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“I don’t care what my father thinks. I never have, and I never will. Especially not when it comes to you.”
I swallowed hard. “T-Thank you. But he’s taken it one step further than thinking. He’s threatened me. Actually, he’s not even threateningme—he’s threatened to hurt you. And Noah. He said he’d hurt my brother.”
I broke down, the tears spilling over as I realized what I’d done. I’d finally gone and broken my promise to Gene, and now I was going to pay. “I c-can’t lose my brother, if something happened—”
But Bryce was already on the phone. “Dale? Get the guards togethernow. Call the Chief and have him come, too. I want everyone’s phones—no one’s allowed to make a call, no one’s allowed off the island,nothing. Do you understand? Call me as soon as you have them together.”
He hit the intercom button to talk to the driver. “I need you to turn around and get us back to the office right now.”
“Yes, Mr. Windsor.” He took a hard right, and I held onto my seat.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do.” Bryce gripped my hand. “We’re going in to meet with the board right now. I’m going to make sure that anyone still holding out hope that my father’s coming back understands that’s not going to happen and that his era is overnow. Then we’re going home.”
“Tonight?”
He nodded. “As soon as we leave the meeting. I’m not going to let anything happen to our family, Chloe. My father’s lucky he’s safe in jail because otherwise, I might kill him.”
“I’m worriedhe’sgoing to do something like that. I’m worried he’s going to try to hurt you or Noah. That’s what he said he would do if I told you, that’s why I left the first time, he doesn’t want us to be together, he doesn’t want you to take over and push him out—”
“He doesn’t get to say anymore. It’s not his life, and it’s not his company. I’m taking over and going to legal with all of this. We’ll blow him up once and for all, Chloe.” He turned to me. “Thank you for finally showing me how.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
He put his arm around me. “Just stay with me, okay? We’re going to do this—and everything else—together.”
We parked back in front of the building and hustled inside. The elevator silently whisked us upstairs, and Bryce grabbed my hand as we entered the boardroom together. Well-dressed, fatigued-looking men and women gaped at us from the conference table.
“You’re not The Four Seasons delivery guy,” one of the men joked.
“No, I’m not.” Bryce shut the door behind us and pulled up a chair for me. Before I sat, he put his arm around me again. “I’d like to formally introduce my wife, Chloe Windsor. She’ll be joining us for the next part of the meeting.”
Regina Hernandez cleared her throat. “That’s rather unorthodox, Bryce. We have a standard non-disclosure agreement she needs to sign if you want her to stay.”
“She’ll sign it after,” he snapped. “And I want to say something to you.”
He sat back and eyed the other board members. “To all of you.”
They waited, suddenly looking a lot more alert.
“No matter what happens with me as CEO of Windsor Enterprises—whether I remain on as interim, become permanent, or someone else comes on board—my father will not be returning to a leadership role here.”
Murmurs broke out, and he held up his hand. “Before I say more, I want you to know that we’re aware that some of you have been providing him with information that’s considered confidential. I understand many of you have worked with Gene for a long time and that your allegiance is to him. I also know that he can be difficult and vindictive, and sometimes he’s willing to pay for loyalty. That stops tonight.”
Bryce straightened his shoulders. “I know who has been supplying him with details, and for the record, I am willing to let it go. But it ends now, at this meeting. If anyone leaks this conversation to him, I will make sure you’re prosecuted to the full extent of the law, fired from the board, and, just for fun, publicly humiliated.”
He let that sink in before he continued. “That being said, if you feel you can’t serve the board under this new set of circumstances, leave now.”
No one moved.
“Great. Anyone who stays and remains loyal to the board, its mission, and our confidentiality agreement will receive a bonus. My father might be willing to pay for loyalty, but it turns out, so am I. And I happen to be much more generous. So if you stay, everyone will be getting a salary increase to seven figures per year. That’s a one-hundred percent jump.” Bryce grinned at them. “For a side gig, I’d say that’s a pretty good payout.”
The board members gaped at him. After a moment, Regina Hernandez raised her hand. “Bryce, I’d like to say something.”
“I’m listening.” He didn’t sound happy about it.
“First of all, I’m sorry I made that comment about the picture of Chloe fighting at your cousin’s wedding.”
Bryce nodded, and I inwardly sighed. I was never going to live that down!
