Page 16 of Morally Black Betrothal

Liza placed a ringless hand over her heart, then adjusted her glasses. “Good.” She greeted my other siblings with similarly vacant kisses, gave her own son a slightly more affectionate one, then turned back to me. “Brandan, we need to talk.”

“And there it is,” Owen muttered.

“Is big brother finally getting his shiny new scepter?” Ronan added from where he now stood next to Liam. “Should we have a commencement ceremony? Are we movin’ on up?”

“Christ, Rone, can you juststop?” Liam muttered, though he, along with everyone else in the room, seemed interested in his mother’s response.

Because everyone, including myself, knew what Liza was here to say.

I just needed to let her do it without the peanut gallery cutting in.

“Sure,” I said. “We can talk in the hall.”

“I’ll start planning your graduation party!” Ronan called as we stepped out.

“Do you really think he’s going to be okay?” Liza asked once we had reached the reception area by the nurses’ station.

I had to give it to her. She was as hard as nails, but she’d been with my dad through thick and thin. There had to be a part of her that cared a little.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” I shrugged. “It was a double bypass, and the doctor said he’s done hundreds of them. ButDad’s eighty-two, eats like shit, and who knows when the next one will be? He might not be so lucky.”

“Right. Well.” Her brown eyes met mine with purpose. “I know this is sensitive, Brendan. And I hate to have this conversation now. But I’d be remiss as CFO if I didn’t state the obvious.”

“Just say it, then.”

“It’s time. I’ve called an emergency board meeting for tomorrow, and I’m going to nominate you as interim CEO.”

I shoved a hand over my face. I knew this was coming, but it didn’t make it any less jarring. “It might not be necessary. He could wake up any moment.”

“Even so, he’ll be incapacitated for some time, won’t he? I know you have to think of your father, but it’s my job to think of this company’s financial future. Right now, the press has no idea that he’s here. But the clock is ticking. We have to report this to shareholders, and when we do, share values are going to plummet.”

“I know, but?—”

“But nothing.” Liza’s expression was direct and unforgiving. “The expectation has always been that it would be you. He was going to announce his retirement anyway, and we all know he was leaning toward you, so it’s better if our report about his health comes with a plan. This is the most natural transition.”

In the open door to Dad’s room, my siblings were transparently trying to eavesdrop. Owen was grinding a fist into his other palm. Maybe he couldn’t hear us, but I had no doubt he knew what we were saying.

I turned back. “Do it, then. What needs to happen?”

For the first time in a long time, Liza appeared uneasy. It was almost as alarming as seeing Dad unconscious.

“What?” I demanded. “What’s wrong now?”

She pressed her lips together, making the tiny lines around them disappear. “Well…there are questions. Rumors.”

I frowned. “About me?”

“About your lifestyle.”

“My ‘lifestyle?’” In my head, Ronan was making ten more insensitive jokes about body jewelry and polyamory. “What do they think I do in my spare time? Run around on a dog collar and have weekend orgies?”

To her credit, Liza didn’t even blink. “No. But they do talk about your ability to commit. Or lack of ability, as it were.”

Was she kidding? “You think I can’t commit to running my family’s business after twenty fucking years?”

“It’s not me. But the board is mostly comprised of your father’s peers, who, as you know, are somewhat conservative.”

“Yeah, but they aren’t crazy. I’ve given my life to this company. Out of everyone in that room,I’mthe only one who hasn’t ever taken a fuckin’ minute to myself. No gap years or disappearing acts for me. No Marine tours like Owen. No blackout weekends like Ronan or constant vacations like Shea. Since I could walk, I’ve been that old man’s shadow, learning Blackguard from the inside out. No one is more dedicated to this company than me.”