Chapter 59
Lydia
I don’t know what it is about old movies, but they always keep me grounded.
I can watch them for hours without zoning out or thinking about other things.
Daniel, though, is an entirely different story.
We got through two boxes of pizzas and one movie, with him glancing at his phone every two minutes the entire time.
I pretended not to notice because it would only make him feel bad.
When the movie ended, I was just considering grabbing the remote and stopping him from putting on another one when his phone buzzed. He shot out of the couch so fast, I literally fell off and hit the floor on my hands and knees.
“Oh shit, Lydia! Shit, I’m so—”
“Shut up and tell me the news,” I said, grabbing his hand to get up.
He threw the phone on the couch and grabbed my face with both hands, squishing my cheeks and mouth forward.
“What are you doing?” I sounded like a cartoon character.
His lips twitched at the edges. “You’re gonna get mad. I’m trying to make you look less threatening.”
“Daniel…”
“TheboardvotedtokeephimasCEO,” Daniel said so quickly I could barely make out the words, and then quickly kissed my squished lips.
I felt heat rise up to my face and pushed him back. “Explain.”
Daniel pulled me to the couch, forcing me down beside him. “The board has twelve people.”
“So he convinced six?”
He shook his head, eyes never moving from mine. “He only had to convince four. With him and Howard—”
“Howard is on the board,” I said matter-of-factly. “You failed to mention that.”
“With him and Howard, that made six. Condukt’s bylaws state that the chairman can decide the outcome in case of a tie.”
“If you tell me Langford is chairm—”
“It’s Howard.”