Page 58 of Indulge Me Tonight
“I do, but I wonder if you do.” Grae sent a nod toward the portfolio he’d waved about like a banner. “It’s gonna take more than that deed. You’re gonna need a position at the firm, which I’m afraid you no longer have.”
“Oh, Grae.” Faro chuckled. “I’m afraid it’s a little too late to try and boot me from the company now.”
“I’m not booting you from the company now, Faro. I booted you from the company four months ago.”
A hush fell upon the room. All the murmured conversations silenced. The audience looked from Grae to Faro. It was as though they were observing a vicious tennis match and were in anticipation of the next ferocious serve.
“Nice try.” Faro’s grin lost a bit of its brightness.
From his jacket pocket, Grae produced an envelope. “You’ve been out since June,” he said. “You’re there now pretty much in name only. I didn’t want to announce it to make it formal. I kept hoping I’d see a shred of that upstanding man I’ve been told you have the potential to be.”
Grae began to make his way from the back of the dining room. “Instead, I saw the petty, scheming, backstabbing one I’ve known all my life. Like you, I battled with bringing more drama into the family.” He slanted Faro a wink, letting the man glimpse his insincerity. “And just when I decided to announce that you no longer had a place at Clegg, I hear about this retreat to heal the family.
“Every part of me knew that you were spouting a bunch of bull, but like a fool I hoped…and then there were other reasons I thought the trip was worth my time.” Grae looked to Tielle, who sat at a table with her head bowed. He turned back to his brother.
“But that’s what you were counting on, wasn’t it? For Tel to keep me distracted? Good strategy, when hearing her name is enough to take my mind off everything.” He nodded. “Good strategy.”
“This is trite.” Faro waved his hand dismissively. “Lies—trying to overshadow the truth. You’re out, Grae.”
Grae was passing the envelope to a man seated at a table to his left. “The board met to hold a vote following my request that they discuss your removal. Seems more than a few of them had grown sick of your antics over the years. They knew it’d take a family member to set motions in place to get you out.”
“And you’re that family member?”
Desree moved closer. “Faro—”
“Uncle Barry, are those the documents you and the other board members drew up and signed?”
Barry nodded. “They are.” He passed the papers to his brothers at the table.
“I thought it’d be a good idea to not be the only Clegg the board heard from involving this. Barry, Paul and Gerald were very much in favor of having you removed. Pass that copy to him,” Grae instructed Paul, who now held the document. “It’s his to keep.”
“If you check your e-mail, you’ll find a copy’s been sent to you electronically. Enjoy your land,” Grae said. “There’s plenty of it despite the acreage Clegg takes up. I’m sure someone as crafty as you can think up a good use for it. So long as you stay out of my way, we’ll be able to coexist just fine.”
The paperwork had finally made its way to the front of the room where Faro stood reviewing it stoically. Grae watched his brother for a while and then nodded and headed from the silent room. Gradually, the remaining guests exited, as well. Tielle observed the devastation throwing Faro’s dark face into shadow. She refused to let herself feel sympathy and discovered she had finally been drained of it all.
Chapter 13
“Don’t ask me to apologize for that, Tel.”
Grae had gone out to the enclosed terrace just off from the lower-level sitting room when he left the breakfast. He’d known his refuge wouldn’t last long, and had hoped Tielle would be the first—and only—one to find him. Within minutes of her arrival, however, he discovered that her being there wasn’t providing the calm he’d come to expect when she was near.
Despite the terrace’s electronically activated glass enclosures, the area carried a noticeable chill. Tielle rubbed her arms, hoping to stimulate warmth beneath the fabric of her blouse sleeves.