Chapter 45 Forty-Five

Chapter 45 Forty-Five
Sydney
Checkmate.
“This is…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “Sydney, I don’t appreciate you ambushing me in a board meeting with these conspiracy theories that you haven’t even bothered to…”
“Conspiracy theories?” Dad balked. “Eric these are SEC documents. They are public record.” He adjusted his glasses, staring at his PC. “My God! Eric. Were you really going to appoint someone with this kind of background?”
Eric stiffened. “The investigation was closed, Mr. Carter. Marcus was cleared…”
“He wasn’t cleared.” I cut in, raising my index finger. “The investigation was closed because of insufficient evidence. Eric, that’s very different from being cleared. It means they knew something was wrong, they just didn’t have enough evidence to prove it in court.”
I looked around the table, meeting their eyes. “And even if they were, he is questionable. Is this really who we want leading our West Coast division? Someone whose business history is filled with red flags?”
“So do you have an alternative suggestion?” Kara cut in, glaring at me. “Because at the end of the day, we need someone of his caliber to fill this position!” She huffed.
Everyone at the table turned to her. I wanted to remind her to keep her mouth shut and that the only reason she could be here was that Eric couldn’t zip his pants. But that was not necessary. Not when she had just given me the perfect opening while trying to defend her man.
“Actually,” I smiled, nodding at my EA to move to the next slide. “I do. I’d like to propose Ian George for the position.”
Ian’s face appeared on the screen, with his credentials beside his headshot.
“Ian was one of my father’s senior partners for fifteen years. He helped build most of our presence including what limited presence we have on the West Coast before moving to consulting.” My lips curled into a small smile. “He is ethical, knows the company, and has extensive market knowledge including networks throughout the real estate industry in California.”
I nodded at my EA once again and she moved to the next slide.
“You can see all of his successful developments.” I waved at the screen. “And unlike Mr. McBroten, Ian has never been investigated by any regulatory agency. On the contrary, he is known for turning down deals that didn’t meet his standards.”
I pointed at the newspaper screenshots at the bottom of the slide. Eric narrowed his eyes at me.
“That’s great but there’s no time to convince him and we’re…”
“No,” I shook my head innocently. “It’s why I’ve already spoken with Ian and he’s willing to resume as soon as possible. As early as next week if I’m not mistaken.”
The board members were nodding now, murmuring to each other.
“I remember Ian,” Mrs. Smith smiled at me. “He’s an expert on the West Coast too. If we can get him, we should. He’d be an excellent choice.”
“More than excellent,” Dad added, nodding. “Eric, why wasn’t he on your list of candidates?”
Eric was turning so red, I was sure he would explode. His hands gripped tightly around the remote, his eyes glaring at me. I should have been terrified but that Sydney was dead so I just smiled back at him.
He must hate me now. I wished I could get into his head and see how much he was spiraling. His perfect malleable wife was acting out. He must be losing his damn mind.
Good
“I think,” Dad started, cutting through my thoughts. “We should table the vote on Marcus McBroten and instead vote on Ian George’s appointment. All in favour?”
The hands rose around the table except for one or two board members who were clearly in Eric’s pocket but almost everyone raised their hands.
“Motion carries, then,” Dad announced, a straight look on his face as though he had not joined me to speak to Ian. “Ian George is approved as head of the West Coast division pending final contract negotiations.” He turned to Eric. “Eric, you can work with Sydney on his transition since it was her proposal, okay?”
Eric stared back blankly, frozen. Then suddenly, he nodded, dropping down the remote. He was moving ridiculously slow.
“Sure, Mr. Carter.” His voice was tight. “I also think we should adjourn for today. Clearly, some internal communication issues must be addressed before we proceed with the rest of the agenda.”
He wasn’t going to vote on adjourning the meeting. He was simply going to cling to that nonsense he said for dear life.
“Meeting adjourned.”
He didn’t look at me. He just bent over, gathered his things, and headed towards the door. His movements were stiff. I couldn’t help the excitement filling my chest.
Great. I’d won this one. The board members stood up, murmuring but several of them stopped to congratulate me on my diligence. Mrs. Smith even cornered me to say she was impressed.
I muttered thanks and watched her walk out when the smell of his cologne hit my nose. I turned almost immediately and my heart skipped a beat.
Bryce Westin.
He smiled at me, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. “That was the most impressive thing I’ve seen in a boardroom in a while!”
I couldn’t help smiling. He moved closer till it was almost too close. There was something in his eyes that I couldn’t place a hand on.
“I had good intel.” I smiled, leaning forward. “From a very thorough business partner.”
He smirked, leaning closer, his breath warm on my ear. “And do you happen to know this business partner?”
I felt shivers run down my spine as he pulled back. I shrugged, playing it off. “Even if I did, why would I tell you?”
He shook his head, grinning. “Because you were brilliant, Sydney. I would love to be brilliant too.” He leaned in again, his voice dropping. “And remind me not to ever get on your bad side.”
I let out a laugh.
“Unless you think I’ll enjoy it ofcourse.” He smirked.
My eyes widened. Wait. What?