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Serena cleared her throat and stood up. “I’d like to suggest sending a team headed by Meghan Gomez. As you all know, she’s the head of research design and development and one of the best architects in the business. She’d be perfect for the job.”
“Ms. Gomez is at the forefront, Ms. Holt,” Richard assured her, with a smile. “We will need to determine which team members would be well suited to the task other than Ms. Gomez herself, of course.”
“I don’t think that opening up another branch there is a good idea.”
Everyone in the room twisted to look at me, wearing identical expressions of confusion.
“One of our competitors, McIntyre Enterprises, has one of their biggest branches in Miami, and they’re going to perceive this move as a threat,” I continued, allowing my gaze to sweep over the room before settling on my sister. “We’ve already seen them try to sabotage other lesser companies in their attempt to dominate the hospitality industry. Howard McIntyre isn’t above playing dirty, and we all know it.”
Another murmur rose through the room and several knowing looks were exchanged. Opening up one branch was a calculated risk. Having two branches in the same location was just asking for trouble.
I stood up and held my hands behind my back. “I don’t think we should be putting any one of our employees in unnecessary danger considering the circumstances.”
Especially not Meghan.
Sending her there was like putting a target on her back and letting her out during hunting season. Although I knew she was qualified for the job, knowing that she was going to be far away and unable to receive help if she needed it didn’t sit well with me. Granted, she wasn’t going to be alone, but I knew the kind of stunts Howard McIntyre was capable of.
Including sabotaging an entire building to take out his competitors.
I cast one final glance around the room and cleared my throat. “We don’t want to be known as the company that puts its employees at risk. Until we’ve found a solution, I think we should consider putting the plan on hold.”
A murmur of agreement rose through the room.
The meeting came to an end shortly after, and the board members trickled out of the room, one by one. Once they were gone, I made my way back to my office with Serena hot on my heels. She stepped in behind me, let the door click shut behind her and wheeled around to face me.
Silence stretched between us.
“What is this really about?”
“I already told you.” I sat down behind my desk and pulled my chair closer. “We have a lot of valuable employees at Holt Enterprises and you know that McIntyre is an asshole.”
Serena covered the distance between us and leaned against my desk. “Yeah, I’m not buying it. You know that McIntyre is not stupid enough to do something that will incriminate him.”
“Because he hasn’t before? You remember that building he helped sabotage and those people he paid off and or intimidated into silence.”
“Allegedly sabotaged,” Serena replied, with a shake of her head. “There was never any proof of that.”
“And we’re supposed to sit around and wait for it to happen again? Not on my watch.”
“Since when are you a conspiracy theorist?”
I folded my arms over my chest and frowned at her. “It’s not a conspiracy theory. You know the kind of claims that have been made against McIntyre in the past.”
“There’s never been any proof, Killian,” Serena pointed out, pausing to give me a pointed look. “There’s something else going on here.”
I averted my gaze and looked over at the laptop.
Then I opened the screen and waited for it to start up. I unfolded my hands, drummed my fingers against the desk and ignored my sister altogether. Unfortunately, I knew that Serena was only going to keep pestering me if I didn’t give her the information she wanted. Since we were young, when she set her mind to something, she was like a dog with a bone.
There was no way she was letting me off the hook easily.
I needed to come up with a good reason for why I didn’t want to send out a team and fast otherwise she was going to see right through me.
Serena was one of the few people alive who still could.
“Who’s the conspiracy theorist now?”
Serena snorted and pushed herself off the desk. “Fine, I’ll tell you what. I’ll drop it if you tell me what’s really going on here.”
