Uncovering You 10: The Finale (5 page)

Monday morning hits. My induction to the board.

“Ready?” Jeremy asks. He looks at me from the doorway of his mansion bathroom. “You look stunning.”

“I don’t
feel
stunning,” I mutter. “I feel like a goof.”

Jeremy comes in and wraps his arms around me. “You’ll be perfect,” he whispers in my ear.

“I’m going to be the youngest one by two decades! Four, if it weren’t for you! What the hell do I know? What are the rest of them going to think?”

“That you’re young, ambitious, and hungry. Besides,” he spins me around. “What do you care what the others think? I am the only one who matters. And you’ve already inspired me.”

“You’re not just saying that?” I whisper.

“No,” he tells me firmly. “I love you, Lilly. But, that love has not swayed my decision to put you on the board. You
are
capable. That is the most important thing. You can see things objectively. You are not blinded by passion or emotion or sentiment. In a way,” he chuckles, “you can be as cold-hearted as I am.”

“Oh, that makes me feel stellar,” I grumble. “I’m coming there, before all these successful businessmen with credentials and diplomas and MBA’s behind their names as… who? Some little girl with a broken arm?”

I push away from Jeremy. “This is ridiculous. It’s not going to work.”

His eyes narrow. “I’ve already made my decision.”

“Yeah? Well
un
make it,” I snap. I pace back and forth. “Jeremy, this is too much. I feel like a fraud.”

“You are not.”

“I can’t handle the responsibility of a billion-dollar company. I can’t, Jeremy! I’m not you.”

“You’re more like me than you think,” he says slowly. “You just haven’t recognized it yet.”

I shake my head. “You’re delusional.”

“Or maybe, I’m realistic. Don’t think I don’t know the spot I’m placing you in. The pressure will be enormous. Yet I have every confidence that you will thrive.”

“How can you be so sure?” I challenge.

He gives a secret grin. “Your behavior with me, for one. Every possible challenge or threat I’ve thrown at you, you’ve overcome and come out stronger. This is hardly the scariest situation you’ve faced.”

“It’s different when it’s just you,” I say. “Now there’s going to be an audience. For everything I do.”

“Yes. There will.”

“Don’t you think that’s just
slightly
intimidating?”

“I think it can be outright terrifying…” He cranes his head to the side. “…for a person weaker than you.”

“Jeremy, I don’t know where you got this skewed impression of me, but honestly, I am
not
ready for this!”

“If I say you are, it means you are. This is my company. Remember? Its success is a vital part of who I am. Do you think I’d just throw that away?”

“Who knows, with you?” I mumble.

“What?”

My head snaps up. “Nothing.”

“Good. Now, Lilly,” Jeremy steps toward me. He takes my hand and makes me face him. With his other, he tilts my chin up. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?” He lowers his voice. “I know it’s not the other board members. You’ve met them before. I saw you on the job you were given last. You’re intrepid. So it’s not them. It’s something else.” He meets me eyes. “Tell me, so I can help you.”

I hesitate. “What if I…” I swallow. “What if I disappoint you?

He shocks me by laughing. Even though it’s not his intention, it’s a hit to my ego.

“You have all these grand expectations of me,” I mutter. “It’s
your
pressure that’s frightening, Jeremy. It’s like you’re trying to mold me into someone I’m not.”

“Nonsense,” he tells me. “You are exactly who you are. That is why you can’t disappoint me, Lilly. My expectations are perfectly in line with your abilities.”

Yeah, right
, I think.

“Now, are we done here?” he asks. He looks at his watch. “It’s half past. Simon is waiting.” He takes me by the arm and leads me out. “Let’s go.”

The introduction to the Board goes exactly as I envisioned it.

Horribly.

Oh, they were all polite and complimentary. But I could feel every single pair of eyes on me. Watching. Weighing. Judging.

Before I even walked into the room, their minds were already made up. This was a display of cronyism and nothing more.

I saw the looks they shared with each other when Jeremy introduced me in my official position.

By the time all of them leave the room, and I’m left alone with Jeremy in his office, I feel like I’ve been run over by a train. More than once.

Jeremy, on the other hand, looks extremely satisfied.

“That went well,” he tells me.

I stare at him. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,”

He chuckles. “I know these men, Lilly. I hand-picked them. We’ve worked together for years.”

“Didn’t you tell me once that there were factions forming against you?”

“Perhaps,” he muses. “But, perhaps not. Maybe rumors of such were started to influence IPO stock.”

I screw up my face. “What?”

“Stonehart Industries is a powerful company, Lilly. I am its face. The business world knows me. They know what to expect when I’m at the helm. They know that I’m a ruthless negotiator, an unwilling ally, and a stickler for secrets. They know that, so long as I lead this company, it will remain untouchable.

“But news of discord, disorder, distrust? That gets them salivating. Maybe I’ll be replaced. Maybe I’ll be replaced by someone weaker. Maybe my successor will be more likely to divulge secrets, form alliances, share intellectual property.

