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“An apology? That’s it?” Robert shakes his head. “According to an eyewitness, Miss Williams wasseenassaulting the reporter. At minimum, that woman should be fired. The fact that she has not been arrested yet is baffling to me.”
I grit my teeth. “As Adam said, this is not about Miss Williams. Our focus should be on ensuring the foundation escapes the scandal unscathed.”
“What do you mean this isn’t about Miss Williams?” Robert’s eyebrows tighten above his stormy eyes. “You’re going to leave an emotionally unstable college student around impressionable and vulnerable children? After this ridiculous scuffle? Does that sound like a good idea to you?”
“Mr. Cardinal—”
He lifts a hand curtly. “I have been supporting you one hundred percent in your endeavor, Sazuki. I might not have put a dime into the foundation, but it was throughmyconnections andmyefforts that you were able to network successfully.” He lurches to his feet and closes the button of his suit jacket. “Just as I paved the way for you, I can block you out. Resolve this quickly. That is all I have to say.”
Robert stomps to the exits. The other board members follow suit, avoiding my eyes and keeping their heads down.
A heavy, crushing silence descends when they are gone.
I sink into the chair at the head of the table and pinch the bridge of my nose. The sound of a chair skittering back prompts me to look up.
Adam rises slowly. “You look awful. Did you get any sleep yesterday?”
I shake my head. I asked Akira to watch over Niko and could only squeeze in a quick phone call before she went to school this morning.
My heart still aches. It was my first time since moving to America that I did not see my child off to school.
“What did Dejonae say?” Adam asks.
“I have not spoken to her.”
His eyebrows jump. “You’ve gone to all these lengths to protect her and you haven’t even taken the time to hear what she has to say?”
“Later.” I push wearily against the table and clamor to my feet.
“Sazuki,” empathy rings in Adam’s voice, “I understand that you’re trying your hardest to protect both Dejonae and the foundation, but you might not be able to do both.”
I stare calmly at him.
“It’s going to be a fight, and you know it. Don’t think the board is going to roll over and play dead. They can’t stop you from the inside, but they can bring enough pressure from the outside to keep the foundation from succeeding.”
I absorb his assessment. “I know.”
“You will have to choose,” Adam says gravely.
I clamp my lips together.
His eyes are assessing. “You’ve spentyearsbuilding this foundation and you’re so close to the finish line. Now isn’t the time to lose focus.”
“What do you suggest then?”
He glances away. “Do what you have to do to save your legacy.”
“Adam.”
“She’s young. She can bounce back.”
I walk determinedly over to him. “If I cannot protect both her and the foundation, then I do not deserve to have either of them.”
He does not look surprised. “I knew you’d say that.”
“If it were Nova,” I arch a brow, “you would say the same.”
“That’s different.”
