Angling my head, I stared at him.
“Son, this cannot happen.”
I continued to stare.
“Are you even going to acknowledge the treachery you’re trying to pull?”
I touched my chest with my hand. “Oh, you want me to speak now? Because up in my office you told me not to say a word during the meeting.”
“Wha— Well, th-tha—”
“Never mind,” I began, rising from my chair to move to the front of the room. “It’s no longer your place to decide who speaks and who doesn’t speak in these meetings.” I buttoned my suit jacket and clasped my right hand around my left wrist in front of me, staring out at the board members. “Gentlemen, I think we all know you’ve made the right decision.”
It was a decision I’d worked weeks on, behind the scenes. I’d communicated with every single man in this room, over the phone or in person, negotiating for my position as CEO. My father had been unaware, of course. But had he had any foresight he would’ve seen this coming.
“You are my son! How could you betray me like this?”
I sharply turned to my father, eyes narrowed, and my breathing increasing ever so slightly. This son of a bitch was not about to pull the fucking family card on me. The only time he’d treated me like a son was for the public, or when he needed me to fix an issue within the company.
“As you’ve stated, Townsend Industries is our legacy. And I’m saving it … from you.” I glared at him.
“Robert—”
My father and I both turned to Graham.
He cleared his throat. “Senior. Robert Senior. All of us have become aware that not only did you know about some of the ways in which John was working to bring down Townsend, you did not try to put a stop to it. Now, from what we’ve learned, you did this because you didn’t want to appear weak to the public or to the board. However, that cover up lead you into deeper trouble. It’s clear that you can no longer be trusted to run this company. Robert Junior has the experience and expertise to not only run Townsend today, but to lead this company into the future. He has already shared some reusable energy initiatives this company can begin implementing, as well as how to best position Townsend for the incoming technology wave. You, on the other hand, seem to want to be stuck in the dark ages. It’s best that you step down peacefully and professionally, and take your retirement to enjoy it with your family. At home.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I turned to my father. “Security is waiting for you at the door. They will help you remove some items from yo—myoffice before you are escorted down to your awaiting car. Anything you cannot carry today, will be delivered to Townsend Manor.”
“You can’t do this!” he frantically opposed, looking between me and the door, in which two security guards had just entered. “Get your hands off of me!” he demanded when the security guards began taking him away.
I turned to the board members, ready to get the remainder of the meeting over with so I could begin doing the business that needed to be done. However, I was stopped by one last, ominous warning by my father, as he held onto the door.
“You will regret this,” he seethed as he pointed at me. “You havenoidea what you’ve just done.”
I narrowed my eyes on him as he was finally pulled away from the door and it was shut. I didn’t get the sense that he was directly threatening me but there was something deeper in his statement. Suddenly, the meeting I’d had with Rick that morning came flooding back to my memory. All of my father’s secrets hadn’t been uncovered. And I had a feeling the move I’d just played was about to unleash the remainder of his secrets, for better or worse.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Then
Deborah
Pushing out a breath, I glanced at my watch again. It read five-thirty on the dot. I looked around doctor’s office at a few patients who were reading magazines or quietly chastising their toddlers for being too loud. My eyes landed on one couple who sat huddled together, thumbing through a parenting magazine. I smiled as the man’s hand went to his wife’s belly, rubbing small circles around the basketball-sized bump.
My hand went to my own belly. I was already twenty weeks pregnant. Most days, if I wore the right shirt other people couldn’t tell I was expecting, but the changes in my body were evident to me. My belly was rounder, more firm, and for some reason it itched like crazy.
Again, I glanced at my watch. Two minutes past five-thirty and Robert still hadn’t shown up. Thinking of my husband, I frowned. He’d been distant lately. Never had he been totally absent, but he had yet to engage in this pregnancy the way I thought he would. From the beginning he’d talked about children, and now, here we were pregnant, and it felt like he’d disengaged a little.
“Townsend!”
My head popped up when the receptionist called my name. I stood and headed to the window to meet her.
“Are you Ms. Townsend?”
“Mrs.Townsend,” his deep voice sounded behind me, igniting all of my senses.
