Chapter 58 Jace #2
When I realized what it was—a picture of me and Scarlett making love in the meadow last night—my body reacted in a domino of sensations.
First, my gut dropped to the ground. This poor woman had been photographed having sex.
Had been violated by some creep who’d been close enough to see it all.
Who captured an image of it. Even though all of Scarlett’s private parts were covered, it didn’t lessen the humiliation of having our intimate encounter photographed and then delivered into the hands of the board of directors, no less.
The second thing that reacted was my heart. It began pumping like a jackhammer, sending adrenaline surging through my veins, along with blinding rage that made my fists clench so tightly that I swore they were about to draw blood from my palms.
“Someone is tracking me?” I kept my voice deceptively calm, a stark contrast to the fury boiling inside.
“I have no idea,” Randolph claimed.
“You’d better have an idea. You have the evidence on your phone.” My eyes narrowed to slits. “Marcus, take his phone, turn it over to the IT department. I want to know what IP address sent that photo, and I want it traced down within the hour.”
Marcus stood up and reached for the phone, but Randolph was faster, snatching it back. “You will do no such thing.”
“Give me the phone,” Marcus demanded.
“I don’t know who was following you. Frankly, I don’t give a crap.” Randolph held up his phone like a trophy. “But whoever did, they’ve done us a favor, sending us her name, along with this photo. Because we are executing the morality clause.”
“You can’t do that,” Marcus said, his jaw tight.
“Draft up the paperwork,” Randolph ordered one of the other board members. “I want it signed within the hour.”
“You’re a businessman. Think about this long-term,” Marcus urged, switching tactics.
“Your disdain for this deal is shortsighted. You can’t sabotage a deal under the accusation of bad behavior by the CEO and not have the CEO and his ability to run a company permanently affected by those accusations.
Sure, you can go public and say it was just because he had a relationship, but when a half-billion-dollar deal goes belly up and over six thousand people lose their jobs, no one is going to believe it’s over something as benign as a forbidden relationship.
They’re going to think that Jace is dirty or corrupt and that the relationship with the employee is the cover story.
No one will do a deal with Jace again, and Lockwood Holdings will go under.
You guys will be out a shit ton of money, and you’ll never find anyone who knows this company well enough to save it. ”
“That’s why we want you to take over,” Randolph said to Marcus.
Marcus’s head snapped back. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“We don’t trust Jace’s judgment anymore.”
Visions of slamming my fist into Randolph’s face flashed through my mind.
“That’s ridiculous,” Marcus spat.
Randolph turned to me. “First, you buy this bad company, missing out on the much higher profits of the other companies we had the opportunity to buy. Now, you’re dating an employee when you know it has the power to take down a half-billion-dollar deal.”
“I didn’t know she worked at this company when we started dating,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Did you know last night?” Randolph asked, and so help me, he might as well have had a handlebar mustache that he was twirling. “Marcus will take over as CEO.”
“So, you’re going to sabotage the deal, bankrupt this company, put over six thousand people out of work, and try to steal my company out from under me?” My voice was deadly quiet. “You think I’ll let you get away with that?”
“You seem to be under the impression that we don’t have the power to do it.” Randolph’s smug expression made me want to put my stapler through his esophagus.
Power. The word stopped me cold, and I realized that in this moment, this was what Scarlett was talking about. When other people held power over you and wielded it against you like a weapon.
“This is absurd,” Marcus said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I will not become the CEO. In fact, if you do this, if you oust Jace? You’ll have my resignation by the end of the day.”
Randolph nodded to his fellow board members as if this was the response he’d expected.
“Tempers are hot in this room,” Randolph said, feigning reasonableness. “We’ll give you some time to think it over. I implore you to reconsider, Marcus. Because if you don’t take over this company, we will find someone else to do it.”
“Jace is the best leader I’ve ever worked with,” Marcus insisted.
“And you’ve been his right-hand man this entire time,” Randolph countered smoothly. “You know this organization inside and out. You know how companies are turned around.”
“Jace is the CEO,” Marcus said firmly. “I will never oust him.”
“We’ll give you thirty minutes to reconsider,” Randolph said, gathering his things. “Otherwise, Lockwood Holdings will likely go under.”