Page 156 of Sinclair Duet

“That’s it, Damien. She should be removed. Or she could resign if you promise not to sue, not to make this mess public.”

I sat straighter, thinking about Ella’s suggestion.

Ella went on, “What they did to you was illegal and immoral. If they want their actions public, then don’t resign.”

“I think I love you for more than your forgiving spirit and sexy body.”

Ella grinned.

“I love your devious ways, too.”

“Talk to Timothy. I don’t consider it devious. Showing up at my door as soon as you left, that’s devious. Take her down.”

“I’m getting hard.”

Ella’s laugh rang throughout my office. “I’m going to do some work. By the way, Deidra is nice. She sat near Niles and I during lunch. You know, there but not intrusive.”

“How is Niles?”

“He’s good. Oh, and he thinks I’m crazy, but that seems to be the general consensus. I’m beginning to think it’s a requirement for being with you.”

“That’s why we’re perfect together.”

“I’m not looking forward to my call with my mom, sharing the change in plans.”

“I can tell you I’m sorry again.”

Ella laid her finger over my lips. “Maybe it’s good. Mom can plan a wedding.”

“Let me know how it goes.” After Ella offered me a chaste kiss, I said, “We’ll drive home together.”

“Come to my office when you’re ready to leave.” She winked. “You know the way.”

Once she was gone, I put a call out to Timothy.

I told him the idea, asking Gloria to resign from the board in exchange for keeping the marriage fraud silent. We’d get the marriage annulled, and no one would be the wiser. Timothy seemed to ponder the idea.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Declaring the marriage would cause the addendum to go into effect.”

“Gloria and Amber are the problems. If she’s off the executive board, problem is solved.”

“I was at the meeting, Damien. Grace Haas and Rachel Stokes voted against tabling the no-confidence vote.”

“Those are only two votes with four in my favor. Five if we pick the right board member.”

“There will need to be an election. Hell, the seat could remain open until the probation is complete. Talk to me about your parents. Ejecting the vice-chair shouldn’t be done by proxy.”

“Dad is still recovering and will be for a while. Mom is busy. And the idea isn’t to eject Gloria but to convince her to resign.”

“In my opinion,” Timothy said, “we need to be prepared to take this a step further if she refuses the offer.”

The door to my office opened and Johnathon rushed inside.

I covered the receiver of the phone and looked at my assistant. “What’s happening?”

“Darius Sinclair is out front. He’s live streaming on X, you know, Twitter.”

“What the fuck?” I spoke into the phone. “Timothy, I’ll call you back.”