Chapter 58 Jace
JACE
“Sir, we have a problem,” my assistant said, hurrying to match my stride as I barreled down the hallway.
I had no idea what problem she was referring to, but mine trumped everything else.
“I want every HR leader and all of building security in my office within the hour.” Surely, HR would have that damn list of interviewees by now, and we could compare that to the footage.
“Sir—”
I stopped short when I got close enough to see that the conference room table in my office was unexpectedly occupied by a familiar set of faces. Eight pairs of eyes locked on to me.
“What the hell is the board doing here?”
“This is what I was trying to tell you, sir.” My assistant’s voice dropped to a whisper. “They took the red-eye and flew in for an emergency meeting.”
“An emergency meeting for what?” I muttered through clenched teeth.
Seriously, what the hell could they have a problem with now?
These guys had been a thorn in my ass since I first created this board of directors.
At the time, the concept made sense. Lockwood Holdings was expanding rapidly, but my capital was completely tied up in acquisitions.
I needed outside investment to fund the growth.
Investment that came with strings attached, like a board of directors.
The private equity firm had insisted on board seats in exchange for their capital infusion.
I’d thought I’d found like-minded individuals who wanted to do good with their money, thought I’d vetted them thoroughly, but as soon as the ink dried on the contracts, as soon as they had their official seats, they showed their true nature.
And their true nature was like most every other corporate shark I’d ever met: opportunistic. It was all about the bottom line. And don’t get me wrong; I was a businessman, so I understood the importance of profits. But not when it came at the expense of doing what was right.
I mean, honestly, what happened to people’s souls on this planet?
And why didn’t it occur to me until now that out of the eight people on the board, only one of them was a woman? Was I unknowingly contributing to the misogynistic culture that Scarlett had experienced?
“Mr. Lockwood.” Randolph Whitmore stood, deliberately buttoning his suit jacket. The guy’s hair had gone gray long ago, his middle soft from too many expense-account lunches.
“Randolph.” I stepped into my office, shoulders tensed, sensing an ambush, though I couldn’t pinpoint its source.
“Please, take a seat,” Randolph said, gesturing to my own damn chair like he owned it.
At least Marcus, my right-hand man, was here.
I made eye contact with him, silently asking, Any idea what this is about?
His response was immediate. A slight shake of his head and a deep breath told me Marcus was as exasperated by these guys’ tactics as I was.
“I was unaware we were meeting today,” I said, keeping my voice neutral despite the tension knotting in my intestines.
“We weren’t.” Randolph’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Take a seat.”
The tone of his voice pissed me off. I was the CEO of Lockwood Holdings, and he would be well advised to remember that.
“What do I owe the pleasure?” I remained standing behind my chair, gripping the backrest until my knuckles whitened, eyeing the board. Their body language screamed trouble: angry glares, and tense postures.
“It seems we have a problem,” Randolph announced.
“Another one?” I arched an eyebrow. Shocking.
Randolph folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his seat, eyeing me like a father scolding his son. If he thought that would intimidate me, he’d clearly forgotten who he was dealing with.
“Something has come to our attention.”
“Don’t drag it out, Randolph.” I wasn’t normally this short with the board, but I’d had it with them.
They had set up roadblock after roadblock about this deal in particular, making it clear they hated it.
And that, I’d decided, was what showed me in blaring lights what their true colors were.
Because this deal was more financially stressed than the prior two we’d done.
The previous owners were so in debt that it was going to require an ass ton of cash to turn the company around, and patience was, evidently, something this board lacked.
Money, money, money. Ticktock.
“Are you or are you not dating Scarlett West?” Randolph asked curtly.
I froze, though I wasn’t sure if it was shock or anger that suspended my movements.
“Pardon me?”
“Scarlett West. She is an employee here. It has come to our attention that you’re dating her.”
I quickly glanced at Marcus, who looked just as surprised as I felt. He shifted in his chair in that way he always did when he was formulating a plan to have my back.
“Come to your attention how?” Marcus snapped, leaning forward.
