Chapter 2

2: 2

The next morning, Guy Delgado wasted no time calling an emergency board meeting.

"Ruth Sullivan, do you have any idea how hard it was to get this company where it is? We're one step from the finish line and you want to stop everything? This is madness!"

"Exactly! I said from the start I didn't want a woman running things. And look where it got us. Long on hair, short on sense. Every minute you delay ringing that bell costs us how much money?"

"If you keep this up, don't blame us for setting sentiment aside and dealing with you the hard way!"

The words got sharper by the second.

Every one of them meant to force me into line.

A flicker of triumph crossed Winifred Pruitt's eyes, and she raised a brow.

"Ruthie, you heard them yourself. You can't fault everyone for being blunt. The company's about to go public, and at a moment this important, you're being so willful, calling a stop on a whim."

"Think of the criticism that brings down on us. If it triggers a real market panic and ruins everything Guy and the others have worked for, who's going to answer for that?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"And who exactly are you? Since when does a board decision come down to a lowly secretary throwing her opinion around?"

Her face twisted with humiliation, and she shot me a hateful glare.

Then her eyes reddened, and she bit her lower lip and turned to Guy with a wounded look.

Sure enough, his expression darkened, but with so many executives watching he could only manage a strained smile.

"Ruthie, don't be angry. Secretary Pruitt overstepped, yes, but she's thinking of the futures of tens of thousands of people at this company. Don't gamble with everyone's future."

I curled my lip in contempt.

What a fine, high-sounding speech.

"Fine."

"I'll sign off on the IPO. That's fine."

Guy's face lit up at once.

Then I turned it around.

"But I want a full audit of every account this company has kept over the past several years, right now. Every cash flow on the market, every overseas contract still awaiting signature. Line by line, all of it accounted for!"

For ten years I'd trusted him without holding anything back.

Stepped into the background, never questioned a thing.

But now he didn't deserve it.

The smile froze on Guy's face, and shame turned to fury.

"Ruth Sullivan, what's that supposed to mean? You don't trust me? We're about to ring the bell, and you want an internal audit now? You want the whole world laughing at us?"

"If Mr. Delgado has nothing to hide, then he's got nothing to fear from a knock at the door."

I scoffed, holding his eyes without giving an inch.

He clenched his teeth, but he understood he was cornered now.

"Ruth Sullivan, you make a scene this big, but if the audit turns up nothing, then what?"

I gave a light laugh.

"If the books come back clean, I'll not only apologize publicly, I'll resign on the spot and hand the position of company legal representative over to someone worthier."

"No!"

The word was barely out before Winifred shrieked.

Then she caught herself, flustered, and changed course.

"Ruthie, what I mean is, everyone has seen how much you've given to this company all these years. How could you say something so drastic over a moment's willfulness? The legal representative's seat, of course that should still be yours."

"You only have to sign off on the IPO when the time comes."

I closed my eyes in disgust.

The last trace of hope in me collapsed for good.

Years ago Guy had gone down on one knee, promising me with all the tenderness in the world.

"Ruthie, the moment this company goes public, I'll offer every share I own as the bride price and marry you in style, and make you the company's sole legal representative. I want to tell the whole world that you, Ruth Sullivan, didn't choose the wrong man!"

Back then I'd wept with emotion, believing it was love given to me without reserve.

Now I saw it plainly for what it was. A death warrant.

I couldn't work out when exactly the love we'd once shared through thick and thin had rotted all the way through.

I drew in a deep breath.

If I couldn't work it out, then I'd stop trying.

They wanted me dead. I'd live out of pure spite.

But there was one thing I never saw coming.

The company's books were spotless.

And even so, ten years from now, my brutal end still hadn't changed.