Page 33 of The Tempo of Truth
The same board member who initially spoke nervously cleared his throat and tried to justify why we were all wasting our time on such a nice afternoon.“You started your own company, and it was doing well without the Halliday name.You had experience, Mr.DeVere.We’re all concerned that Ms.Halliday is simply too young and too inexperienced to give the company the guidance it needs as it continues to grow.No one is saying she isn’t entitled to the birthright handed down from generation to generation; we just think she needs some more time to get acquainted with how things work.There’s plenty of time for her to invest in her career once she gets her personal life in order.Right now, a lesser role is more suitable.”
I could tell Win was getting ready to unleash hell.I put my hand over his to stop the tapping and looked at the detractor through narrowed eyes.“Setting aside the fact that my Uncle Win was only a year older than I am when he took over for my grandfather, I think it’s clear that the real problem you all have with me is that I’m the first female Halliday to step into the CEO position.It’s been a leadership role occupied by a man since the start of the company.I don’t think I need to point out how obviously sexist your objections are.How dare you question if I can be both a mother and an executive?Halliday Inc.has one of the best childcare programs in place among many of the Fortune 500 companies.I can take care of the company and my child at the same time, just like my uncles did when they started their families.”
An older woman cleared her throat and jumped into the fray.“What about the headlines romantically tying you to a criminal?It’s not a good look for others to do business with us if our CEO is knowingly involved with someone of low moral value.Sexist or not, your current image is harming the company, Ms.Halliday.”
I lifted my eyebrows and asked her, “Would it be better if I released the text messages between your adult son and the underage girl he’s been grooming?”Her gasp of outrage filled the room, but I ignored her and turned to look at the older man who started the pile-on.“While you might not be well-known enough to grab a headline, the mattress actress who is the same age as your granddaughter—with whom you like to spend weekends at your beach house—sure is.”I looked at the irate woman and back at the flustered man.“At least she’s of age.Barely.”I pointedly met the eyes of everyone sitting around the table.
Win pulled his hand free and gave mine a gentle squeeze of encouragement.I leaned back in my seat and coldly reminded everyone, “You are all so focused on my private life and what may or may not be true that you’ve lost sight of who I am.I.Am.Winnie.Halliday.Colette Halliday and Winchester Halliday raised me.I have lived and breathed this company since before I could walk.How dare any of you insinuate I’m not the best person for the job!”
Alistair chuckled again and slapped the table, making several of the nervous board members jump.“All of you combined can’t reach a fraction of the shares in Winnie’s possession.She holds more power in her hands than either Win or I ever have.You can’t vote her out.You can’t vote against her.And if you keep trying to use underhanded tactics to pressure her into stepping down ‘for the good of the company,’ I will personally wage war on all your outside interests.”
Win nodded, his threat even scarier than Alistair’s.“The dirt Winnie has on you now is just the tip of the iceberg.I’ll dig every secret you’ve ever had out and bring them to light.I can make all your skeletons dance to whatever tune I choose.I’ll send your uptight asses to prison and help Winnie restructure Halliday Inc.and the board of directors from the ground up.So what I’ll ask is this: Is there anyone in the room who wants to bring up my nephew’s or my niece’s private life again?”
The room went quiet.The tension was thick enough to choke on.I thought everyone was going to leave the meeting with their tails between their legs when one of the more unassuming board members asked, “What about the merger with Byrd Enterprises?That merger seems to be on shaky ground.That’s a large project to lose if it’s handled wrong.Mr.DeVere, you initiated the deal.Shouldn’t you stay involved to see it to the finish line?You bear some responsibility.”
“If Winnie needs help, she knows where to find me.I’m still the sitting president of this corporation.You all act like Winnie showed up one day and tossed the rest of us on the street so she could grab unlimited power and resources.I think you forgot we’re family.”He pointed at me and Win.“We want Winnie to be successful.None of the decisions Win and I have made over the years of running Halliday Inc.were to line your pockets and inflate our stock price.The choices we made were designed to set our niece up for success.She’s our priority.Not your overly stuffed wallets.”
The older man who originally spoke grumbled in dissatisfaction and called for an adjournment of the meeting.Everyone shuffled out of the room, several shooting me dirty looks.I smiled in response and taunted, “Welcome to the revolution.”
Once we were alone in the boardroom, Alistair frowned and said, “We need to report that woman’s son.”He was a girl-dad, so of course, he wouldn’t let something as serious as covering for a sexual predator slide.
I flopped back into my chair and tried to shake loose the tension gathered in my shoulders and neck.“Don’t worry.The girl he’s talking to is actually a fifty-year-old retired policeman.They’re going to arrest her son within the next couple of weeks.She won’t have time to worry about anyone else’s criminal history.”
“You handled yourself well today.Eventually, you’re going to need to weed out the naysayers who are holding up progress and let new investors buy their way onto the board.”Win shot Alistair a pointed look.“When you’re ready to make big moves, we’ll put a handful of our shares up for sale, and you can handpick who you want sitting across from you for the long haul.”
Alistair agreed with a nod but stopped me from getting up and going back to work with a hand on my shoulder.“What’s going on with the Byrd merger?I thought everything was smooth sailing and you just needed to sign on the dotted line.Oliver put up a hell of a fight to get his company’s top brass on board.”
