Page 108 of Breaking News

And I knew in my gut that if one of us was going down for this, it would probably be Graham.

chapter forty

Graham

My palms were already damp as I pushed open the door to the conference room. I’d told myself I wasn’t nervous, that I was prepared; but that was a lie. I just wanted to get this over with. I hadn’t had any time to rehearse what I was going to say, but it wouldn’t have made a difference, anyway.

Arthur Briggs was already there, setting up his laptop at the far end of the table. He looked up at me over the top of his glasses and gave a small nod. I sat down next to him at the head of the table, trying not to think about the fact that this was likely the last time I’d sit in this room as someone with any real authority.

“Morning,” Arthur said. “The others are already ready to connect. Should we begin?”

I nodded in return, grateful he was keeping the small talk to a minimum. The sooner I could get this over with, the better. “Sounds good.”

He clicked a few things, then turned the screen toward me as two faces popped up onto the screen: Jack and David, the only other two board members who were available. I’d told myselfthat fewer people in the room would make it easier, but I was still sweating.

"Morning, Graham," Jack said, his voice a little gravelly, like he hadn’t been awake for very long. David offered a polite nod, with sunglasses resting on top of his head in front of a backdrop of palm trees. “David, what kinda drink you got there?”

David held up a margarita glass, and the other men laughed. I forced a smile, but that was all I could do.

Arthur, noticing my nervousness, cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. "All right, let’s go ahead and begin. Graham has something he wants to discuss.”

Unlike him, the other two hadn’t seen the Facebook post, and they were unaware of the reason behind this emergency meeting.

I took a breath, loosened my tie, and began.

"I wanted to address an anonymous Facebook post that was made in one of the local gossip groups. Allow me to read it to you.” I cleared my throat and pulled out my phone. “Regarding Jill, the post says, ‘She’s too busy screwing the CEO to mess around with this guy.’ Meaning Chase,” I clarified before continuing. “‘Lots of fishy stuff going on at WWTV. I’ve been hearing that this CEO is just as corrupt as the last one. It should probably be looked into if you ask me.’”

There was a beat of silence, and then a low whistle from David. Beside me, Arthur bowed his head in disappointment.

“Boy, those are quite the allegations,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair. “What would compel someone to say all that?”

“Because it’s true.” I gave them a second to react, pressing my palms flat against the table before I continued. “At least the bit about my involvement with Jillian Taylor. I have been in a sexual relationship with her for the past few weeks. One of the young interns became aware of it.”

Suddenly, I was flashing back to watching Bill Clinton on my television screen as a middle schooler who couldn’t believe a blow job was making national news. I never would’ve imagined I’d end up in a similar scandal one day.

But at least I was owning up to it.

“I want to be clear,” I added, “Jillian and I have never let it interfere with our work. We didn’t use company time or resources. This relationship has had no effect on our jobs.”

“Well,” Jack said. I didn’t like his hesitant smirk. “Your daughter is her intern.”

“Yes, but that decision was made before this relationship began,” I said.

Arthur glanced over at me. “I doubt that’s what people will say, though. Looks like they’re already speculating otherwise according to the comments.”

David sighed. “Who made this post? The intern?”

“It’s anonymous,” I reminded him. “I suspect this kid has been talking to family members and other interns, but the point of the matter is that the word is out. And I take full responsibility. I’m not here to point fingers or place blame on the intern or anyone he told. This is my mistake to own.”

“That’s commendable of you,” Arthur said, his voice so quiet the others probably hadn’t heard.

In his little rectangle on Arthur’s screen, Jack crossed his arms, shaking his head. “Was this a one-time lapse in judgment or something ongoing?”

I tensed. Jill would hate for me to go into detail about our sex lives with these men, and I wouldn’t do that to her. “I’m not going to lay out a timeline for you. We have engaged in a consensual sexual relationship, and that’s all that matters.”

“We’re just trying to understand the scope,” David said, his tone slightly less intimidating than Jack’s. “You’re not on trial here.”

In my peripheral vision, I caught movement on the other side of the glass wall. Out in the studio, Jill stood with Xander, Olivia, Meghan, Chase, and even Marco, all gathered in a loose circle. When Marco glanced over his shoulder at the conference room with his mouth gaping open, I didn’t need context to guess what they were talking about.

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