Page 129 of Take Her from You

“Wait, please,” HR lady said. Jennifer, her name came back to me. She frowned at the receptionist. “It won’t be the boardroom. Check your meeting list again.”

He blinked. “I did. That’s correct.”

Her snooty gaze shot my way. “You’re just the cleaner, aren’t you?”

“It’s Mia, and yes.”

She tutted annoyance and turned back to the receptionist. “As I thought. You’re taking her to the wrong place. You’re lucky I’m here. The board members wouldn’t look kindly on her being shown in, not on such an important day.”

I took over answering on his behalf, donning the biggest pair of lady balls I’d ever owned. “No, Jennifer. You’re wrong and speaking out of place. I’ve been invited to that meeting, and you’re holding me up.”

Stepping away, I peeked back for the man who needed to lead me through the intimidating building. Luckily, he caught up, throwing an apologetic glance at Jennifer who appeared like her head was about to explode.

I could’ve laughed. The lowly cleaner was here to clean them out. But nerves had me in a tight grip.

Outside a room with tall and polished dark-wood doors, we stopped. The receptionist opened the nearest for me, revealing an even more daunting scene. A long table made of wood the same colour as the panelled walls was surrounded by around twenty people in a variety of grey suits. Ninety percent older white guys with just a couple of other women.

I knew Vanissa wouldn’t be here, not being a board member, but Greg and Simon held court at the top of the table.

A few people gave me cursory glances, monitoring my movement down the side of the room to the opposite end to the Winchesters. In contrast to the sea of grey, I’d worn a bold reddress. It wasn’t expensive or fancy, but I needed to stand out. If not right now then at a key point in the meeting for sure.

However, in this second, I couldn’t imagine saying a single word.

The receptionist pointed out a refreshment table then left me, closing me in with the wolves. I couldn’t hold a cup. I’d spill the drink and embarrass myself. It was all I could do to sink into a chair and remember why I was here.

God, why was I doing this alone?

Daisy had offered to come, and Ariel said the same, but I was determined to do it by myself and prove how I’d wised up. Now, I regretted that choice hard.

Down the table, someone clapped once.

A grey-haired man in his sixties with a grey suit, mid-grey tie, and glasses perched on his nose, peered at the attendees. “Gentlemen, if everyone can take their seats, we can commence. And ladies,” he added as an afterthought.

People settled down. Chatter ceased with squeaks of seats and clearing of throats.

The man waited for a beat then picked up a pile of paperwork, tapping it to straighten the edges. “The first order of the day is to confirm attendance. We’ll go around the table and introduce ourselves and our roles. I’ll go first. I am Peter English and I am the chairman of the board for Winchester Holdings, and I have been in this position for almost ten years. Beside me is Frank who is taking the minutes.”

Peter’s gaze landed directly on me. “We’ll move on to the new face in the room.”

I started and swallowed. “Mia Walsh.” My words came out in a whisper.

“Ah, Miss Walsh. We were expecting you. Please state for the record your role here today.”

I nearly went in with the I-don’t-knows but caught myself. “Voting rights,” I said instead. “I represent my daughter, October Walsh. Daughter of Greg Winchester Senior.”

Murmurs followed. Other attendees swapped glances. Clearly this was news to most.

The chairman dipped his head. “Interesting. Next.”

He gestured to each attendee in turn, but I barely heard a word over the blood rushing in my ears until it reached the Winchester men.

“Greg Winchester. Here to represent the family business and aggressively pursue the future success of the company my father built.”

Beside him, Simon smirked then leaned to speak in his ear. They simultaneously looked my way. Then both of the bastardslaughed.

Oh, fuck them. Anger stripped away my fear. I sat taller and straightened my shoulders.

“Simon Winchester. Here to vote for my brother who knows what he’s talking about,” Simon said, amusement unhidden in his voice.

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