Page 58 of Vows In Corruption

Gerald lets out a sigh before throwing a nod in my direction.

“We will hold off on voting for two weeks. Give you time to settle down from the craziness an catch you before you go on your honeymoon.”

Peter lets out a scoff and rolls his eyes before addressing the man that is still technically his boss. “You seriously can’t be believing this bullshit.”

Now Gerald is the one getting angry and it’s the most glorious thing ever. “I do believe it, want to know why? Because I was one of the few people that knew that the man was engaged, and knew that he would be married before the title landed on his head which would have made the clause void.”

Holy shit.

I don’t know what has shocked me the most. The fact that the lie about an impending marriage came out so easily, or the fact that Gerald is going along with it.

Why would he do that?

I can only think of one reason.

He truly believes that I would be a good replacement and he will stop at nothing to get me there. Including letting Peter know that he will never be getting that title.

Damn. I miss judged Gerald. The old bastard has a few tricks up his sleeve. My respect for the man has definitely gone up.

“Does anyone else want to challenge my decisions?” Nobody dares to answer his questions, there is just a bunch of mumbles. “Great. Now, be here two weeks from now for the vote. I’m leaving this company in a month and there will be a CEO to replace me.”

With that people starts to disperse out of the room, some angrier than others, until it’s only Gerald, Henry, Elliot, Ella and me left in the room.

The calmness after the storm is full of tension.

Elliot is the one to break it.

“Damn. If I knew board meetings were going to be this entertaining, I would attend them more often.”

The comment earns him a slap on the back of the head from Henry.

Ignoring my nephew, I turn to Gerald.

“I’m guessing this marriage clause took you by surprise as well.” Given how pissed off he looked and the way he lied, he couldn’t have known about this change.

“Yes. I remember Hill suggesting that we make changes to the guidelines, but never signing off on them.”

I let out a snort. There is no doubt in my head that Mr. Hill probably forged Gerald’s signature to get what he wanted. The asshole did something that I would have never done.

“But why marriage? Out of all the clauses you can add, why the hell would you add a marriage clause. Bennett might not have been in a relationship three years ago, but things could have changed.” Elliot looks around the room for an answer.

My mind goes to an interview I did a few years back. One where I was asked when I was going to settle down. My answer? Never.

Hill probably saw it and put shit into motion.

“Because it’s the one thing he knew I would never do. So he used it to his advantage.”

Gerald lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, kid. I hope you are able to go through with that idea of yours because I truly don’t want to give this role to Peter.”

With a nod in our direction, Gerald leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

“So what now? We’re in the mail-order bride business now?”

I roll my eyes, but my mind can’t help to go in that direction.

This damn clause is putting me in a bind, and it’s causing my mind to spiral.

“There will not be such thing. There are other options.” Henry states, trying to be optimistic.

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