Page 36 of Boss Level

“Ah. I’ll see you in the offices tomorrow,” Grant said, and hung up.

I dropped my phone onto the couch next to me, and met Dominic’s gaze.

“That sounded exceptionally non-productive,” he said with a sympathetic smile.

The nerve twitch behind one of my eyelids agreed with him. I scrubbed my face. “Any luck?”

“No.” Dominic was reviewing the company contracts, looking for a cut and dried way to pronounce this matter no big deal and move on. “Remind me next time I review a contract to build in a few loopholes only I know about.” He’d been another set of eyes on the existing AcesPlayed employment agreements, both the originals, and the non-fraternization amendments from earlier this year.

When Judith arrived, laptop bag slung over her shoulder and lines etched in her brow, she joined us in the living room. This was mostly brainstorming, so we could keep the setting casual. She sat cross legged in a chair, computer in her lap, and Dom and I took spots next to each other on the couch.

“How are Elliot and Link coping?” I asked.

She blew out a puff of air, ruffling the hair that hung at the side of her face. “Link is in the office making sure the issue isn’t widespread. I made Elliot sit on his hands until at least after the meeting tomorrow.”

“I bet he loves that.” Sarcasm dripped from Dominic’s retort.

Judith gave him a dry smile. “So, so much.”

I understood why she’d done things this way, and I would’ve made the same call, but it sucked that it was necessary. In order to save Elliot, she and he had to play by the rules up to a point, so there were no additional reasons to sayhe has to go.

“Is it really Fallyn?” I asked. In the pictures, there was little doubt. But in the chat logs…

Judith fixed me with a neutral stare. “As far as any of us know, no. And I’m being honest when I say I didn’t ask. On purpose.”

Smart. Plausible deniability.

“The problem is, it really is Elliot and Link.” Dominic stood and strode to stand behind her. “And your chat logs show him telling a female presenting player, and one of his employees, that he’s going to”—He leaned in to read over her shoulder—“Pin them to the bed and by the throat and fuck them like the whores they are.”

“I mean…” I let the unfinished thought hang in the air.

Judith’s smile was tired. “Yeah. Hot. In context.”

“I should’ve pegged Elliot as having a degradation kink.” My preference was praise, but to each their own, as long as it was consensual. “It is Fallyn, though.”

“I assume. I wouldn’t have thought so before this week, but…” Another sigh. Judith was going to work her way through a lifetime’s supply today. “Even if it’s not, people think it is.”

Judith and I grew up in a small town, and in some ways internet gossip was almost identical to what spread like wildfire along Main Street whenever anyone did anything. Biggest difference was that back home, the rumors meant everyone looked and whispered when you walked by, but on the internet, it could tear down entire corporations.

“What are the odds the board will buy-out-slash-kick-out Elliot?” Dominic asked.

He knew what the base plan was, because he’d already heard enough of my conversations to figure it out, and I would’ve told him anyway. Grant was flying in from California, and the entire board, minus Elliot, would vote on whether or not Elliot got to keep his seat.

I shook my head, both to clear the dark clouds and in answer to Dominic’s question. “Oliver will vote for him to stay.” Oliver was our representative from The Raphael Group, and our partners weren’t ready to threaten this relationship.

“Scott will votestay. So will I,” Judith added.

Grant wouldn’t, but at this point it was three against one and it wouldn’t matter.

“And what if Grant pulls his investment when you all vote against him?” Dominic grabbed the possibility we hadn’t discussed yet.

Then Grant was a bigger child than I thought possible. “We can deal with that if he does that.”Webeing the other investors.

“We have all our bases covered,” Judith said. “We’ve made plans on plans for this, for years. Not specifically Elliot”—because the only other person in a position like his, being both an investor and employee, was Judith—“but we’ve accounted for so much. I want to do more, but I don’t know what else we can do besides double check the safeguards. We have to ride this out until tomorrow.”

It had to kill her to say that as much as I hated hearing it.We have to wait.

“So… this waiting. Does it involve pacing and wearing holes in our throw rugs?” Dominic sounded less than pleased with that idea.

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