Page 79 of Man Vs. Woman
Serena
“Are you okay?”
“Not really.”
“Hey,” Daphne lays one hand on my shoulder, then forces me to stop and turn around so that I’m facing her. “It’ll be alright. You can do this.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I confess, stealing a glance at the entrance of the meeting room. The double doors are open wide, and almost all of Clarendon Tower residents are flowing in; even from the end of the hallway, I can hear the few words that dominate their chattering—spa,gymandjobs center.
“Look, Serena,” Daphne continues, both her hands now on my shoulders. Running my tongue over my dry lips, I focus back on her and manage a weak smile. “Dominic and I... we talked some of the other residents into vouching for you. Even Malcolm and his wife have flown over from Monaco, all just so they could vote for you. We’re all here, rooting for you...now you just have to go in there and kick everyone’s asses.”
“I thought I’d have him here, you know? I thought that -”
“I get it. I really do. But men...men are going to be men, you know? You can’t control them, no matter how much you try. And Colt...well, if Colt decided he wanted to be an idiot and give up on a brave and beautiful woman like you, that’s his loss. Now,” she takes one hand from my shoulder and places two fingers under my chin, “back straight and chin up. It’s showtime.”
One quick nod at Daphne and off I go, strutting toward the meeting room like a woman on a mission. I notice a few of the residents turning around and placing their hands over their mouths as I enter the room, whispering something unintelligible, but I pay them no heed.
I have enough shit on my plate right now.
I head straight toward the front of the room, where three tables with microphones have been set right in front of the raised dais from where the board runs their meetings. On the table at the center someone has placed a folded laminated card with my name.
One deep breath, and I take my seat.
Hiram is already seating at his table, his perfectly combed hair and tailored suit—not a single crease in the damn thing—setting off my alarms. It seems as if he came in ready for a celebration, not a debate. The asshole probably thinks this is a done deal already.
Well, fuck him.
I might not have the best chance, but I sure as hell won’t go down without fighting back. If Hiram wants the site, I’ll make him sweat for it. Even if that means I’ll have to go to war with Colt as well.
“Good evening,” Seymour announces as he walks up to the dais, taking his seat right at the center of the board’s table. He pulls his chair back almost too theatrically, sweeping the audience with his gaze before finally settling down. At his words, the chatter in the room dies down, and Seymour taps his mic with two fingers.
“Seems like we are missing someone, doesn’t it?” He asks, pointing a finger toward my side. I follow Seymour’s fingers, and I feel my heart tightening inside my chest as I look straight at Colt’s vacant seat. He should be here by now. “Well, no matter. If Mr. McCoy doesn’t deem this as an important one, then that’s his problem. I figure we have enough gyms in this city as it is. I declare this meeting open.” He smiles smugly at the crowd, and then rubs his hands together before continuing. “I hope everyone thought long and hard about the subject matter at hand. We’re going to start the voting procedure soon enough, but before that I’m going to turn the floor to our...candidates. Ms. James, would you care to go first?”
Clearing my throat, I go up to my feet.
This is it.
“Good evening, Mr. President of the Board,” I start, my heart racing so fast I can almost hear it thump against my eardrums. “As we all know, there’s nothing I’d like more than to bring my spa into Clarendon Tower. There’s no other place like this building, and I believe that my business would be more than just a great addition...it would be a complimentary piece to everything that Clarendon Tower stands for.”
I take a breath then, all the words I’ve rehearsed before twirling inside my brain.
Focus, Serena, for Christ’s sake!
“But first...I’d like to address something else. Something more important than that. Mr. Hooskins here,” I say, pointing to the man to my left, “has been on my mind for the past few weeks.”
“This is a meeting of the board, Ms. James, not confession,” Seymour says off-handedly, and I notice a few of the residents snickering at that. I ball my hands into fists, rage rearing its head inside of me, but somehow I manage to keep my cool.
“Of course, Mr. Cooper.” I smile at Seymour, doing my best to act submissively even though all I want right now is to punch him in the face. “I wish it was something as trivial as that. See, I’m concerned because Hiram Hooskins is not the kind of man Clarendon Tower should open its door to.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve been looking into things, and it seems that Mr. Hooskins has a few suspicious connections that -”
“I was under the impression that you were the owner of a spa, Ms. James,” Seymour interrupts, leaning back on his seat and flashing me a toothy grin. “I had no idea that you moonlighted as a private investigator. Maybe that’s why your business floundered...your focus is split.”
More snickering from the crowd.
Goddamn. Did Hiram somehow buy Seymour? Just what I needed...the President of the Board colluding with the one bastard hellbent on crushing every good thing in my life. Just perfect.
