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chapter forty

Graham

M y palms were already damp as I pushed open the door to the conference room. I’d told myself I wasn’t nervous, that I was prepared; but that was a lie. I just wanted to get this over with. I hadn’t had any time to rehearse what I was going to say, but it wouldn’t have made a difference, anyway.

Arthur Briggs was already there, setting up his laptop at the far end of the table.

He looked up at me over the top of his glasses and gave a small nod.

I sat down next to him at the head of the table, trying not to think about the fact that this was likely the last time I’d sit in this room as someone with any real authority.

“Morning,” Arthur said. “The others are already ready to connect. Should we begin?”

I nodded in return, grateful he was keeping the small talk to a minimum. The sooner I could get this over with, the better. “Sounds good.”

He clicked a few things, then turned the screen toward me as two faces popped up onto the screen: Jack and David, the only other two board members who were available. I’d told myself that fewer people in the room would make it easier, but I was still sweating.

"Morning, Graham," Jack said, his voice a little gravelly, like he hadn’t been awake for very long. David offered a polite nod, with sunglasses resting on top of his head in front of a backdrop of palm trees. “David, what kinda drink you got there?”

David held up a margarita glass, and the other men laughed. I forced a smile, but that was all I could do.

Arthur, noticing my nervousness, cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. "All right, let’s go ahead and begin. Graham has something he wants to discuss.”

Unlike him, the other two hadn’t seen the Facebook post, and they were unaware of the reason behind this emergency meeting.

I took a breath, loosened my tie, and began.

"I wanted to address an anonymous Facebook post that was made in one of the local gossip groups. Allow me to read it to you.” I cleared my throat and pulled out my phone.

“Regarding Jill, the post says, ‘She’s too busy screwing the CEO to mess around with this guy.’ Meaning Chase,” I clarified before continuing.

“‘Lots of fishy stuff going on at WWTV. I’ve been hearing that this CEO is just as corrupt as the last one. It should probably be looked into if you ask me.’”

There was a beat of silence, and then a low whistle from David. Beside me, Arthur bowed his head in disappointment.

“Boy, those are quite the allegations,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair. “What would compel someone to say all that?”

“Because it’s true.” I gave them a second to react, pressing my palms flat against the table before I continued. “At least the bit about my involvement with Jillian Taylor. I have been in a sexual relationship with her for the past few weeks. One of the young interns became aware of it.”

Suddenly, I was flashing back to watching Bill Clinton on my television screen as a middle schooler who couldn’t believe a blow job was making national news. I never would’ve imagined I’d end up in a similar scandal one day.

But at least I was owning up to it.

“I want to be clear,” I added, “Jillian and I have never let it interfere with our work. We didn’t use company time or resources. This relationship has had no effect on our jobs.”

“Well,” Jack said. I didn’t like his hesitant smirk. “Your daughter is her intern.”

“Yes, but that decision was made before this relationship began,” I said.

Arthur glanced over at me. “I doubt that’s what people will say, though. Looks like they’re already speculating otherwise according to the comments.”

David sighed. “Who made this post? The intern?”

“It’s anonymous,” I reminded him. “I suspect this kid has been talking to family members and other interns, but the point of the matter is that the word is out. And I take full responsibility. I’m not here to point fingers or place blame on the intern or anyone he told. This is my mistake to own.”

“That’s commendable of you,” Arthur said, his voice so quiet the others probably hadn’t heard.

In his little rectangle on Arthur’s screen, Jack crossed his arms, shaking his head. “Was this a one-time lapse in judgment or something ongoing?”

I tensed. Jill would hate for me to go into detail about our sex lives with these men, and I wouldn’t do that to her. “I’m not going to lay out a timeline for you. We have engaged in a consensual sexual relationship, and that’s all that matters.”

“We’re just trying to understand the scope,” David said, his tone slightly less intimidating than Jack’s. “You’re not on trial here.”

In my peripheral vision, I caught movement on the other side of the glass wall.

Out in the studio, Jill stood with Xander, Olivia, Meghan, Chase, and even Marco, all gathered in a loose circle.

When Marco glanced over his shoulder at the conference room with his mouth gaping open, I didn’t need context to guess what they were talking about.

