“There wouldn’t even be a post if it wasn’t for you. Obviously, they agree it’s your fault, too.”
“You don’t even know who wrote this,” Trinity argued, though she knew it was futile.
“The public doesn’t care, little girl. Shareholders just read the news and start dumping their stock. Prices go down. People lose jobs.”
Bill interrupted with, “This isn’t news. It’s rumors. Once the truth comes out in court—”
“When?” Richard demanded. “In a year? Two years? How much damage will be done in that amount of time?”
Trinity’s heart picked up speed.
That’s when Richard and Patricia’s lawyer saw an opening. “Let’s not forget that if the stock drops, you might all be booted off the board.”
Larry Pelegrine, one of the men who had been kind enough to answer Trinity’s questions over the last six weeks, spoke up. “Now, we can’t allow this to get out of hand. Not because of how it might affect any one of us individually,” he said with gentlemanly emphasis, without directly pointing out the crass slant of the lawyer’s words, “but because of the thousands of people who work for the Hyatt companies. They have families to support. Families that need groceries and health insurance and—”
“We get it,” Patricia said, her voice turning snide. “We need to help people…and ourselves.”
How in the world could the other board members not see just how focused Richard and Patricia Hyatt were on bettering themselves, without caring about the effect of their actions on others? Or that their selfishness was the exact opposite of Michael’s vision for his companies and charitable foundation?
Larry leaned forward. “Look, as much as I hate to say it, the reality is that if the company’s valuation goes down, people will lose their jobs. And that valuation is partially reliant on how the outside world views the company, regardless of the truth.”
The rest of the board members nodded and muttered to each other. Bill cast a sympathetic glance in Trinity’s direction. She pressed her palms against her thighs beneath the protection of the table’s edge. She and Bill and even Larry had worked hard to promote her abilities and skills to the rest of the board for the last six weeks. After all, she’d single-handedly run Maison de Jardin for Michael since she was twenty-three. It wasn’t a small operation, by any stretch of the imagination, though it was miniscule compared to the entire Hyatt Heights operation.
She could feel the understanding and support they’d been working so hard to cultivate slowly sinking out from underneath her like sand beneath a wave on the beach. Once the court case was settled, the winner would own the largest portion of the company and would most likely be the CEO, giving them the most sway with the board. She needed them to believe in her, so she could use her power for the things Michael would have wanted. Richard had his own seat, but no true power if he didn’t inherit Michael’s estate.
One voice rose above the rest. “We have to do something.”
Trinity was bombarded with questions and comments from all sides. She slowly drew in a breath, trying to think amid the chaos.
“I think this will help everyone see what I mean,” Richard said.
This time he clicked to display a file. At first when Trinity looked at the handout, the figures and columns jumbled before her eyes; then, she started to sort through the data. She could see Bill doing the same out of her peripheral vision. The negative projections on how their workforce and revenue would be impacted by the bad press hit Trinity hard.
No matter how much she told herself that this wasn’t her fault, that what had simply started as a favor to her best friend had gotten completely out of control with his unexpected death, it didn’t make her feel any less responsible for what could happen to innocent people along the way.
Patricia drove the nail in harder. “That’s an estimated five thousand people with families in New Orleans alone who will end up unemployed.”
A city in desperate need of jobs. Trinity knew that.
“You don’t know that,” Bill asserted, a little of his spirit reappearing.
The woman didn’t seem to care about a little thing like facts…or decorum. She leaned forward, hands planted squarely on the table, and looked Trinity directly in the eye. “That means they’re gonna need all the charity they can get. You know, the same kind your clients receive over at Maison,” she said, a snide twist to her voice. “That’s something your brain can actually grasp, right?”
Trinity felt herself withdraw from the unexpected attack, but forced herself to hold completely still. It was the only coping mechanism she had. If she held still, no one could see her, no one could take a swipe at her. Or in this case, gather any more evidence to use against her.
She forced her voice to stay steady as she said, “The last thing I want is for families to lose their income.”
“They will as long as you hang this board up with your court case.”
Trinity raised a brow in disbelief. “I’m not the one who initiated the case.”
“That’s not how the press sees it.” Richard nodded toward the screen .
Larry stood up, his height and girth commanding attention. “Let’s focus here. We need to do something about this before it gets to be a huge problem. The issue here is the need to sway public opinion in such a way that it will reassure our investors and raise stock prices.” He sighed. “I believe I’ve got an idea.”
His glance in her direction was almost apologetic. “Even before this bad press, I looked into a business consultant to help you. Now I realize hiring him might reassure our investors that our corporation is not simply being run by someone completely inexperienced.”
Bill grunted, but Trinity laid a hand on his arm. Let everyone think she was inexperienced. She was, to a certain extent, though years spent talking aspects of his business through with Michael had taught her some very valuable things. Not that she’d expected to ever have to use that knowledge. But now that he was gone, she was more than grateful.
“That sounds like an interesting proposition,” she said instead of rejecting the proposal outright.
“He’s here, actually. He was in town and I asked if he would meet with you,” Larry said.
That took her back a little bit, but at least it expedited things.
“Here?” Richard asked, his voice booming in the room. “Let’s bring him in.”
Trinity winced. How lovely—another businessman to “fix” the problem of her inexperience. Even if she won the case against the people trying to take her inheritance away, consultants like this would be telling her what to do.
The room went oddly quiet as Larry stepped out into the hallway. Trinity felt a sick kind of anticipation build inside her. Logic said if this consultant could help, it would be a good thing for a lot of people. Fear said he could end up being just one more person to criticize her after analyzing her every move.
The door opened and Larry stepped back inside with another man following close behind.
Trinity took one look into the gray-green eyes she’d never expected to see again and wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
Rhett saw the surprise in Trinity’s eyes as he walked into the room but didn’t experience the usual thrill he felt as the game started in earnest.
Angry tones and placating words swirled around the periphery of his awareness. Still Rhett couldn’t tear his gaze from