Page 140 of The Fiancée Farce
Despite her nerves, Tansy smiled.
“I’m sure I’ve totally lost any and all credibility I might’ve once had, but this isn’t about me. This is about my grandfather’s legacy, my great-grandfather’s legacy. My great-grandfather started this company because he wanted to bring the truth to the people of Seattle, make it accessible. This is about all of you and the people who work downstairs in the newsroom and—and it’s about doing what’s right even if it isn’t always easy.”
Someone scoffed. “What do you know about that?”
Tansy flinched.Tucker.
“Shut up.”
“Decorum, please.”
“Sorry,” Gemma said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “As I was saying, this isn’t about me, and it’s not about the mistakes I’ve made—mistakes I am willing to own. This is about the company and this is about the truth. Not one of Van Dalen Publishing’s papers has instituted a pay wall, on the basis that the distribution of the truth to the masses is more important than profit. I never had the pleasure of meeting my great-grandfather, but my grandfather had a quote he liked to say, a quote he learned from his father. ‘The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.’ St.Augustine said that. And in that spirit, I think everyone here should know that I’ve recently learned that Tucker, should he be named president—”
“Whenhe’s named president.”
“—plans to sell the company to Crenshaw Global Capital.”
The meeting devolved into chaos, board members speaking over one another, voices rising.
Tansy’s heart swelled with pride. Standing up and speaking in front of a room full of board members—many of whom had been present at the wedding—couldn’t be easy. Facing and owning up to her faults, her lies, must be challenging, but Gemma was doing it. She was facing down the board because it was the right thing to do. Tansy jabbed the heel of her hand into her chest, aching with the desire to tell Gemma how—how proud she was. How much she admired her tenacity and courage.
“Quiet down!” Mr.Barnes shouted. “Gemma, even if this is true, the president needs a two-thirds majority vote from the board to authorize a sale.”
“Which Tucker has already made strides toward acquiring with the backing of Victor and Sterling,” Gemma said.
More murmurs filled the air.
“I believe the wordshostile takeoverare probably flashing through your minds right about now.”
“I personally prefer coup d’état,” Tucker said.
“Shut up, Tucker,” Sterling hissed.
Tansy rolled her eyes. Dumbass. What she had ever seen in him was a mystery. Hormones and fiction.
“If I remember correctly, you were there, too, Brooks,” Victor said.
“Indeed I was. As a double agent.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Victor scoffed.
“The better question is why any of you trusted me to begin with?” Brooks laughed. “Honestly. No one should trust me farther than they can throw me. Don’t let my swimmer’s build fool you. I have a surprising amount of muscle mass.”
“Is this true, Victor? Sterling?” Mr.Barnes asked. “Have you been conspiring to sell the company?”
“It’s not just about selling; it’s about the bottom line. Even if wedon’t sell, we could drastically increase our profit margin by reducing our staff by at least thirty percent,” Sterling said.
“Or by reevaluating our health care plan. Who the fuck offers dental these days?” Victor laughed.
Gemma scoffed. “Ninetypercent of employers with more than five hundred employees?”
“Reducing benefits and laying off hardworking employees for the sake of profits goes directly against VDP’s ethics.”
“Not to mention that it’s bad press,” someone added. “Reducing health care? Can you imagine the headlines?”
“And profits are too stable to warrant a sale.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
