Travers grunted in disgust. “You have until tomorrow afternoon to hand in a resignation letter as CEO or you’ll be fired. Don’t throw it all away, Kaine.”
Jason looked around the room, but no one could meet his eye.
Travers nodded to the board secretary. “Session is back on record.”
Monica cleared her throat. “I nominate William Travers to be acting Chairman of the Board.”
“Seconded.”
Travers smiled thinly. “All those in favor?”
A chorus of ‘ayes’ filled the room.
After silence filled the room, Greg Hines spoke, “Acting Chairman, I call to motion the removal of Jason Kaine from the Board of Directors.”
“Seconded.” This time several people ‘seconded’ the motion.
One of the board members looked pointedly at his watch. “I move to suspend debate and call for a vote.”
Travers glanced around the room. “Any objections?”
Jason could barely keep up; the proceedings were going too fast. “I object.”
Travers ignored his objection and continued, “Very well, we will conduct a voice vote on the matter of removing Jason Kaine from the Board of Directors. All those in favor?”
Jason was the only ‘nay’ to be heard in the room amongst a chorus of ‘ayes’.
Travers shook his head sadly. “The ayes have it, the motion is passed. Jason Kaine, you are removed as Chairman and Member of the Board. I ask you to immediately remove your presence from this meeting before security is called.”
He was sitting in a dumpy bar, drinking steadily so that a nasty hangover wouldn’t catch up to him. He’d started with the good bourbon and then had systematically worked his way through all the alcohol he’d had at home. It was a good thing that he hadn’t been particularly stocked up. Now, he was working on the bar’s liquor inventory.
He gave a disinterested glance to his phone when it vibrated on the bar in front of him. It was Adam calling again. He almost ignored it, but then shrugged. The sooner he answered, the sooner he could get Adam to leave him alone.
“What’s going on?” He cringed when he heard his words slurring.
“Rina finally got in touch with Lily. She says you fired her?”
Jason grunted in disgust. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Lilliana.
“She won’t tell Rina what’s going on. So, you know Rina…she’s got me calling you to find out what’s up. I know it’s not my business, but she’s not gonna let up until I tell her something.”
Jason chuckled. “I not only fired her, but I just got boosted from my own damn company. Fuck her.”
“You drinking, man?” Adam asked cautiously. When Jason didn’t answer, he continued, “How could you get fired from Kaine Industries?”
“You didn’t hear?” Jason laughed. “Aww, I’m sure it will be all over the news soon. Jason Kaine ousted from his own fucking company.”
“That doesn’t make any sense-”
Jason cut him off. “Hey man, gotta run. Pair of double D’s heading my way. Later, man.”
He hung up the phone. There were no tits heading his way, but he didn’t want to talk to Adam anymore. He’d rather wallow in his misery alone. Just him and his good buddy, Jimmy Beam. Or was it Jack Daniels? Who the fuck cared anyway?
He had refused to sign away his company and made them outright fire him. He’d given up millions all just to keep a small stake in the company. He didn’t really give a shit about the money anyway. It had just led him to heartache and pain.
He wasn’t one to engage in self-pity. He knew he’d pick himself up soon. Even though he’d just lost his company, he was still fairly wealthy with just his investments. He’d figure out a way to start over if he decided he wanted to grow a new company. What particularly hurt was that he’d been ousted by his own people. It was a fucking coup that he never saw coming. That stung.
But, he knew what was eating him alive even more than that. Lilliana. Her betrayal had hurt the most. It wasn’t even close. It was a pain so dark and cutting that he was afraid to poke at it. She’d used him. Manipulated him.
He’d fallen in love with her; thought about marrying her. What a complete and utter fool he had been. And as ridiculous as it sounded, he missed her.
He polished off his drink, trying desperately to shake her from his head. He missed what he thought was her. She was a cold-hearted greedy bitch. He vowed that he’d never allow himself to be tricked like that again.
But, it still hurt like hell.
No amount of drinking was going to wash away that pain.
Chapter 23
Heartbreak was a bitch. I had experienced it before, or at least I thought I had, but it was nowhere near as potent as it had been this time. Somehow I had always intuitively known it was going to be bad.
Hatred had sustained me for a short time. It had fended off the worst of the pain. I stoked it for as long as I could, but eventually it burned out. I was left in a bottomless pit of emptiness, where pain would randomly hit and radiate through my body in waves leaving me emotionally bruised and battered. There were days that I’d cry incessantly for no apparent reason. I felt weak and tired. Defeated.
It was two months after that fateful morning. I was still walking around in a fog most of the time, but normal things weren’t utterly impossible to do anymore. Every single step didn’t feel like I was walking knee-deep through thick mud. The physical pain of loss was no longer constant, and I was forcing myself to eat.
I had been working at a new company for about a month. The pay was horrible compared to my old job, the commute was farther and the work was boring, but I couldn’t afford to sit around forever. I was working for a lady who was as tough as nails. At first, that appealed to me. I had no desire to be friendly with anyone. After a month, her militant nature was beginning to aggravate me.
