Page 13 of The Enemies With Benefits Deal

“You’re not going to.” She nods to the time on the clock. “Looks like it’s time to go. Do you need any help setting up?”

I collect my laptop and the boards. “No. I should be good with this, but thank you.”

Lara leads the way out of my office, holding open the door for me.

I stride through the office, stopping at a couple desks to say hello to the people working there before continuing into the conference room.

A podium sits at the front of the room, and I stand the foam boards on it. I set my laptop on the little gray pedestal near the front, flipping it open and taking one last look over my notes.

The board of directors starts to filter into the room, Victoria leading the charge. She takes a seat at the front of the room, close to my presentation.

Leo is the next to come in as the rest of the board are settling in their seats, talking to each other about whatever game was on last night. He nods to me and sits close to the front, on the other side of the table from Victoria.

Grayson is the last person to walk in, strutting with his hands in his pockets and a stubborn set to his jaw. He takes the seat beside his father, not acknowledging that I’m in the room in any way.

I smile as Lara filters in last and closes the door behind her.

As I turn my attention to the rest of the people in the room, I take a deep breath. “Thank you all for agreeing to take a look at my presentation for the future of LRH Global. Before we get there, Grayson expressed interest in sharing some ideas with the board as well.”

Grayson glares at me as he stands, the color draining from his face.

He moves to the front of the room and I snag his empty seat.

Clearing his throat, he tucks his hands back into his pockets.

He’s trying to seem like he’s comfortable at the front of the room, but the way he rocks slightly on his heels says otherwise.

While we were in college, he was never much of a public speaker, and it looks like that hasn’t changed.

Serves him right for spending an entire week attempting to run me off at every chance.

Grayson puts on his best charming smile, and I would be lying if the butterflies in my stomach didn’t start to stir. They’ve been in hibernation for a long time, and if one smile from him is enough to have them try to come to life, I have a big problem on my hands.

He keeps his gaze off me, directed to the back of the room. “When I thought about the future of LRH Global, I thought about connecting with the youth. Newspapers are a thing of the past. While there are demographics who still purchase them, the young people of today want their information at their fingertips.”

I cross one leg over the other, smirking when it draws his attention to me.

Anything I can do to get in his head right now, I’m going to do.

The only reason he’s doing the presentation is because he thinks he’s better than me.

I thought he would’ve learned the first time.

Grayson shifts his weight to the side, looking at his father. “You built this company because you believed in getting news to the people. That looks a lot different now than it did before.”

I clear my throat, bracing one arm on the desk as I look at him. “Does this mean that you’re thinking of getting rid of the newspaper altogether?”

When he pulls his hands out of his pockets, there’s a slight tremble to them. He looks like he’s seconds away from trying to kick me out of the meeting, but I don’t think that would work in his favor.

A well-timed and innocent question is all it takes to send him spiraling.

Grayson shakes his head, panic shining bright in his eyes as he looks to Leo. “I don’t want to get rid of the paper, but it’s time to admit that it shouldn’t have been the focus for as long as it has.”

Victoria taps her fingers on the desk. “There is still value in a newspaper. Moving away from that could alienate older readers, resulting in a loss of sales as well.”

Leo clears his throat, sitting up taller as the wrinkles on his forehead deepen. “The goal of the next three months is to bring the company back in the black, Grayson. Proposing to lose the people still loyal to this paper is only going to send us deeper into the red.”

I smile, the pieces all falling into place.

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