Page 172 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two

“Thank you,” I say, and she gives me a genuine grin.

Rounding my desk, I stare at the setup in overwhelm before jiggling the mouse and starting up my iMac.

“While that’s doing its thing, why don’t you get me up to date on how these people plan on firing me in a few hours?”

Melissa’s expression morphs into one of pure determination.

“Not if I have something to say about it,” she grinds out. “With what I found? You’re not going anywhere.”

With her words, I don’t feel the resignation and peace I’ve lived in for the last several weeks when it comes to all things Orisun. Instead, I feel a spark of the fire that got me to the top over the last eight years.

“Oh, yeah? Well, don’t keep me waiting in suspense.”

I amthe daughter of Opal and Reginald Rivers. Top of my class at Asheford University. I made my way through Harvard’s MBA program while raising two beautiful, intelligent children. I’ve faced down dragons and slayed them.

I’m not afraid of some pretentious men in suits.

I enter the conference room before anyone else and sit casually with one leg crossed over the other, my hair neat without a strand out of place, and my red lipstick refreshed. My phone chirps again, and I ignore it, knowing it’s Zane searching for me since I gave him the slip.

I don’t want to see him—hell, Ican’tsee him right now. I’m liable to start beating the shit out of him due to what I’ve learned from Melissa.

God, every CEO needs a Melissa, because that woman just saved my ass, and my company.

“I’ll be right behind you, Liv,” Melissa murmurs in my ear after she places the dossiers at each board member’s empty seat. She puts a printed stack in front of me. The warm pages still smell like fresh ink.

“Thank you, Melissa,” I say, rising from my chair to give her my full attention. “Truly.”

Melissa gives me a sideways grin.

“Don’t mention it,” she replies. “Just remember this moment when it’s time for my upcoming evaluation.”

“Done,” I say, feeling calmer than I ever would have if placed in this situation a few months ago. Before everything went down, I’d likely want to burn everything to the ground in a great conflagration. Now? I’m ready to set things right with controlled power.

No need to go scorched earth when I’ve got the truth right in front of me.

Just then, the board members round the corner in one big cluster, Zane leading the pack. He looks angry and flustered, his face a ruddy color that speaks to his stress level.

And good. He should be fuckin’ stressed.

“Gentlemen,” I say, greeting each person as they enter the room. There is a total of five voting board members in Orisun. Zane and I are two of them, then there’s Trance Jackson as a shareholding advisor, Jaime Figueroa from Figueroa Venture Capital, and Ralph Sumner, one of Zane’s college mentors.

At least Trance is a friendly face, and he gives me a wary smile.

Looking at the people streaming in, I realize one of the initial errors I made when starting Orisun Technologies with Zane was that I failed to trust myself. He had more money than I did; he didn’t need to have his parents mortgage a house to get the seed funding like I had to, so I trusted him to have better connections.

It appears I was wrong to trust him there, just like I was wrong to trust him at all.

Once the last person enters, I leave Melissa to close the door and walk to the head of the table. I’m grateful I chose my spiky Louboutins today. It’s like with every step, I channel energy and power from the ground up.

“Thank you all for coming,” Zane starts, moving to the opposite end of the long table.

“Ah, Zane, I’ve got it,” I say, cutting him off. He looks thoroughly perplexed, and I push down the smile that threatens to curl my lips. “This meeting is essentially about me, right? So let me lead it.”

The conference room goes dead silent, every man sitting at attention.

Zane gapes at me for a long minute before sputtering, but I cut him off anyway.

“Thank you all for joining me today,” I say, and Zane shuts up as if stunned. He slumps into his seat, and everyone except Trance shares a glance. I hold my palms up.