. “If it’ll help Dover, I’m more than happy to do that. I could work with Linda on it.”
“If you insist.” He scowled, clearly displeased that she’d defied him. The look barely lasted a second before his face became unreadable. He turned to the board. “Now what’s my punishment, even though I’ve done nothing wrong?”
“We haven’t decided yet,” Everett said. “It all depends on how the media spins this. If it’s bad, you’re looking at a suspension of three months, minimum, Simon.”
Heather gasped. “No.”
Simon shot her another warning glance that chilled her right down to the bone. “I can handle whatever I have to. As long as Heather’s job isn’t in jeopardy. I’m not going to accept you forcing her out or undermining her work. A three-month suspension is simply a holiday that’s long overdue.”
“We wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing,” Everett reassured him. “For now, let’s work on a statement and figure out how the media is going to handle the story. We can spend the next 24 hours preparing to go on the offensive instead of taking a defensive position. Linda, start crafting a statement and include some quotes from Heather. Get the statement out to local media early tomorrow morning—that way it doesn’t get lost in the afternoon news rush.”
“Are we done here?” Simon asked, his voice as hard as granite.
“For now, I believe,” Everett replied.
Simon got to his feet and nodded at Heather. That was his signal that it was time to leave. She rose to her feet slowly, trying to ignore her wildly fluttering heart. Trying to ignore the board members all condemning her with their silent stares felt next to impossible. These people were harsh. She should’ve let Simon report their activities when they first started. What a mess she’d made of this.
She followed Simon as he sauntered across the conference room.
“Simon, make sure this relationship between you two is really over,” Everett said when they reached the door. “Keep it professional, if you can.”
“Trust me,” Simon said darkly. “It’s over.”
Chapter 3
He forced himself to stare straight ahead. Inside the chrome elevator their reflections stared back at them, silently judging. Simon tapped impatiently on one of the buttons. They were alone in the elevator, and the silence was a thunderous roar.
“That could have been worse.” Filling silences with pointless small talk had always irritated him, but the thought of not being able to speak to her now was driving him insane. After she’d been ambushed by the board, he needed to make sure she was okay.
Heather nodded, still not speaking. She probably resented the fact that he had wanted to do all the talking in the board meeting. Not that it mattered. She’d made her opinion loud and clear. It had been bold and reckless; despite his annoyance with it, he also secretly admired it. Heather might have seemed mousy to the board members, but she had faced them bravely. That took guts and he respected that.
He glanced over at her, deciding to try a different tactic to get her to open up. “How’s Finn?”
“He’s fine,” she replied curtly.
“Glad to hear it,” he said stiffly.
Simon would never let on, but the board meeting had gotten to him. The press getting wind of his private life was a potential social embarrassment for him. He had guarded his private life ruthlessly, and now it was about to be splashed all over the papers.
Moments later, they stepped out of the elevator. He glanced at her. There was no point in making both of them suffer. If he could get her out of the line of fire, and avoid suffering through this scandal, he’d have to act now.