Chapter Eight
Sadie
I spent all day yesterday with the guys. We took our mental health day. I went through waves of emotions, and they supported me through all of it. I was and am mostly angry. I still want to strangle Angela, but I won’t. I’ll leave it alone and focus on the company.
At the end of the day, we did nothing wrong. I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and I do not regret anything that has happened with them. We are adults, and I was very willing in that situation.
Mom and Dad haven’t called again, but I know it’s not the last I will hear from them.
I know they will show up this weekend. I can’t worry about that right now because we have an entire shitstorm at work to handle.
Most of our investors are coming in today to demand a meeting with us.
We planned on having one anyway, so this saves us from having to try to get them all to come in.
Some of our long-term investors know us well, so they don’t care.
We’ve had ten employees email their resignations this morning, but luckily, the departments they are coming from can handle losing a few people.
We can always help out with anything that needs to be done.
We know every aspect of this company, so it’s only natural that we fill in where we are needed.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I sigh when we pull into a parking spot and see a horde of reporters and random people.
“Easier said than done, but we need to ignore them. For now, at least,” Mason says.
“Why are you so calm about this?” I ask as I put my truck in park.
“I’m not sure,” he says. “I’m angry. Probably more angry than I have been in a long time, but I’ve stayed pretty level-headed about it.”
“At least there isn’t a video of me fucking you on the balcony,” Dean says, and I laugh.
“They are looking at us,” I say.
“Let’s go inside,” Dean says. “Let us open your door, please.” I nod and wait for Mason to open my door before I get out.
Today I am wearing black slacks, black heels, and a deep red blouse.
Getting out of the truck, I suddenly feel like I am underdressed.
I’m already being called a whore, and I don’t want to add to the claim.
“Hey. Stop it,” Mason says, lifting my chin so I’ll stop looking at my outfit. “You look amazing, Little Demon. Don’t let their awful words make you think you are anything less than perfect.” He kisses me softly, and I relax, even though I know the vultures are watching.
We turn, and Lance goes to my other side while Dean walks behind me. I’ve noticed that Dean is the most physically protective. They are all protective, but Dean has taken it to an entirely different level. Maybe it’s just because he always looks like he’s going to chew someone’s face off.
We get closer to the crowd, and the very first question thrown at us as we step past them pisses me off. “Is she your assistant?” a man shouts from directly behind me.
“Sadie,” Todd says from the doorway. He shakes his head at me, but I ignore him and turn around. Dean smirks and steps out of my way.
“I’m sorry… Can you repeat that for me?” I ask. The man looks confident in himself, like he didn’t just make the most sexist assumption.
“Are you their assistant? There are rumors that…”
“I am one of four owners of QuadTech. Quad means four. Dean Thompson, Mason Campbell, and Lance Hudson are the other three owners. I have known them since we were five years old. They have been my best friends since before we knew what sexism was, let alone how ignorant people could be,” I say firmly.
“Do you have any more sexist questions, or can we skip to the part where our privacy was violated and is still being violated by you standing in my parking lot harassing me?”
The man doesn’t say anything, nor does anyone else, so I turn back to Todd and walk into the building. I scan my badge at security before turning to Todd.
“Sorry,” I say.
“It’s okay. You handled it well,” he says. “At least you didn’t cuss them out.”
“He’s lucky I didn’t punch him in the throat,” I say as I smash the elevator button. “Fucking asshole.”
“I thought sex was supposed to relax you or something,” Todd says as we step into the elevator.
“Bite me,” I frown.
“One of these days, you are going to say that and actually get bitten by someone,” Mason says.
“Oh? Are you going to bite me?”
“I just might,” he smirks.
“Can you wait until I’m out of the elevator? I don’t want to be in the next video,” Todd says. I punch him in the arm, and he laughs as he rubs the spot.
“That was rude,” I say, failing to hide my smile.
“But funny,” Todd says with a grin.
“I am not looking forward to this meeting,” I say. “Most of our investors already look down on me and dismiss me every chance they get.”
“We’ll be okay,” he says as the door opens. When we step out, all our investors are standing in front of Marlina’s desk.
