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NICHOLAS
This woman!
I just want to clear the room and worship Victoria on the boardroom table.
Everything about her has me panicking to stay away, yet I just can’t. Every time I turn around, she is doing something that makes me want to take hold of her with my two hands and never let her go, even though that scares the hell out of me.
It doesn’t matter that it has been such a short time since we met, because this woman gets me in every way possible. She ignites me and calms me all at the same time. Her challenging me is my biggest turn-on, but watching her stand her ground and put Jocelyn in her place has my cock so fucking desperate to be inside her.
Now is not the time to let my sex drive take over my brain, but damn, it’s hard to hold it back.
Pulling a chair out for Victoria to sit next to Flynn, I take my rightful seat at the head of the table.
“Let’s get this sorted, shall we?” I say, trying to remain calm and not show my anger at Jocelyn. Professionalism is a tool that you need when you run such a big business. Regardless of what you are thinking or feeling.
Jocelyn is still standing and looking at me. “I would like to table a motion of no confidence in Richard Nicholas Weston Darby as the CEO of Darby Hotels.” Her shoulders back and the bitch face she wears most days show that she means business.
“On what grounds do you bring this motion to the board?” I ask, almost grinding my teeth, as I know I need to go through the proper steps if I have any chance of shutting her down.
Opening her tablet that is in front of her on the desk, she makes sure she doesn’t miss anything she has prepared.
“The media reports that were released this morning of your questioning over drug-related matters when you were in Rome, in a Darby Hotel. Are these allegations true?” Oh, Jocelyn, what an open-ended question. You need to do better than that.
“If you are referring to being questioned about drugs found in the Rome hotel on Friday, then yes, that is correct. However, there have been no charges laid as there is insufficient evidence to prove it had anything to do with me. And I can stand before you all and deny having any involvement with any drugs, whether it be in Rome or anywhere in the world. To me it is of bigger concern how the drugs got into the hotel if it wasn’t me, don’t you agree?” I look around the room at every other board member, making eye contact and not shying away from them.
Scoffing at my words, she continues, “You just expect that we will all pat you on the back and say we believe you and sweep it all under the carpet? These allegations are tarnishing the family name and this whole business. Not to mention the paparazzi photos also released this morning of you and that woman acting in a sexually inappropriate manner in an alley down the street from the hotel.”
I can’t help but laugh at her now. “Jocelyn, have you ever been in the public eye? Not just at some charity event where you make sure you are photographed for the tabloids, but really in the public eye? The chance of having your privacy invaded at any moment without you knowing it?” I wait for her to answer, but she just stares me down, unable to give me the answer she wants to. Because she doesn’t live a life like I do. “I didn’t think so. Well, let me explain what that photo will be, not that I have seen it.
“There are certain things in your life you don’t want to share with the whole world.” Taking a breath, I shift my focus to Victoria. “Like kissing your girlfriend with passion to show her what she means to you, and contrary to what you prefer in your life, Jocelyn, Victoria is not looking for her spot in the limelight. I wanted to protect her from having her face splashed across the tabloids. But once again, that decision was taken out of my hands by people who are making money from my private life. So, unless you have something against a man and a woman showing affection to each other with a kiss, because that’s all it was, then I suggest that is a moot point here.”
The strained smile on Victoria’s face gives me the strength to bury this once and for all. “Take a seat, Jocelyn, and rescind your motion so we can get on with the more pressing matter of security breaches and how the public relations team is going to handle this mess today, until we can find out who is responsible for the drugs.”
Her mouth falls open, and I can see the red fury creeping up her neck. “You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Her voice is elevating, and she is about to crack and show how irrational she is when put under pressure. “You are using our hotels for bad things and behaving disgusting in public.Ishould be running this business! You were never good enough to step into your grandfather’s shoes. You weren’t brought up to understand the way the business works like I was. You just turned up out of nowhere and assume you can take the role from under me.” She is getting worked up to the same old rant I’ve heard many times from her but not usually in front of the whole board. And to be honest, I’ve had enough of her shit.
Standing with my hands on the table, I lean toward where she is standing so she gets the full brunt of these words. “Wrong! These are MY hotels, not ours! I own them all, and you work for me because I promised my grandfather I would keep you employed. But this is your last warning, continue this witch hunt to try to destroy me and you will regret it, finding yourself unemployed and in no way associated with my business. Do I make myself clear!” Standing up straight again, I look around the room slowly.
“Now, if there is anyone here who would like to second the motion put forward by Ms. Darby, please raise your hand.” I wait to see if any of these old farts have the balls to take me on, but of course, they all just want their cushy job on the board to be safe.
With no one raising their hand, she finally explodes. “Gutless! You are all so gutless! We have a drug lord as our CEO and none of you care. I’m getting legal advice, and we will be revisiting this, I guarantee!” Her words are bouncing off the walls she is yelling so loud.
“Then I suggest when you talk to a lawyer, you ask what the ramifications of defamation of character are. Because I promise you, if I hear the words drug lord in relation to me come out of that toxic mouth of yours again, you’re going to need that lawyer!” I need to get out of this room before I lose it at her and say more than is a good idea right now.
“Now, if we are done here, I have work to get done and wrongful allegations to get to the bottom of. For the rest of you, we will report back once we know something, but rest assured we have all our manpower on this and want it solved just as quickly as you do. I apologize for the waste of your time this morning and hope we are clear where everything stands. Any further questions?” I don’t think anyone is game to open their mouth, and Jocelyn is too busy still huffing over no one backing her.
“Excellent, and Jocelyn, I’ll let HR know that you are on leave from now until this matter is settled. I think we can all agree we don’t need the negative energy or toxic behavior here. So you can collect your things, and I will make sure that your second-in-charge is informed that she is in charge until further notice.” As I push my chair back and start to walk toward Victoria, Jocelyn steps in front of me.
“You can’t do that,” she hisses, her eyes looking crazy, placing her hand on my chest to stop me moving.
Looking down at her hand and back at her with death in my eyes, she gets the hint to remove it before I remove it for her.
“I just did. Be thankful I didn’t terminate you on the spot. Take it as a small win. Good day, lady and gentlemen.” Stepping around her, I take Victoria’s hand and exit the boardroom, taking a small breath before I pass out from anger that was building the whole time I was in there.
The guys will stay there and talk to the other board members, smoothing everything out, and I know Rem will shadow Jocelyn to exit the building without her laptop or security pass. He flew back in from Rome early this morning, knowing that today he might be needed if there was any trouble. I was hoping we could keep it from the media a little longer, but that was just a fairy tale. Rem will already be messaging his security team to put her logins on hold for the time being. I have enough drama, I don’t need her undermining me or the business at the same time.
Walking through my office, I don’t feel relieved at all. Jocelyn isn’t wrong in what she was saying. This will hurt our name, and if the gossip rags really want to build it up, they can. I can only hope someone else does something stupid today that will hit social media and my story will quickly slip away.
Feeling Victoria’s hand in mine is calming, and even though we haven’t said a word since we left the room, I can tell she is under control too. Her hand is soft and feels natural where it is.
