Page 63 of His Good Girl

“Twenty.”

“Fifteen will imply moral seriousness.”

“Fine. Fifteen.”

Benjamin tapped something into his tablet with the satisfaction of a general moving cavalry. “Should I bring scones?”

I stared at him.

“For morale,” he said.

“No.”

“For intimidation?”

“No.”

“For me?”

“You may have a scone, Benjamin.”

“Thank you. Leadership begins with nourishment.”

He turned to leave, then stopped at the door. “Your nine o’clock variable arrives in one hour and forty-two minutes.”

“Her name is Avery.”

“So you keep insisting.” His expression stayed bland. “Do you want me to handle her first-day intake personally, or shall I ask Dana to start with the corporate systems and only lightly bruise her spirit?”

“Handle her,” I intoned. “Carefully.”

Benjamin gave me a look. “I was going to use the onboarding packet, not a trebuchet.”

“Fairly,” I added.

His face shifted just enough to let me know he had heard everything I had not said. “Of course.”

The war cabinet assembled in the conference room in fifteen minutes starting with Elise, Marcus, powerhouse Dana Keene, and Tom. Benjamin stood near the screen like a court official at a trial he fully intended to enjoy.

I stayed at the head of the table and let them read the column in silence.

Dana finished first. “This is obviously Lang.”

“Likely,” I agreed.

“Not likely. It’s Lang. Their fingerprints are all over the cowardice.”

Tom rubbed a hand over his mouth. “It’s too vague to sue.”

Benjamin made a disappointed sound. “Lawyers are always saying that at the worst possible times.”

Tom ignored him, because most sane people eventually learned to. “There’s no direct allegation. There isn’t any specific claim we can prove false either, because nothing is actually claimed. It’s all insinuation. Sleazy, but protected unless they get reckless.”

“They will,” Dana interjected.

“Maybe,” Tom said. “But not yet.”

Marcus leaned forward. “The mayor’s office is nervous. They were already getting heat from the preservation bloc, the labor coalition, and half the council members who wanted the gallery portion separated from the municipal offices. If Lang can make this look like a safety or ethics issue, even vaguely, the mayor could pause the contract.”