“Seriously?” I say loud enough for everyone to hear me. They all turn, and most of them frown. “Leave our assistant alone and go to the conference room. Really, anywhere that isn’t directly in front of her desk.”
“We all need to…” one of the men starts.
“I know what you need, George,” I say kindly. “Give us more than five seconds to set our stuff down and talk to Marlina, and we will be down there. Okay?” George nods and is the first one to break away and go down the hall to the conference room.
“You would have thought you murdered someone on camera or something,” Marlina shakes her head.
“She sounded like she was being murdered,” Todd says, looking at his phone, and Marlina giggles.
“Ha ha, very funny,” I say. “Are you okay, Marlina?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks, confused.
Marlina is a full-time college student and still works full-time.
She is a hard worker, so we let her do her schoolwork here when she has time.
That seems to help her a lot, and she still gets everything done that she needs to.
“Ohhh. You think because I saw them tag team you that I’d have a problem working for y’all. ”
“I would have worded it differently,” I laugh. “But yes.”
“Nah, girl. I’m okay. I live with four other guys who like to party on the weekend. I see shit like that all of the time,” she says. “Way hotter with you four than my roommate’s drunk friends, though.”
“Right,” I say, laughing. “Well… want to come to the meeting? We will probably need help keeping notes.”
“I got you,” she says with a smile as she picks up her laptop. I step into my office and set my stuff down before grabbing what I need. The guys go to their office and do the same thing. When I come out, everyone is waiting on me.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Are you?” Lance returns my question.
“No, but I’d like to just get this day over with. Hiding in my office won’t help anything.”
Satisfied with my answer, we walk to the conference room. When I open the door, everyone turns and looks at me. “Good morning,” I say kindly. No one returns my greeting, but a few greet the guys.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Mitch says flatly. The guys, in turn, do not greet him, but they do glare at him.
“Marlina, just have a seat anywhere,” I say.
“I’ll sit beside you,” she says with a smile as she sits beside where I have my laptop sitting.
Dean and Lance stay standing. Dean is leaning against the wall behind me while Lance is still by the door.
Mason sits to my other side and points for me to sit.
Todd takes a seat beside Marlina and sits back to observe.
“Okay,” I say. “This is not a normal meeting, so I don’t have anything for you all. Marlina has our day clear, so we have as much time as you all need. We just need to have an all-staff meeting at some point.”
“Who is he?” Mitch asks Mason, talking about Todd.
“Todd Richards. He is a friend of ours and a lawyer,” I answer.
“He’s a criminal defense lawyer,” Lewis adds.
“I am also a corporate lawyer,” Todd says. “I have been working with Ms. Graves and her business partners since the day they named the business. I handle all legal issues professionally and privately.”
“So first of all, I want to clear up some confusion that is being spun by the media,” I say.
“We’d prefer to hear it from them,” Mitch says, interrupting me.
“Everything she has to say is coming from all of us,” Mason says. “She is running the meeting today.”
“First, understand that we are under no obligation to explain anything to anyone. Our private lives have nothing to do with this company. We are explaining because we think it’s important that you be able to trust the person you are investing in,” I say.
“I have known Dean, Lance, and Mason my entire life. We have lived together for almost a decade now. No part of that was forced or coerced. We are in contact with the hotel manager, and we are taking the proper steps to find out who placed the camera. When they are found, they will be charged.”
“Being charged doesn’t change what almost ten million people have seen them do to you,” Mitch says. I narrow my eyes at him, and I can feel Todd looking at me.
“What exactly did they do, Mr. Jones?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“You are talking about this video, but do you know what the content was? You haven’t even said anything other than everyone saw it, while also blatantly ignoring me multiple times.
So, I am assuming you have seen it entirely if you are forming an opinion,” I say.
“Raise your hand if you’ve seen the entire video. ”
Of the fifteen people in the room, all but three raise their hands. Mitch is among those who watched it entirely. “What is your point?” Mitch asks.
“How long was the video?” I ask Todd as I stand up. I’m getting angry, and the longer I sit here, the more likely I am going to boil over.
“A little over two hours. This includes conversation at the beginning and about ten minutes of you all relaxing before you fall asleep.”
“You all watched two hours of… that… and you have the audacity to come into this building demanding an answer from us?” I ask.