Page 74 of Morally Black Betrothal

“We’re happy to have you both,” Liza said, standing up after I did.

Everyone else followed suit. The board meeting was concluded, and at this point, they were all eager to leave.

“Thank you.” I buttoned my suit jacket, a move I’d seen my father make a hundred times before to signal the meeting had ended.

After I accepted the perfunctory handshakes and congratulations (some genuine, some clearly false, as the vote had only narrowly been in my favor), the room cleared, leaving me with my siblings, Liam, and Liza. I took my first full breath of the day.

“I suppose if I don’t congratulate you both, that makes me an asshole.” Ronan nudged Shea in the ribs. “Aren’t you just so proud of your big brothers, Shea?”

“Just waiting for you all to screw it up so I can clean it up when Daddy’s better.” Shea sounded purposefully bored as she flipped her hair over one shoulder and studied her nails.

“Congrats, Bren.” Liam reached out with a handshake. “You earned it, bro. You too, Owen.”

Owen bared his teeth again and folded his arms.

“Poor Owen, always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” Ronan snarked. “If you’d rather go back to playing Mr. Monopoly, I’m happy to take your spot. I’ll even get you a top hat.”

“Shut it,” Owen cut back.

Liza turned to me as she gathered her things. “Brendan, you need to hit the ground running. Did you get the agenda for tomorrow?”

I looked out at where people were scurrying around Copley Square, like ants waiting to be squashed. “I did.”

“Good, because it’s a lot. And Cormac Savage wants a meeting to discuss negotiations with Prada for acquisition…”

She continued while I kept facing the glass. It was easy to imagine jumping out this window to join the people below. Fly away, maybe, where no one could find me.

This was what I wanted, wasn’t it?

This was what I’d worked for my whole life.

But not like this, a voice whispered inside my head.

Nothing about this was permanent. If anything, as interim CEO, I’d be under the microscope more than ever. Any little mistake would be a reason to doubt me when the real question of succession arose.

You can do it, though.

Another voice floated through my mind, a distinctly female one that had been running through my brain for the last few weeks. Along with that hum she’d made when I’d kissed her and the pillowy texture of her lips.

Simone had already proven to be the key to this venture. At least two voting members of the board had switched to my side when they learned I was “settling down.” A few more would probably support me as a permanent replacement once they saw my personal life as permanent too.

I found myself searching the people below for her bright hair, despite the fact that I wasn’t expecting her until much later. I decided not to examine why, exactly, that prospect currently felt more exciting than the title I’d just gained.

Or why I had no clue what Liza had been saying for the last five minutes.

Fuck.

“I’m assuming you saw the article in theHerald?” Ronan asked.

I turned from the window. “What article?”

“‘What article?’” he mimicked. “Don’t play dumb. Tall, dark, and antisocial? Sure. But idiot savant doesn’t suit you.”

I grunted. “Oh, that one. Yes, Ruth planted it two days ago. Ivy Ink picked it up.”

“How?” Owen demanded a little too sharply. “No one knows who she is.”

All of us chuckled. Owen’s obsession with figuring out the mysterious identity of the gossip columnist was becoming a family joke.