He shook his head. “There’s a meeting of the board to discuss the attack.”
Then my eyes widened. “Is that why he thought we were at risk?” I hoped that was coded enough for our conversation. I could feel Gen watching us in the rearview mirror.
Bryce shook his head. “It’s hard to know.”
“Can I come?” I asked. I’d need to ask Esther if I could take my break early, but I wanted to be there, to have a say. “If this is affecting our safety, I deserve to be part of the solution.”
Bryce seemed to hesitate, then nodded. “The meeting starts at ten.”
I instantly got out my phone and texted Esther. Luckily, she responded, saying they would cover for me.
Work was a good distraction while I waited for the meeting to start. Knowing that there were people out there wanting to cause Bryce’s company harm left me feeling uneasy, especiallyafter Jude’s warning. I hoped being in this meeting would help me feel better, like I was part of the solution.
I held that hope in my mind as I rode the elevator to the top floor and met Bryce and Maya at his office.
The three of us walked down the hallway toward the conference room. The founders sat at the head of the table, the nine board members sat in the extra chairs, and everyone else filled in along the walls. I stood next to Maya, feeling my heart beat so strongly I could hear it in my ears.
I only recognized the founders, including Jude, who wouldn’t meet my eyes, and Simon, who gave me an encouraging smile.
One of the men I didn’t know—a tired-looking Hispanic male said, “The meeting begins soon; all unauthorized guests must leave the room.”
Bryce glared back at him. “Jada is my fiancée and was at the gala during the attack. She has valuable insights as an eyewitness.”
“It’s not a good idea to have her here,” Jude warned.
“Jude,” Simon grumbled where he sat toward the head of the table.
Jude didn’t apologize, only stood his ground. But another board member cleared his throat. “She has an NDA?”
Bryce nodded.
“Continue,” the man said. By the way he spoke, he seemed in charge.
Jude spoke up. “I move to have a vote of no confidence for Bryce Madigan, our current CTO.”
“Seconded,” a scrawny man with wispy hair said.
The room fell so silent I could practically hear my heart in my throat.
They wanted to dowhat?
“What is this about?” Cruz spoke up at the same time Aaric said, “Is this a joke?”
Then Jude said, “I motion for a closed session.”
“Seconded,” the scrawny man said again.
Jude sounded almost robotic as he said, “All non-board and non-founder guests are asked to leave the room before security must get involved, according to company bylaws.” He gave me a cold, unfeeling stare.
Bryce got up, walking over to meet me as I shuffled out of the room with everyone else. In the hallway, I held on to Bryce’s arm, ignoring the chaos going on at the table as Bryce’s friends burst out in protest. All weekend we had thought that this meeting would be spent discussing the attack. Never in a million years had I thought his job would be on the line. I looked up at him, saying, “I’m here for you.”
Bryce’s eyes grew misty before he closed them and gave me a long kiss on the forehead. “I know,” he whispered. “Let’s meet after work.” The unspokenIf I still have a joblingered between us.
“I don’t want to leave you,” I admitted, reaching up to hold his face. It didn’t seem fair he go through this alone.
For the first time that morning, Bryce smiled. It was a dim echo of his typical smile, but it was there for all of a second before he took my hand, kissing my palm.
“I’ll be okay,” he said.