“That doesn’t matter.” Randolph dismissed with a wave of his hand.
“I disagree.” My voice dropped dangerously low. “You serve as the board of directors for my company. If someone is coming to you with information about my personal life, you will tell me who did it.”
“It’s a yes or no question,” Randolph pressed, scrubbing that gray excuse of a beard.
“What difference does it make if Jace is or is not dating an employee at this company?” Marcus pushed back, his loyalty a shield I was grateful for.
I shot him a quick glance of appreciation. The only person in this company who had my back one hundred percent of the time was Marcus.
“The difference is the morality clause,” Randolph said, tapping his finger against a folder in front of him. “Which clearly states it is against company rules to date an employee.”
“Oh, please, Randolph.” I balked. “Your son got his assistant pregnant. With twins. Your married son.” I let that sink in for a beat, watching his face turn an impressive shade of corporate crimson.
“So, I can appreciate why fraternization in the workplace is such a hot button to you, but don’t pretend this is about dating.
With your funeral face and stoic tension, you look like you’re accusing me of skinning puppies and selling them on the black market.
” I shook my head in disgust. “Let’s cut the bull.
You’re just looking for an out.” I lowered my voice.
His jaw tightened. “We’re executing the morality clause,” Randolph announced, his eyes cold.
“Over a hypothetical relationship?” Marcus shot out of his chair. “This is bullshit. That clause is a technicality, a loophole. You don’t expect us to believe that you actually give a shit who the hell Jace might be dating.”
“You’ve been trying to sink this acquisition for months. This has nothing to do with who I might be spending time with.”
“This deal is a fraction of the profits we could have made,” Randolph snarled. “We had four other deals that had at least five times the profit potential of this company. The fact that you went for this one has us questioning your competence as a CEO.”
“This company was about to go under,” I said, struggling to keep my temper in check. “We didn’t have the luxury of waiting. It was now or never. I personally didn’t want to see six thousand people lose their jobs.”
“Oh, it’s always about the goddamned jobs with you,” Randolph snapped, his composure cracking.
“I was very clear from day one when you joined my board of directors, was I not?” I moved my chair out of the way so I could stand right up against the head of the table.
“Yes, I turn a profit with these deals, but my intention is to save these companies so that we can save the employees. And now you’re acting like you’re surprised by it?
” I shook my head in disbelief. “I’ve always been up front about my intentions.
You, on the other hand”—I pointed my finger at Randolph—“pretended to be on board, and then once you signed the documents, you have been a thorn in my side ever since. It’s nothing but the profits to you. ”
“Welcome to private equity, Jace.” Randolph’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I have a news flash: private equity firms are not charitable organizations. We are in the business of making money. It seems you’re the one who is misaligned with those objectives.”
“You have tried to sabotage this deal from the beginning.” I stopped talking, a realization dawning.
That legal document that started all of this, the one that drove me into that bar where I first met Scarlett, the one with the missing signature.
“It was you, wasn’t it? Somehow, you managed to convince him to ‘forget’ to sign one of those pages. ”
Randolph’s lips thinned into a line that confirmed my suspicion.
“Unbelievable,” I breathed. “That goddamn piece of paper almost took down the entire deal.”
“He wasn’t supposed to sign on Monday,” Randolph barked. “So, I don’t know what dirty tactics you employed to get him to sign that piece of paper, but this deal was never supposed to happen!”
“You want to know how I got him to sign it?” I leaned forward, palms flat on the table.
“I laid out my intentions, Randolph. That man had a lot of pride, as many owners do. He should be proud of the company he built. He suffered hard times and made some mistakes, but he cared about his company, and he cared about his employees. All I did was remind him that my intention was to save all of their jobs. That’s how I got him to sign.
” I straightened. “Some people employ dirty tactics, but that person isn’t me.
It’s you. Frankly, I’m disgusted by it.”
“Disgusted?!” Randolph shot out of his chair, pulled up something on his phone, and slid it across the table to me.