I rolled my eyes.“He’s more interested in playing social games than focusing on long-term business cooperation.I don’t know what he promised aside from the merger, but I feel like he wants to negotiate his way into my bed more than he wants to be my business partner.”I sighed and reached for my phone to look at the message that just came through.“I may have led him on a bit at the beginning to keep the press off of Ky’s ass.When it didn’t work, I made it clear I wasn’t interested.I’ve told him several times that things need to remain professional between us for a successful partnership.The warning went in one ear and out the other.Oliver’s been getting progressively forward each time we meet.”
Alistair leaned on the table and gave me a serious look.“Do you need me to intervene?I was the one who brought the Byrds to the table.”
I shook my head.“No.If you get involved, it’ll seem as if I can’t handle difficult business associates on my own.If he can’t properly conduct himself, Helio is always around to mediate if I need help.”
Win got to his feet and tapped the table with his knuckles.“Byrd’s gonna be a problem for more than one reason.Your boy, Ky, already has a bad feeling about him.Those two are going to clash eventually, and you’re the one who’s going to end up in the crossfire.Everything is always going to blow back on you.”
I snorted and replied to the message from Ky asking if it was all right for him to come by the brownstone later.He’d been spending a lot of time with me and Lowe lately.I wanted to believe it was so we could all bond as a family, and while that was a factor, I knew his current state of unemployment was more than likely why he was constantly around.I’d asked him numerous times if he wanted my help finding him something temporary, but he always turned down the offer.
He was still helping Lev train his fighters, but it wasn’t profitable enough to support him long term.And while he’d taken the money from the night at the hotel to pay off his buddy’s medical bills, he hadn’t asked me for a dime, even though he was struggling.I knew his pride was going to push him to take any job that seemed profitable.I wanted more for him than just getting by, but I wasn’t in a position to offer him advice in that area.He had to figure out his new path on his own.Otherwise, he was only going in the direction I guided him and not on the journey he was meant to travel.All I could do was silently hope that whatever road he walked, he would end up where Lowe and I were waiting for him.
I spun the phone around on the table by flicking the corner.I looked at my Uncle Win and told him, “If Oliver was the one who arranged for the dead body to fall at Ky’s feet the night of the retirement party, he’s got better connections than I thought.His people found the guy Ky fought with at the basketball court and took him out, all within a handful of hours.”
Win patted my shoulder and warned, “Don’t take either of them lightly.Protect yourself, Winnie.You and Lowe are always the top priority.I don’t care if this entire company goes bankrupt.”
I laughed lightly.“I won’t let that happen.I won’t give the board of directors the satisfaction.I want to run Halliday Inc.my way.That’s my name on the letterhead, and it’s not going anywhere.This business has to be here if one of the kids decides they want it in the future.”
Alistair playfully winked at me.“We’re family, so we fight whatever comes your way together.”He bumped into my shoulder as I rose to my feet to follow them out of the boardroom.It was nice to know they had my back while I tried to shatter glass ceilings and climb mountains wearing designer heels.Before we parted, he pointedly mentioned, “I know the Hallidays are no strangers to the untimely demise of others in an attempt to disrupt your plans but maybe try not to be so nonchalant about it.Murder as a form of manipulation makes me sick to my stomach.”
I was callous when Win told me Ky got picked up by the police because he was found standing over a dead body in the park.I knew he didn’t do it, so I didn’t allow myself to get too invested in the victim.Especially since he jumped Ky and hurt him during that unfair fight.He was a victim of circumstance, but that didn’t mean he should suffer the ultimate loss, or that his friends and family deserved to suffer and grieve over a loved one because of something that wasn’t a huge deal until people with scary ulterior motives got involved.I didn’t want to be someone who was that cold and indifferent, like my grandmother was.Facing a murder was nothing more than a slight inconvenience for Colette Halliday.Alistair’s reminder was a wake-up call I definitely needed to hear.
I couldn’t make reparations without making it look like I was covering up a major wrongdoing involving my baby daddy.What I could do was make Helio work for his exorbitant paycheck.He should have the means and the connections to find out what happened between the brawl at the basketball court and the ambush at the park.
We parted ways at the elevator, and Jeremiah immediately handed me a tablet with a list of tasks awaiting my attention and a reminder that I had a videoconference in twenty minutes.I got a touch of whiplash from having my skills and integrity questioned, only to once again be captaining the massive ship.
That evening, I was a little late leaving the office, and then I got stuck in traffic trying to get home.I messaged my Aunt Channing to let her know I was on my way to get Lowe and was surprised when she replied that Ky had stopped by and taken him to my brownstone already.She sent them to my place with her housekeeper and extra security.I wasn’t as concerned about making sure Ky was supervised when he was with our son, but Lowe was still a handful and Ky had no experience taking care of a child.Since he didn’t mind the supervision, there was always someone on hand to make sure he could see Lowe.I really appreciated the way my family stepped up to show Ky that they were supportive of him getting to be part of his son’s life.They might have been less on board with him and me being in a relationship because of our complicated history, but as long as I was happy, nobody was going to make unnecessary trouble.
When I got home, I kicked off my heels and dropped my laptop bag on the entryway table.I took off my boss-bitch blazer and uncoiled the French twist from the back of my head.It was like I was a snake shedding its skin.
When I stepped into the kitchen, I was greeted with the sight of my son sitting on top of the island, covered in flour and laughing hysterically as Ky danced around in front of the chef-grade stove, trying to avoid the hot, popping oil.