“Stonehart Industries has an incredible collection of IP. I protect it with my life. But if someone less savvy were to replace me? After the company moved into public hands? Intellectual property would be revealed. To whom? To the largest shareholder.”

“You did it to start a bidding war?” I whisper.

Jeremy smiles in the most insidious way imaginable. “Yes,” he says. “Yes. Exactly that.”

“And it was all a lie? All the discord?”

“Of course. The company is as secure as ever. I hold the board in the palm of my hand. These men—and women, now, thanks to you—have my utmost confidence. They would not be here if they did not.”

Jeremy walks to the window and looks at the skyline. “This whole city,” he says. “I could control all of it, if I wished. If you want it, Lilly, just say the word. I’ll make it happen.”

“Can you make the cameras and the paparazzi go away?”

He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles. “Alas, that is one thing I cannot do. I can keep you safe, on my property, but not beyond that.” He shrugs. “Reporters are everywhere.”

“There’s nothing else I want, then,” I tell him, “other than to make you proud.”

“You already do, Lilly,” he says. “You already do.”

The next week goes by in a blink. Then two. Then three.

My arm slows me down, but only a little bit. Being a board member is actually not as involved as I thought it would be. Not in Jeremy’s company.

Here, he alone runs the show. He consults us on some things, mostly of trivial importance. The company is operating smoothly. There is no need for excessive oversight.

Where does that leave me? Desperately scrambling to make myself useful. All the other board members have departments they are in charge of. Me? I’m just tasked with being present at the meeting.

I don’t even see Jeremy at work. He’s always busy, always making calls or holding meetings. Always doing something that requires doing. I’m left alone to carve out a spot for myself. Or rather, to find utility in the spot that I was given.

In the evenings, when we are at home, Jeremy does spend time with me. We have dinner together and share the same bed. While his appetite for sex is as insatiable as ever, I start to feel there’s a bit of a gulf growing between us.

There’s no conflict.
Stonehart
hasn’t made an appearance once. And even though that is exactly what I thought I wanted—to find peace—it makes things feel too comfortable. Too ordinary.

Too... unlike us.

With all our demons out in the open, with all source of discord gone, I feel like we’re starting to slip into something very routine.

I can see it dig at Jeremy, too. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

I’m also realizing why Rose told me that, before me, Jeremy did not socialize much. There simply isn’t time. Eighteen-hour days at the office followed by a quick fuck and a bit of sleep is the norm.

Rinse, lather, repeat and do it all over again.

At least he seems to enjoy it. And I enjoy watching him—when I have the chance. I still love the way he can conquer a room. It comes so naturally to him. And, of course, I love the scandalous whispers and wide-eyed stares that follow us when he parades me on his arm during outings to the city.

But life, now, is not quite as I imagined it. There are still the clothes, the jewelry and the luxury cars. Jeremy spoke of estates in cities all over the world. I haven’t seen a glimpse of those yet.

The funny thing is: This is the exact spot that I thought I wanted to be in. Back when I was still vying for revenge. Now? Now, it’s all a little bit meaningless.

A month or so in, after the cast has come off and I feel more integrated into Stonehart Industries, I decide to find a purpose.

I don’t want Jeremy to think I’m useless—even if that’s pretty much exactly how I feel. In a company with thousands of employees, would things stutter one bit if I suddenly went missing? No.

No, and that scares me most.

So, I set about making myself indispensable.

The departments that Hugh was formerly responsible for did not shift to me. They got transferred to somebody else. But that’s just a managerial—executive—oversight. There must have been things he was responsible for on a day-to-day basis. Aside from harassing me, that is.

But when I ask Jeremy about it, he laughs and says: “Lilly, how much influence do you think I’d let my father have within
my
company?”

That puts an effective end to that conversation.

Jeremy is not the only one I am responsible to. There’s another man—Gregory—to whom I’ve been introduced. He’s been helping me make sense of my position. He’s probably the only board member to take a liking to me.

So I seek him out after talking to Jeremy. He’s in his office, right beside mine, right next to where Hugh’s had been. He’s speaking to members of the legal team when I come in.

I wait, standing aside to let them finish their conversation. They leave. Gregory looks at me. “Hey, Lilly. What’s going on?”

“I was wondering if you could show me some of those files you were talking about? The ones you said Hugh was paying particular attention to before his departure?”

Gregory chuckles. “Finally ready to tackle the big fish, are you?”

“I figure it’s time to prove my worth.” I shrug. “Besides, I’m interested. What could he have thought so important there?”

“I told you before. They’re just financial records. We’ve gone through them. They’re all in line.”

“But you also said Hugh protected them with an unyielding zeal,” I say. “Why?”

Gregory kicks off from his desk in his executive chair and rolls across the floor toward the back cabinets. “Beats me,” he says, opening a drawer. He flips through the contents and pulls out a thick, heavy file. “But here. This is all we have. I warn you, Lilly, it makes for dull reading.”

“I’m sure I can handle it,” I say with a smile, taking it from him. “Thanks, Greg.”

Chapter Eight