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She made a vain attempt at work, but by the time the clock rolled around for their meeting, she’d accomplished a grand total of nothing, and she felt as if she’d had too many cups of java, her hands and legs shaking as she stood to walk down the hall and face the music.
As the door to the boardroom came into view, standing open to emit the bright fluorescent lights inside, she reminded herself that, no matter what her father had to say, she had done nothing wrong. Loving someone wasn’t a sin, just as loving three someones wasn’t. She refused to apologize for that. She refused to be shamed or cowed. This was her life to live, not theirs, and as long and she and her guys were happy, that was all that mattered.
Reaching the door, she paused to take a deep breath and stepped inside.
Her father was already there, sitting at the head of the table where she usually sat, with Mr. Hargreaves at the opposite end, looking a slight bit displeased, leaving her to wonder if they’d already shared words or if the constipated look he wore was because of the tension in the air.
“Gentlemen,” she acknowledged as she strode confidently to the table and took up a chair beside her father. It was the closest she was going to get to the one she normally occupied, and it rubbed her wrong that she had to sit there at all. It was just another reminder that, even though her father had supported her taking over for him, he’d done so reluctantly and with much reservation and persuasion on her part. So when he came storming in like he did today and stripped her of her station, it was a painful reminder of where she stood, not only with men in the business overall, but with her own father.
They waited another five minutes before her guys showed up, with Conner leading the pack, and the way they were dressed and carried themselves reminded her of her earlier concerns. They obviously knew something was up, and they’d come to face it head on.
Still, buoyed by their presence, Sabrina gave Conner a faint smile as he pulled out the chair directly across from her. Unfastening the button that held his suit jacket together, he sat without acknowledging her.
One by one, William and Oliver followed, creating a wall of their own on one side of the table, their attention focused on the business at hand.
Sabrina couldn’t help feeling like an island unto herself. Could she have been that far off the mark to think that they were going to come into this as a united front?
“Thank you for joining us,” her father began. “I understand that you had this meeting set up for a brief update on the progress of the merger.”
“That’s right,” Mr. Hargreaves acknowledged. “I’m surprised to see you here today, Jonathan. Special occasion?”
Sabrina noticed the way her father’s jaw ticked before he said, “You could say that. I came into some unsettling news recently that begged closer attention. I thought this would be the perfect time to address it.”
A quick assessment told Sabrina that she was bad at reading people. At least, the ones at this table. They had excellent poker faces, which didn’t help her position any.
“Mr. Hargreaves—”
“Charles,” he grunted, cutting her father off. “No need for formalities. We’re all friends here.” His thin smile was tight, as though even he knew that wasn’t entirely true. The temperature in the room was downright icy, and it had nothing to do with the thermostat.
“Charles,” her father conceded. “As you know, we have a lot of mutual friends, acquaintances, and business partners.” Charles nodded, and her father continued. “That being said, it goes without saying that when something is amiss, it doesn’t stay private for long. People talk, Charles.”
It was increasingly clear that whatever her father had on Charles Hargreaves, it was damning. Otherwise, he would never have come all this way or started a private conversation in this manner in front of all of them. So either he wanted Sabrina and Charles’ boys present because he wanted witnesses, or because they were all involved in some way.
It was a mystery that eluded Sabrina, though. She couldn’t figure out if it was to do with her and the guys, or Charles, or all of them combined. For a brief moment, she wondered if there was something shady going on with the deal they’d made, the merger falling through perhaps, but then she dismissed the idea. She’d combed through those documents with a fine-tooth comb herself. If there’d been anything—anything at all—amiss, she would have found it.
“I’ve no bloody clue what you’re going on about, Johnathon.” Charles huffed, clearly growing annoyed.
“Oh, but I think you do. In fact, I know it.” Her father pushed out of his chair and walked to the closed door, opened it, leaned out and shouted, “Shawna, bring me that envelope please.” A moment later, a shadow appeared on the other side of the closed blinds that covered the wall of windows, and then her father returned, carrying a thin manila folder. When he reached his seat, he slapped the folder down, creating a clap loud enough to make Sabrina jump inside.
“Do you wish to carry on with your story, or shall we lay it all out on the table?” Pointed stare glued to Mr. Hargreaves, whatever her father had on the man said it was no small thing and he meant business.
Sabrina tried to exchange questioning glances at her guys, but they were actively avoiding her. What the hell? Did they know what was happening here? Did they have some part in it?
With tensions mounting and questions growing in number, she held her breath, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. And when it did, it was going to be huge.
“So you know then.” Charles’ cryptic reply held finality, as if he were giving up a ruse.
“That you set up this whole merger as a way of getting insider knowledge of my business, of stealing away my best clients, and of robbing me blind in an effort to bankrupt my company while uplifting your own and solidifying Hargreaves Direct as a cornerstone in both the UK and US markets? Yeah, I figured it out,” her father stated bitterly.
Sabrina’s shock must have been written all over her face. She could barely breathe, just listening to the words spill out of her father’s mouth. How much had they known? Were they an active part of it? No, she refused to believe it. For all the denial she wanted to hold onto, however, it was dashed in the next instant.
“I could have dealt with that, Charles. My company is solid, as is my reputation. I could have bounced back and addressed you and your corrupt practices like men, but my daughter?”
At this point, Charles looked away, lifting his chin toward the bank of windows overlooking the city as if he didn’t care to hear another word.
What was her father saying? Sabrina’s head felt like it was in a vacuum, her hearing fading with each damning word that fell from his lips. She knew where this was going, even if she didn’t want to believe it. Inside her head, she screamed for him to stop talking, to not take away the one shred of dignity she had left.
Not to break her heart.
