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"So you say,” Gerry snorts.
"Yes! So I say. And so she says. And I believe her!"
My uncle sniggers and it’s a good thing that he’s seated about as far away from me as possible. "Maybe that's where you made the mistake, Kingsley. You trusted her. And you were wrong to. And now you've caused our company to lose out on a contract wehave been working on for over a year to secure. And all because you couldn't keep your mouth shut around a woman. One who looks like she can't keep her mouth shut around other men. Or have you forgotten how she was around me."
He throws two pictures onto the table. One is from the day of our encounter in the lobby. I knew he had to have had pictures. He was just waiting for the right time to use them. From the angle it looks like she's leaning in to him, touching his arm, his hand on her face. But I know better. I was there. The other is of Luna and Alex standing outside of the Hamilton headquarters in an embrace, her lips intimately close to his face. She’s wearing the scarf I wrapped around her neck to stay warm. The photos don’t paint a favorable picture of my girl.
"Miss Pham is very ambitious, it seems. And she was going to do anything to get the information she needed to help her own company. You wouldn't be the first person to fall for such wiles, nephew."
I push out from the table, and this time all three of my brothers jump to their feet to hold me back. "You watch your mouth. You're no innocent."
"But we're not here to talk about me, are we?"
Leonard stands up, speaking over the noise. "Gentlemen. I think that we need to take a recess. Let emotions cool down a bit. We'll re-adjourn after lunch with questions from the board. Kingsley, I suggest you go through these allegations seriously, and come back with explanations for some of the things that Gerald has presented today. See everyone at two p.m."
My brothers block my way as the board members file out of the conference room until it's just the four of us and our father left.
"Whoever said business was boring never sat in a Baxter boardroom meeting," Kylian says, breaking the tension.
"Right. At least now we know what we're dealing with," Damien mumbles under his breath.
I sink into my seat, trying to process everything I just heard, trying to separate the lies from the truth.
And come up with nothing.
Just that no matter how I look at it, I went into this meeting saying I wasn't prepared to lose either Baxter Enterprises or Luna.
And now I might be walking away with neither of them.
Forty-Eight
Kingsley
"These are good," Damiensays, handing back the notes we’ve been working on in the last few hours. "But I know Luna. Well, I've seen you with her and I've seen her with you. I'm more inclined to believe you than the board members who have only heard Gerry’s side. It’s pretty damning. He’s really done well framing it all."
"Agreed," Kylian adds.
"And there still isn't an explanation for the Farmington and Hamilton bid. They're going to focus on that,” I concede.
Matthias comes back into my office, phone in hand. "I'm still waiting to hear back on some of Clarissa’s connections but I don't think anything's going to come up before the meeting. And Gloria in PR sent me something.” He hands me a sheet of paper.“They’re just a mock up, just to show you some options for damage control when the article come out. That's all."
I skim the words. The first one is short and simple.
“Any allegations in the recent Commerce Insider article are false and damning and will be dealt with accordingly. Baxter Enterprises maintains the highest integrity in our business relationships with our stakeholders and does not comment on the private lives of our employees.”
I hand him back that sheet. "Fine. Go with that."
They share a look. "You should take a look at the second one."
"Why? I'm happy with this one. Short, to the point. No reason we'll be entertaining anything else."
Matthias pushes the other sheet of paper towards me. "Just read it. Okay? We're not saying to use it. We're just saying to read it."
I pick it up.
“Allegations in the recent article published by Commerce Insider that Miss Luna Pham is engaged in romantic relationship with Baxter Enterprises’s regional director Kingsley Baxter are unequivocally false and based on damaging misinformation.
While Mr. Baxter was appointed as the trustee of Miss Pham's trust their relationship is one of a friendly and professional capacity.
