Page 48 of Sinfully His

“She likes older men? Surely she doesn’t need a sugar daddy?” Orange Dress said, wrinkling her nose.

“No, younger. Much younger, so young that if it were to come to light, police involvement could be an issue.”

Everyone around her gasped, and I clutched the cross on my chest as if I were shocked by the revelation.

“There’s even some question about her partner's consent. There are many rumors saying that blackmail and extortion were involved on her part.”

“Oh my,” several women gasped.

I made the sign of the cross.

“I am afraid that this information makes me realize exactly how far Mrs. Astrid has strayed. Although it is the duty of the church to lead her back to the light, and I will make sure that we reach out with whatever resources we have to guide her, I’m worried that her involvement on this board might be?—”

“Her involvement on this board is unacceptable,” Too Much Perfume said, practically spitting the words. “I am not saying that I am without sin, but I believe that there should be a certain standard held by members of a church board, and sexual depravity is well below the standards that we need to set.”

Every one of the dozen women in the room nodded.

“We are community leaders. How are we to lead the community into the light of God when one of us has displayed such disregard for human life and such willful disregard for the deadly sins?” another at the other end of the table said.

Garish Lipstick stood up and leaned over on the table, placing her hands flat on the surface as she stared down at each and every woman. She was going for a power play.

“I move that Mary Quinn Astrid be removed from this board until she can refocus her life toward a godly path.”

“Seconded,” someone said.

“All in favor?” Garish Lipstick called.

Every single hand went straight up in the air.

“All opposed?”

That question was met with silence.

“Okay, so be it. Mary Quinn Astrid has been removed from this board, effective immediately.”

“I will have the bishop reach out to her directly to see what we can do to help guide her back to the right path,” I said, my head bowed low, as if in respect. “My only concern is when her actions come to light, as they always do, that they will bring down the other charitable boards that she is a member of. I think we all have seen it time and time again when the actions of asingle board member end up overshadowing everything else a charity is doing. I am just so grateful that will not happen here.”

“Yes, Father, I believe we are all very grateful. I thank you for bringing your concerns to the board so we could find the best solution. We will need to inform the other boards as well. It’s the only charitable thing to do,” Garish Lipstick said before turning back to the rest of the room.

She ran her hands down her suit, taking Mary Quinn’s place as the de facto leader.

“I think this is giving everyone a lot to think about. Why don’t we have a quick fifteen-minute break, and then we’ll start this meeting.”

Murmurs of agreement went up around the room as every woman got out their cell phone and started typing away. No doubt text messages to other women who were members of other boards, all of them working hard to oust Mary Quinn.

Just like that, she was no longer a powerful member of this community. With one simple little meeting, where I only had to plant the seed of doubt, her social standing was gone.

Now it was time for the next phase of Mary Quinn’s downfall.

CHAPTER 20

THOMAS

With all the ladies more focused on Mary Quinn and making sure that her scandal did not taint the other boards she served on, the meeting was postponed for a few days.

All the women had left within fifteen to twenty minutes of Mary Quinn being ostracized.

That gave me just enough time.

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