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"What the fuck is she doing here?" Dad muttered.
My mother smiled at him, "Well, I am a board member, Lucian. You may have been voting my shares in absentia, but today, considering it was such an important vote, I wanted to be here myself."
His head whipped around to me. "You have signed your own death warrant, boy."
"We'll see," was all I said in return. “Now, if the hullabaloo's done, can we get back to the meeting?"
None of the seated board members stood to allow my mother and Gwen a seat.
Micah rolled his eyes and then went outside to pull in two chairs for them so they could be seated at my end of the table. I scooted over so they could sit together, hoping Gwen would sit next to me. But no, it was Mom who took that seat.
At exactly 10:20, everyone's phones started to buzz.
I smiled for real as my father looked around in confusion, and Gwen leaned over to give me a nod. "Before we get to the vote, I want to point out that there is one item the board needs to consider before the vote of no confidence. As all of you know, my grandfather put a clause in his will that I would receive the final majority of my shares on my 30th birthday, provided I meet the condition of marriage. I know it's been a point of contention for the board that I have yet to fulfill that request, and many of you would be choosing to vote no confidence based on that. However, I’m pleased to announce that I have, in fact, met the terms of my grandfather's will."
My father pushed to his feet. "Bullshit. You’re a lying son of a bitch."
"No, Dad, it’s not bullshit. Check your phone. Or if you don't have it with you, I’m sure Calvin over there will be happy to show you his, since he's been staring at it for the last four minutes or so."
Calvin showed him the phone then looked at me and Gwen and nodded. "I suppose congratulations are in order."
My father stared at Calvin's phone. "No, this is fake."
"I promise you it is real. Gwen and I filed the paperwork this morning, so it's legal here as well as in the Winston Isles. We wanted a small ceremony, but you'll notice that the king and queen of the Winston Isles are present in our wedding pictures, so it is, in fact, very much real."
My father turned to my mother. "Your son just ruined your life. And for what, a piece of tail?” He swung his gaze back to me. “You don't have what it takes to run Pendragon Tech."
"Actually, I very much indeed have what it takes."
And then the pièce de résistance. Micah winked at me as a knock sounded on the door, and I called out, "Come."
I turned to my father as the two detectives stepped forward, "Dad, you're not going to have time to worry about what happens to me from this point forward."
Detective Strickland went over to my father. "Lucian Price, you are under arrest for the murder of Brian Riley. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you…"
As he reached for my father to cuff him, Lucian threw out his hands as if trying to avoid being restrained. The bigger police detective with Strickland seemed to take great pleasure in grabbing his arm and pinning it behind his back before shoving him against the wall. "I do like when you make it difficult," he said and proceeded to cuff my father.
My mother looked at me and grinned. "God, that is so satisfying."
I smiled back. "I know, right?"
Dad, on the other hand, was still shouting. "You will never get away with this. I didn't kill anyone. It was her. It was Jessica. She's the one who killed him."
The detectives proceeded to cart him out as he continued to shout.
All the board members were now talking at once among themselves. One of them shouted, "We can't possibly have the vote now. This is ridiculous. You turned this meeting into a farce."
I looked over at Gwen, and she gave me a nod with a soft smile on her face. And all I wanted to do was kiss my wife. My wife.
Micah just sat back in his chair, stroking his chin and laughing his ass off. But after a minute or so, he banged his palm on the table. "Everyone calm the fuck down. I encourage you to show a little decorum. We have a full quorum, and we don't need our father's votes. We will deal with him and anyone who wanted to follow him shortly. However, we have a few items still on the agenda."
Once everyone was seated again and had calmed down a bit, I brought up the vote. "On the item of no confidence for Atticus Price, all in favor say aye."
Without my father to bolster them, the three that he had in his pocket were noticeably quiet.
I nodded. "All opposed say nay."
I glanced around the room, holding my breath. Some of these people I’d known since I was a child and my grandfather ran things. Did they have any faith in me?
