“Uncle Ronald, I’ll be happy to show you the board meeting minutes where changes were made and instituted.”
“There’s no way I ever agreed to that.” Uncle Ronald didn’t back down.
“Funny enough, I believe you. However, you did approve the change to the bylaws, as did everyone on the board. The vote was unanimous.”
“What?”
“Grandmother Pierce plays the long game.”
She could almost see her uncle’s brain working, and when his expression went from anger to horror, she smiled. “Yes. Grandmother Pierce has always been a bit of a wild card.”
“Explain.” Her father’s voice cut through the tension. “Bronwyn, what are you talking about?”
“Eighteen months ago, wemade a change to the bylaws toallow for a charitable fund to be created. Grandmother specifically requested it.”
Awareness slid through the room. “Yes. And that’s the only change we made.” Uncle Ronald didn’t sound quite as sure as he had just minutes before.
“There was one other.”
“No, I distinctly recall that we made changes to two sections to allow for the fund and to allow it to be managed by the CEO.” Uncle William looked around the room as if waiting for everyone to agree with him.
“Actually, I have the audio recording of the meeting right here.” Bronwyn scrolled to the file on her phone, then hit play.
Bronwyn’s voice came through the speaker. “Motion made to change bylaws section four paragraph seven, sectionsix paragraph twelve—”
“And sectioneight paragraph two,” Grandmother Pierce interrupted. “I’ll have to tweak that one as well. Any objections?”
Bronwyn hit pause and checked to be sure everyone was following along. Then she hit play again, and they all listened to the unanimous vote. “What’s sectioneight?” Aunt Beatrice asked.
“That would be the section that puts a time limit on the probationary period.”
Bronwyn wasn’t proud of the fact that she’d failed to read the final section herself a year and a half ago. She’d never dreamed her grandmother would do something so... underhanded. But it was clear that no one, including herself, had thought to question it.
“The modifications to the bylaws were handled by the attorneys at Grandmother’s direction. At the next board meeting, they were signed by everyone present.”
Stunned silence greeted her pronouncement.
Bronwyn tapped her phone screen. “I can play the recording from that meeting if you’d like.”
The words that flowed around the table next were less than complimentary.
Uncle William glared at her. “We’ll change it. You won’t be able to outvote us.”
Bronwyn had considered that. “You may want to wait until the investigation into the financial discrepancies is completed, Uncle William.”
Behind her, she heard Mo shift. He didn’t say anything, but his presence seemed to shake her uncle’s resolve.
“One other thing.” Bronwyn paused and prepared for the fallout. “I spoke to Grandmother’s attorney briefly, and he mentioned something else that has bearing on this matter.”
“Let me guess, Grandmother made you queen while she was at it,” Aunt Beatrice snarled. “You always were her favorite, even after you nearly took us down when you ran off with that senator’s brother.”
Bronwyn’s body chilled.Senator’s brother? He ... no ... He hadn’t? What?
Aunt Beatrice pointed at Uncle William. “You said nothing would blow back on us.” She pointed at Uncle Ronald. “And you said it would turn out to be a good thing for the family in the long run.”
Bronwyn regretted the decision to stay standing for this meeting. She desperately wished for a chair to hold her up and a table to block her trembling hands from view.
Aunt Beatrice patted her chest. “I told you we should distance ourselves from everything associated with that family, but you said we couldn’t afford to alienate them.” She aimed her finger back at Uncle William.
