“And, according to the Tribune, you have enough troubles to deal with, without adding a charge of blackmail into the mix.”
His fury was palpable. “And what you’re doing isn’t blackmail?”
“Hmm, I guess it’s all in your perspective? Somehow, I think, since it’s you, I’ll sleep just fine.”
Casting me one last hateful look, Fairchild spun on his heel and marched toward his car.
Xander turned into me. “Okay, what did I just miss?”
“Me finally standing up for myself.” It had felt good. Even if my insides were rattling with nerves and I was very close to upchucking. At Xander’s frown, I blew out a shaky exhalation. “Do you think Jackson will fire me?”
“I think Jackson is more concerned with the fact that the guy financing his company is under investigation. But, hey, way to stick up for yourself. Very impressive.”
I had just stood up to Franklin Fairchild.
Holy shit.
Xander saw my expression pale and held up the white box he carried. “Doughnut?”
I winced at the thought of food.
“Let’s head up. We should tell Jackson and add another worry onto his shoulders.”
For a smart girl, sometimes I was way too distracted by my personal life to put two and two together. “Oh my God, is the company in trouble? With Fairchild being investigated, I mean?”
“Jackson asked me to bring doughnuts. He’s called a meeting first thing.” Concern washed over Xander’s expression. “I guess we’re about to find out the answer to your question.”
As soon as Xander and I walked into the room, Jackson came out of his private office, nodded at my colleague, and announced to the staff. “Meeting room, five minutes. I want everyone there.”
One by one, we made our way into the meeting room. It was big enough that we all got a seat at the table. There was a lot of intrigued murmuring.
Evan slipped into the seat next to me. “You know what’s going on?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head, probably looking like a ball of nerves because of my altercation with Fairchild. I couldn’t stop bouncing my right knee and my fingers tapped impatiently against the desk. “You?”
“Nope. God, I hope it isn’t staff cuts. We just bought a house.”
My stomach roiled. Staff cuts? Perhaps staff cuts were best-case scenario. If we no longer had financing, we were screwed six ways until Sunday.
Oh hell.
I tensed in my seat as Jackson strode into the room with Ben at his back. Ben was head of sales and marketing. He was the face of Horus Renewable Energy and privy to whatever Jackson knew.
They stood in front of the long meeting table, and Jackson broke into a grin. “I see a lot of worried faces. Don’t be worried. I know some of you are concerned about the allegations made against Mr. Fairchild in the Tribune. Don’t be. It’s not a concern for us. On that note, I have good news, but this news means that there will be some changes within the company.”
“Changes, as in job losses?” Evan asked.
Jackson shook his head. “The opposite. It won’t happen right away, but we’ll be expanding, which means more staff and a new office. And the reason is because we’re no longer heavily financed by Franklin Fairchild, which means he’s no longer on the board as CEO of the company. He’s no longer on the board, period.”
My breath caught in my throat.
What?
“The board is now headed by Diana Crichton Jones of Crichton Investments and Research. She bought out Fairchild.” Jackson’s gaze zeroed in on me. “Ms. Crichton Jones was very impressed with our model, our staff, and our diversity, and she has a real passion for renewable energy.”
Relief moved through me. The garden party—my conversation with Diana, how pleased Jackson seemed with me.
I’d helped secure her interest in Horus.
And she was … well, she was even more powerful than Fairchild.
Which meant I was free of him. And it was most likely the reason he’d approached me this morning, because he knew I was about to find out he couldn’t touch my career.
So he’d threatened my family instead.
Festering miscreant.
I could so live with blackmailing Colonel Dipshit.
I slumped in my chair with absolute relief.
“It will mean changes, and having a board means we’re not autonomous here. But they want to make this company a success and they’re as dedicated as we are to making the world green. I’ll keep you all posted with any changes that I feel you need to be informed of, but I just wanted you all to know—trust me, this is definitely the best