A second later, Jill met my eyes through the glass, her body straightening as she gave me an almost imperceptible reassuring smile, like she could sense my discomfort from where she stood.

And all at once, the tension in my chest loosened and my head cleared, like someone had opened a window and I was finally getting some fresh air.

I caught myself smiling back, forgetting where I was for a second.

Suddenly, the men watching me with their arched eyebrows and their arms crossed against their chests didn’t seem to matter as much.

I snapped out of it, turning back to the computer screen. “Okay, here’s the scope : this isn’t just a sexual relationship. It’s a romantic one, and I don’t wish to end it anytime soon. So let’s get all of that out in the open before any decisions are made today.”

“Graham,” Jack said, clearing his throat. “This relationship won’t be allowed to continue if—”

“I’m not asking for permission,” I interrupted. “I’m telling you this relationship isn’t going anywhere. I…”

The next words caught in my throat.

Because I hadn’t admitted them to myself yet.

But here I was, about to say them out loud for the first time in front of these men, who probably saw any sign of emotion as a weakness.

I glanced toward the studio where Jill nervously tugged at the hem of her dress as she nodded along to whatever Meghan was saying, clearly trying to hold it together. And seeing her made it easier to get the next sentence out.

“I love her.”

I hadn’t planned to say those words when I walked into this room, but it was the most honest thing I’d said all morning. And when I met Jill’s eyes through the glass again, I knew I meant it. So I said it again. Quieter this time, but just as certain.

“I… love her.”

Blinking the sting away from my eyes, I watched Arthur nod like he understood, but Jack sighed.

He’d just thrown me a lifeline, and I’d let it sink.

Some men might have downplayed the scandal or called it a one-time mistake for the sake of saving their careers, but I didn’t want that.

Jillian Taylor wasn’t the type of woman you kept in the shadows or met behind closed doors.

She was someone who made you want to gesture across the room and say, “That’s her. She’s the one.”

And, essentially, that’s what I was doing now.

“Look, I had one of those too,” Jack said, chuckling at himself. “It was back when I was working in Springfield. Young blonde thing, half my age. And let me tell you, that wasn’t love.”

I did my best to hold in the remark on the tip of my tongue.

“Yeah, Graham,” David said, setting his margarita glass down. “You said this has been going on for just a few weeks? You might want to ask yourself why she wasn’t interested in you until you stepped in as CEO.”

And there it was. The insult wrapped in concern.

Jack laughed in response, and hot, rising anger tugged at my collar.

These men didn’t know Jill. They didn’t know the conversations we’d had, the ways she made me laugh, or how quickly she fell asleep when she laid her head on my chest. They couldn’t fathom that a woman like her would fall for a man like me, not unless there was something in it for her.

I glanced down, steadying myself for a second, before looking up at Arthur. “If I were to step down… would Jillian be protected?”

He pursed his lips, tilting his head to one side like he was thinking this over, but Jack spoke up first. “That’s really an HR decision.”

“I’d say she’d probably just get a warning, right?” David asked, rubbing his sunburned forehead. “And he could quietly slide back into his role as editor.”

“No,” Jack said without hesitation. “This is already blowing up. I’ve got multiple people forwarding that post to me as we speak, and people are calling for him to be terminated. Including Sherman, I might add.”

Noah Sherman. Of course he was fucking calling for my head. He’d been waiting for a reason to discredit me since the Silas Brown story broke last year. He wouldn’t rest until he could paint me as a man who was just as corrupt as the one we took down.

A hot prickle ran down my spine, and everything in me went still. I knew what I needed to do.

“Then it’s settled,” I said, my eyes glazing over as the weight of this situation finally come to a head. “I’m going to submit my resignation. Effective immediately.”

“Graham,” Arthur said, folding his hands on the table. “Think about this, about how easily you could dispel the rumors and chalk it up to a disgruntled employee—”

“No, Arthur, I won’t be doing that.”

He looked at the other men on the screen, both of them rubbing their chins and staring back at him. Jack finally cleared his throat and leaned forward, admitting, “Your resignation is, unfortunately, the best course of action.”

I nodded, settling back in my chair like the fight had finally left my body. This was really over.