I left work right at 5:30 and headed uptown to meet Becca for dinner. We worked too far apart to meet for lunch now, so we decided to settle for dinner. This would be the first time I had been out since that morning.
She was waiting for me when I arrived at the restaurant. She gave me a big hug. “You look great!” I could hear the forced cheerfulness in her voice; it was pitched about an octave higher than normal.
We had both ordered our meals before she started in on the inquisition. “So, how’re you doing, kiddo?”
I sipped at my wine. “Better. When I came back from Miami, Boston seemed so cold. Like I was chilled to the bone. And everything looked so dreary. Everything was so sunny and colorful in Miami. I feel like I’m just starting to see in color again.”
“That’s good.” Becca didn’t look fooled by my words. “It’s going to take some time to get over.”
Becca was the only one in my life who knew how deeply hurt I was; she was the only person who had read Corporate Secrets and knew what had happened between Jason and me.
I shook my head bitterly. “I always knew this would be the outcome. I didn’t listen to my head and flew too close to the flame.”
She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“I was swept up by his good looks and fancy words. He’s an expert at seduction and I fell right into his trap. How stupid can you get?”
“He’s a miserable person to do that to you. Is Rina still calling you?”
“No.” Even though I had stopped answering her calls – it just hurt too much to talk about Jason – it was even worse when she stopped calling. “She didn’t understand why he fired me. She kept insisting it had to be a mistake. Then she was telling me how upset Jason was. That he was broken up about us. Depressed. She insisted that he missed me.”
Becca eyed me strangely. “Is that what he said? He missed you?”
“No. He didn’t say that. That’s just how Rina interpreted it. He wasn’t even talking to her; she said he only talked to Adam twice very briefly.” Her salad arrived and she began to stab at it listle
ssly with her fork.
“Maybe he’s upset about getting fired from his company. Did you ever find out anything about that?” Becca began to attack her own salad with gusto.
It was strange how he was ousted from his own company. The newspapers all said he was fired amid scandal. But, why? Could it be because of our affair? For a second, I felt bad for him and that led to a brief spark of anger directed toward myself. How could I pity him? He deserved everything he got.
I sighed. “He was in the media spotlight for a few days. I think I read every article that came out on him. The reason he got fired was never made clear. It was really odd. Then, the articles just stopped. I haven’t seen one word about him on social media or in gossip columns or anywhere, and believe me, I’ve looked. It’s like he dropped off the face of the planet.”
“It is strange, but it’s better if you don’t fixate on him. You need to move on. Let me set you up with someone.”
“You’re the one asking me a million questions about him!” I protested.
“Sorry, you’re right.” Luckily, she didn’t press the issue of me dating again. “How’s the book doing?”
I groaned. “You do realize that Corporate Secrets just reminds me of him? Anyway, it’s doing shitty. The few sales I had before are drying up. No one is buying it. I think it’s time to put Portia Wainwright out to pasture.”
“Oh that’s too bad. I’ve got a terrific idea for a new romance. It’s called Adventures in Blind Dating. The heroine goes on a bunch of horrible blind dates, but then eventually meets her soul mate on one.”
I rolled my eyes. “No thanks. Sounds like a terrible idea.”
Chapter 24
He wasn’t going to accept Reggie’s invitation, but curiosity got the best of him. He hadn’t thought about Lilliana for almost two months. That wound was finally starting to scab over and he was afraid meeting with Reggie would be like ripping off the bandage too soon. Sometimes, the wound wasn’t fully healed yet.
It had taken him longer than he expected to clean up his act. He’d stayed perpetually drunk for almost two weeks. When things seemed to be spinning way out of his control, he’d forced himself to stop and sober up. Then, he remained a recluse cooped up in his home for weeks doing nothing. The only people he’d interacted with were the ones who delivered the food he ordered to his door.
It had only been in the last few days that he’d taken better care of himself. Shocked at his gaunt appearance, he’d started eating better and working out again. He’d cleaned up the mess in his home and had gotten a shave and a haircut, so that he at least looked human again.
He walked along the sidewalk, heading to the Irish Pub Reggie wanted to meet at, looking perfectly normal, but still feeling hollow inside. He wondered idly if he’d been permanently damaged. He arrived at the pub first, so he sat at the bar and ordered a seltzer water while he waited.
When he finally arrived, Reggie stopped and talked to a few people before he approached Jason. He was an old-school lawyer that had defended many infamous clients, including members of the Irish Mob. He didn’t take on clients any longer, but had loads of connections and associations still.
“Jason, how are you holding up there, boy?” He shook Jason’s hand warmly.
“I’m hanging in there, Reggie. How about you?”
Reggie nodded. “Come sit down at a booth. I’ll buy you some food. The Shepherd’s Pie is fantastic here. I thought we could catch up some.”
He followed Reggie to a booth in the back corner of the pub and they were immediately presented with some menus.
“Honestly, there’s not much to tell, Reggie. I haven’t been up to much since I got foisted out of the company.”
The older man put down his menu. “That was a messy business. It didn’t set well with me. At first I thought, well, who wouldn’t stick their dick in a secretary that looked like that? I couldn’t blame you. Jesus Christ, who would have ever thought what it would lead to?”
