Page 35 of Trust Me

As soon as the sentence is out of his mouth, the huge screen mounted on the wall draws all of our attention. A beat later, my father’s usual scowl fills the screen.

“Aaron,” Adam says, his disposition seemingly the opposite of my father’s.

You have to know my father to decipher there’s actually pride shining in his hazel eyes that mirror my own.

“Adam.” My father nods, then greets all of the board members. “Someone’s missing,” he says.

I look around the room. All of the board members are accounted for, the VPs are all in attendance and even their assistants.No one is missing.

That thought ends up punctuated by a knock on the door.

“Here she is now,” Adam says as he strides to the door. “Thank you, Linda.” He nods at the twenty-fifth-floor receptionist.

A second later in walks Riley Martin.

“Our guest has just arrived,” Adam says cheerily.

I glare at Mike, my assistant, giving him thewhat the hell is she doing here?look. He shakes his head as if saying he has no idea either.

“What is this?” My voice comes out louder and more demanding than intended but fuck manners. What the hell is she doing in my boardroom?

“Kyle,” Adam starts, “you’re already acquainted with Riley Martin.” He gestures toward her.

I don’t even look her way. “Adam,” I say through gritted teeth, “what is going on?”

“Kyle,” Walt, another board member, calls. “We’ll get there. Why don’t we get started with the meeting? We have a great deal to cover.”

I look at the screen at my father who watches everything like a hawk but doesn’t say anything. He knew this was going to happen. He knew she would be here. Nothing gets past him.

I can barely contain my anger. Even as Adam, Walt, and the other members of the board all congratulate me on a job well done getting the Waterson deal done.

“I don’t need your congratulations,” I say bluntly. “What I need— what Townsend needs,” I correct, “is a COO who is going to have the best interest of this company in mind. The role has sat unfilled for over a month now.”

“Yes, that’s why we’re all here,” Tim, another board member, says. He looks around the room. “I think I speak for all of us—”

“No one speaks for me,” my father interrupts. But he nods at Tim for him to continue.

Tim clears his throat and sits up straighter. “We have all agreed,” he briefly peers up at the screen at my father then back to me, “… that it is in the best interest of Townsend Industries to appoint you as the interim chief operating officer.”

“What did you say?” My voice is stern, unbendable.

“You’ve been appointed COO, Kyle,” Adam says and places a hand on my shoulder.

I glare at his hand, and he quickly removes it. “That’s not what he said,” I say. “You used the wordinterimCOO.” I stare at Tim as well as the other board members.

Finally, my hard gaze comes to land on my father.

“Yes,” he finally says. “The board and I agreed that your great work in closing the Waterson deal proved you’re deserving of the role of COO—”

“On an interim basis,” I interrupt my father.

All eyes around the room fall on me because no one interrupts my father while he’s speaking.

Fuck that though.

What the hell is going on? Interim is the same thing as provisional.

“Are you still interviewing for the position? Is that what the title of interim COO is about?”