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Chapter 5
Saxton~
Talk about cutting the tension with a knife. I almost laughed at how tense shit was. It felt like two teams facing each other off in the playoffs, and as humorous as I found it, I knew this was serious. There was an obvious divide in the room, and there was no denying it.
On one side, there was me, Stone, Rylee, Ross, Sutton, Fox, Alexis, and Kincaid. The other side had August, Laney, and Jennifer. Alexander stood at the helm between us with Arlene, Jacob, and Donovan at his back. Alexander looked livid, and I didn’t blame him.
Talk about a shitshow.
“Shall we get down to business?” Alexander began.
As soon as Ross and Sutton had arrived, Arlene had taken her aside and had her sign six different NDAs and an after-matrimony contract. To Sutton’s credit, the girl had signed everything without even reading any of it. It had been a show of her strength and commitment to Ross. She was all in where he was concerned, and she’d made sure to let us all know it.
“This is the third meeting that I have had to call because I fear there might have been some miscommunication,” he told the room. “There also seems to be some confusion as to the initiating panel’s role in all this. We see everything, even if you don’t see us around. The Order is not as powerful as it is because we don’t have resources, people.”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with all this, but something big was about to happen. I could feel it in my bones, and as long as it didn’t involve Kincaid, I wasn’t sure how it would play out for me. Again, given the choice, Kincaid was it.
Always.
Alexander went to stand in front of Ross and Sutton. “Is there a particular reason why you chose to marry Ms. Hadley without the consent or approval of The Order, Mr. Carmichael?”
“I don’t need either to get married, Alexander,” Ross practically spit out. “Besides, if you see all and know all, then you should already know the answer to that question.”
“Your reckless behavior is a concern, Mr. Carmichael-”
“Reckless?” Ross interrupted. “I’m not sure if you’ve been watching the news or not, but Senator Carmichael is absolutely thrilled with his son’s recent wedding.” Ross smirked. “My mother is also thrilled.”
“Because I imagine they don’t have a choice,” Alexander snapped. “Appearances are everything.”
“He didn’t break any rules, Alexander,” Kincaid voiced, and I couldn’t help the dread that danced down my spine. I knew what she was doing, and I even knew why, but I would always worry about Kincaid. “His marriage to Sutton isn’t a scandal, so why are we all here?”
Alexander looked like he was torn between strangling Kincaid to death and kissing her, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Though Kincaid was standing next to me, Fox was on the other side, and I noticed how quickly he stepped closer to her.
“While it might not be a scandal by The Order’s standards, the rush to such a commitment is a concern, Ms. Black,” Alexander answered. “You are here, so that I can remind you that your lives are not your own just yet. The impulsiveness needs to stop.”
“It will as soon as you handle business,” Stone snapped darkly.
Alexander arched a brow his way but said nothing. Instead, he stepped towards August, Laney, and Jennifer. Jennifer was struggling with maintaining eye contact with Alexander, but I didn’t blame her. A guilty conscience was a motherfucker.
Laney, on the other hand, was doing her best to maintain a calm front, and I’ve noticed that August has been ignoring her this entire time. He wasn’t being rude, but you could tell he was trying to maintain his distance. It made me wonder if he knew something that we didn’t. I hadn’t forgotten about his close friendship with August.
“Ms. Spinner, do you recall what we discussed the last time a meeting was called?” he asked her, and you could hear a fucking pin drop.
“Uh…uhm, yeah,” she stuttered.
“If I recall correctly, it was explained that there would be no interference in reference to the relationship between a member and his supporter, correct?” Laney just nodded. “More importantly, a Hera marriage, yes?” She nodded again. “So, you understood what was said, yes?”
“Ye…yeah, uhm…yes,” she stuttered again.
Alexander clasped his hands behind his back, for dramatic affect most likely. “Then can you explain why you felt compelled to encourage Ms. Polk to harass Mr. Carmichael?” Laney gasped, but Alexander just kept going. “Why would you choose to get involved or offer up advice to Ms. Polk on her contractual relationship with Mr. Carmichael?”
“I…I was just…”
Alexander let out an impatient sigh. “I spoke with Ms. Polk last night, Ms. Spinner,” he announced, and I looked over at Ross. Did he know about this? “When word reached us of Mr. Carmichael’s impromptu wedding, I reached out to Ms. Polk to ask her about her role in all of this, and would you like to know what she told me?”
“It wasn’t like that, Alex-”
“What wasn’t like what, Ms. Spinner?” he snapped. “Whether warranted or not, whether sound advice or terrible direction, did you, or did you not, insert your opinions and views into a member’s relationship with his supporter?”
