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“My daughter—who has no business sitting in on a board meeting to begin with.”
I slap the table, making everyone jump with the sound. “I’m going to stop you right there. Winnie will be the head of design with the merger. She’s incredibly intelligent and talented and deserves a seat at the table just like anyone here.”
Spencer smirks at me, and I know that he’s about to do something I’ll make him regret for the rest of his life. He holds his hands up, turning his body slightly to make eye contact with everyone at the table. “Then you should know your head of design has a recent sex tape—and Archer married her to hide it.”
Winnie gasps. “Dad,” she croaks, her eyes wide as she stares at her father in horror.
My fingers flex into fists as I imagine what it’d be like to send my fist right into her father’s ugly face. Would she hate me for it? I take a deep breath, getting my temper under control before I completely lose it on this man for betraying his daughter.
“How would it look if it came out that the new CEO has a wife with a sex tape? And that he married her just to hide it?” Spencer raises his eyebrows, expecting someone to answer him. When no one does, he continues to dig his own grave. “Imagine how much the stock would plummet if the media got ahold of this? You can’t trust him to lead with those skeletons in his closet.”
“Dad!” Tyson yells, looking at his father like he doesn’t even know who he is. I don’t blame him. I knew Spencer wasn’t the greatest guy, but I wasn’t expecting him to out his daughter like this. It’s completely unacceptable.
I’m in the midst of taking a deep breath before I completely end this man once and for all when Winnie stands up.
I stare at her, wondering what she’s doing. No matter how badly I want her to look at me so I can meet her eyes and try to get a grip on what’s going through her head, she never looks my way. She keeps her eyes pinned on her dad and no one else.
“How could you?” she snaps, more venom in her tone than I’ve ever heard before. “Your own daughter. Your self-preservation at the expense of your family is horrifying.”
Spencer’s head rears back at Winnie’s words. I stare at her in awe, letting her take full control in embarrassing her father in front of his own board. “I’m just trying to look out for Bishop Hotels. I don’t want the name tainted because your sex tape is released.”
Winnie’s eyes meet mine for a moment. We don’t need words at all to have a conversation. I give her a nod, knowing exactly what she’s asking of me—knowing that she’s trusting me.
“It will never be released,” she tells him. “It’s been taken care of.” I’ll have to come clean later on how exactly I handled Blake, but I relish how she doesn’t ask any questions about it right now. She trusts me enough that I took care of it that she tells the group of people not to worry about it.
Winnie looks away from her dad as she slowly meets the eyes of those seated around the table. “It’s true. A few months ago, a moment that was never supposed to get out was videotaped. I never gave permission or consent for this video to be taken. But it still was. And it’s the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
She takes a deep breath, keeping her spine straight and her head held high as she continues to look at everyone in the room. I’ve never been more proud to be her husband than at this moment. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met, even when she’s been completely betrayed by one of the people who is supposed to love and support her no matter what.
“Myentirelife, I’ve done everything possible to make Bishop Hotels look good. I did as I was told. I attended parties, I did charity events, I sat on charity board after charity board to make sure Bishop Hotels made a positive impact oncommunities. My entire life has been devoted to my last name and never doing something to tarnish it. Until I was taken advantage of. Even then, I put my feelings aside—even though I’d never been so hurt and betrayed—and Istilldid what was right for Bishop Hotels.”
I force myself to look away from her long enough to look at everyone she speaks to. They’ve all leaned forward, their focus completely on her. I don’t blame them in the slightest. She’s captivating.
When I look back at Winnie, she’s turned her attention to me. “My father is right. I married Archer—my family’s enemy—because I knew it was the only way to protect not only myself but my family’s reputation. It was just another thing I did to make sure the integrity of the company my great-grandfather started didn’t go to waste because of me. Although Archer and I didn’t have a conventional start, I still fell madly and deeply in love with him.”
She smiles at me, and it takes everything in me to stay seated in my chair. I want to knock it backward and close the distance between us. My hands twitch at my sides, desperate to reach for her and feel her skin against mine, to let her know I’m here for her.
“I believe in the merger between Bishop and Moore Hotels so much that I will step down today. I don’t have to be the head of design. I don’t need to have anything to do with it if it makes all of you feel better. I believe in Archer, and I believe in Tyson. They will do great things for the hotels. Don’t let what’s happened to me take away from the visions these two incredibly talented men have.”
Her hands slide down the front of her skirt, her first sign that she might be more nervous than she’s letting on. She doesn’t need to be. She’s astonishing. Everyone looks at her with wide eyes, completely impressed with the speech she just gave. I wonder if she knows how much she was meant to run a boardroom.
“It’s time for stupid grudges to stop getting in the way of making these companies prosper.” Her eyes are cold as they meet her father’s once again. “And it’s time to remove jealous, angry, small-minded men from positions of power. They’re only a hindrance.”
Winnie takes a seat, a calculating smile on her face as she looks back at me. She looks sweet as can be, a slight flush to her cheeks after she just completely hammered the final nail in both our fathers’ coffins.
CHAPTER 52
WINNIE
The room is sosilent I’m nervous that those around me might hear how strong my heart is beating. It pounds in my chest as adrenaline courses through my veins. I hadn’t expected to take my father down like that, but I also never thought he’d bring up the Blake incident to a room of over thirty people.
A lot can happen when you realize the person you grew up respecting isn’t who you think they are. It allows you to cut ties, to finally realize that all the time you invested in trying to impress them, in trying to earn their respect, was completely pointless. It’s freeing, knowing that my life will no longer be dominated by trying to make a sad, pathetic man proud of me just because he’s my father.
Instead, I look at my husband. The person I’m most proud to know—to love. He stares right back at me, his lips parted as his eyes travel over my face. It’s amazing how we don’t have to say anything to communicate everything.
He blows me the softest of kisses, making my heart race for a completely different reason than it was before. Eventually, he looks away from me and at the anxious board members and shareholders all staring at us.
“If I’m not mistaken, before my father and Spencer made complete fools of themselves, a vote was requested.” I’m impressed with how smoothArcher can keep his voice. There’s arrogance in his tone, and it’s incredibly sexy. I love how much power he wields.