Jason didn’t have to answer, because a waitress came by and took their orders.
When she left, Reggie slapped the table. “I still can’t believe you didn’t sign that termination agreement. I fought like hell to squeeze out every penny I could get for you from those back-stabbing bastards. That took brass balls to walk away from. Brass-fucking-balls. You still have shares in the company? A voting stake, right?”
“Yeah,” Jason shrugged. “I’ve got a decent chunk of shares. But, I’ve got no one in my corner. Without any influence, I cant do jack shit. My reputation has been pretty thoroughly demolished there. I can’t see that changing anytime soon.”
“Yeah, they shit on you pretty good. Still doing it. You know that Travers is the new CEO?”
“I’ve heard.”
A pint of beer came for Reggie. He took a long sip of his beer and then sighed. “First thing Travers did was order a complete review of the Triton deal. We were about to land the deal of the century and then he pulled back. Ostensibly, he wanted to check over the deal you had put together. Said we needed to do our due diligence since you’d been compromised.”
Jason was not surprised. “Makes sense. Triton deal must be ready to close by now?”
Reggie shook his head. “Nope. And it’s spooked some of the Board. I’ve got some connections over at Triton. Thought I’d do a little poking around. Very hush-hush, but high level gossip over there is that Triton is going to merge with Kaine. Actually, they’re talking hostile takeover. With Travers facilitating it.”
Jason felt a jolt of shock intrude on his emotional numbness. “No way that can happen. Kaine isn’t vulnerable – even with the recent problems.”
“It never would have happened with you at the helm. Convenient that you’re suddenly gone, no? It’s going to happen. It’s inevitable if Travers is allowing it.”
“Why would he allow it? He’d lose his board position, probably his job if Triton took over. So would thousands of other Kaine employees. It would be a bloodbath.” Jason felt the stirrings of unease creeping through him.
Reggie sat back and shrugged. “He’s being paid to sell out the company. Probably something that would make 28 million seem like child’s play. He’s a crook. Makes you wonder what else he was mixed up in?”
A strange buzzing sensation began in Jason’s chest. This wasn’t just mere speculation on Reggie’s part. The old man had a lawyer’s instincts, and he’d been one hell of a lawyer. He wouldn’t be telling Jason this if he wasn’t pretty damn close to the truth.
Reggie suspected that Travers was a rotten apple. Just how far his rotten tricks had extended, he didn’t know, but Jason was going to find out.
It was a week and a half before his private investigator had anything for him. Jason had to pay through the nose for a rush job. He’d asked his investigator to find any connections between Bill Travers and Triton.
There had been connections galore. It turned out that Travers wasn’t very good at covering his tracks. His lack of computer finesse made him susceptible to hacking and his poor technical knowledge led him to incorrectly believe he was deleting any electronic trail.
A thorough dig through his financial records had turned up the proverbial smoking gun. Triton had been funneling him money through back channels for almost a year. Travers also had been personal friends with the Triton CFO and their correspondence had been quite damning.
There was really no doubt what Travers was up to. It would have become obvious to many after the takeover of Kaine was complete, but it would have been too late to do anything about it by then.
Armed with this knowledge, Jason wasn’t sure what he could do, or if he even should, to stop it. The wheels had already been set in motion; the pieces were all in place. He probably couldn’t stop it now even if he wanted to.
The last thing the private investigator told him interested him more. He’d had the PI check out Lilliana. He combed through her financial records and searched for any hidden connections to Triton or Bill Travers. The PI cam
e up empty. He was confident that Lilliana was not involved in the plot.
Jason felt that strange buzzing sensation again. It was his instincts screaming to him that she was innocent. He had to take a step back and think it through. He couldn’t jump to any conclusions. He’d been wrong before. Painfully wrong.
Lilliana had outright admitted her guilt to him. What had she said exactly? He couldn’t remember. He could only remember the terrifying cold dread that had spread through him at the time – when he’d asked her if she did it. She had a stricken look on her face. He clearly remembered her answer – yes.
But, had she been admitting to the leaking? He wasn’t sure and he sure as hell couldn’t ask her now. A thought began to tumble through his head.
He booted up his laptop, cursing under his breath as it seemed to take so long. When it was ready, it took him a few minutes to get to where he wanted.
Finally, he typed:
>Portia, are you there? It’s me, Jane. Your #1 fan.
He held his breath. Miraculously, she answered.
>Hi Jane. How are you?
He caught himself smiling.
>How’s the sequel coming along? I’m patiently waiting.
He could picture her chewing on her lip as she replied.
>Sadly, I don’t think there’s going to be a sequel.
He waited a beat before typing a new message.
>How is your handsome boss doing?
This time it took her a while to answer. He almost thought she’d logged out.
>I’m not working there anymore.
He replied immediately.
>What? Why?
>I got fired :(
He frowned when he saw her sad face.
>That’s terrible!
He paused and then added:
>What did you do wrong?
>Funny you should ask. My boss is a real stickler for rules. He was legit insane about them, in fact. Anyhow, he caught me writing Corporate Secrets on company time.
Impossible (to Resist) Boss: Billionaire Romance Page 17
