Fifth Avenue Devil

Chapter 36

Thirty-Six

Annalise

T he stench of betrayal hangs in the air as we stalk into the Gellar Industries boardroom, a dank space with a long wood conference table in the middle of the room. There are large windows that should show off the Manhattan skyline. But the windows are dirty and the view is dull.

The room is full of rich men and women who are all, to a man, bored and ready to get out of here. When the board members see Nate, then clock me right behind him, it’s clear that they don’t know what’s about to happen.

It’s funny, because I don’t either.

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest as I sit down at the polished oak conference table. My mother and father are here, at the far end. Familiar faces fill out the rest of the table. I’ve known many of these people since I was a child.

"Annalise, dear," my mother begins. Her voice sounds painfully saccharine and extremely condescending. "Are you sure about this?"

"If you need to talk, sweetheart—" my father adds.

Nate cuts them off with a sharp gesture. "Enough."

As Nate addresses the room, I sit demurely. Trying to pretend that I’m not so anxious that I’m worried about my heart.

“So. When we met last week, I told you that over twenty million was missing from the company. And Mr. Gellar was happy enough to jump up and tell us that the only answer was to remove his daughter as CEO. Everyone remembers that, right?”

The room is silent. The board members look at each other, trying to communicate with their eyes.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Let me tell you what’s about to happen in this room.” Nate paces the floor. “The unethical business practices of this board have gone unchecked for far too long. I think we should all talk about it.”

He opens a laptop and projects damning documents onto the wall behind him. As I watch, emails, financial records, and transcripts all pop up on the screen. It looks like the FTC’s wet dream, from what I can see. I can feel the tension in the room mounting. A palpable energy crackles like static electricity.

"Mr. Thompson!" Nate yells, singling out one man in particular. "Did you honestly think your insider trading would go unnoticed?" He presses a button and several graphs pop up. “You got a tip here… and one here… should I continue?”

“No…” The man squirms in his seat, his face turning an alarming shade of red.

"Very well. Let’s move on to Ms. Patel.” Nate smiles widely. "Embezzling funds from the ballet company's charity foundation? Despicable."

“I… I did not!” Amrita Patel stutters. “It’s not what it looks like. I swear!”

Nate opens his briefcase, flips through the file folders, and tosses one to her. “There you go. There is all the evidence. You did a shitty job of covering it up, by the way.”

Amrita’s mouth drops open. She looks at the file folder for a second. Then she reaches out a shaky hand and draws it toward herself. She opens it, muttering, “Shit.”

Nate goes around the table, pulling file folders from his briefcase and putting them in front of each of the board members. Most of them look at what’s inside for a moment before closing the folder silently. A couple of people don’t even check what’s inside.

I think that means that they already know their darkest secrets have been exposed.

“Well, that’s everybody. Everybody except Archer and Monique.” Nate smiles, showing all his teeth like a fucking shark. “I don’t want you two to feel left out.”

My mom stands up. “I don’t need to listen to this.”

“Sit the fuck down.” Nate makes a down gesture. My mom glares at him and then turns to walk out of the room.

“Monique embezzled the missing twenty million dollars from this company!” Nate cries.

My mom’s gait slows, then stops. She turns around slowly.

“You can’t prove that!” she hisses.

"We can, actually. We have the confession you made to Lori yesterday on video,” I cut in. “It’s pretty cut and dry.”

“You little bitch!” Mom’s eyes widen for a second before her expression turns angry again. “My lawyers will have you for breakfast.”

“Now, Monique.” Nate clucks his tongue loudly. “We also have you on the security tape on the days of the embezzlement, breaking into Archer’s office. The time stamps line up quite nicely.”

Nate presses another button and several still shots from crystal clear security cameras pop up onscreen. They are taken from inside in my father’s office, time stamped as clear as day. And right in the middle of each shot is my mother, sneaking into the room.

My mom’s jaw drops. “You—you can’t use that! It’s… confidential!”

“Nice try. It’s a funny story. Apparently, Archer installed a nanny cam in his office. News flash: your husband doesn’t trust you, Monique. I assume that you started embezzling as a solo project. When your husband caught on, you were forced to cut him in. Isn’t that right, Archer?”

The tension in the room is a thick, suffocating fog as Nate focuses his piercing silver eyes on my parents. I watch, heart pounding, as he coolly delivers the final blow.

"How do I know?” Nate asks, as if someone has voiced the question. “You hid the money in bank accounts across the globe. I have you both on tape, walking into banks in the Grand Caymans, the Czech Republic, and Kenya. That was insanely stupid of you.”

My mother's face turns ashen. Her muted pink lipstick is suddenly garish against her pale skin. My father clenches his jaw, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

I feel nothing but a cool numbness as I stare at my parents. They perpetrated a large financial crime and had the fucking balls to try to pin it on me. I’m just lucky that they’re both dumb enough to think they wouldn’t be caught.

But my trust in them is now shattered like a priceless vase carelessly dropped onto an unforgiving marble floor. It can never be put back together.

“I did no such thing!” my mom yells, her face turning red. “Archer, say something, for god’s sake. Defend my honor!”

“Monique, dear…” My father, who is dressed in a black suit that makes his pallor stand out all the more, clears his throat. He shifts in his seat, still clutching his cane. “I think it’s best if neither of us says anything. We don’t want to make any statements, period.”

Mr. duBeck, the head of the board, climbs to his feet. “Excuse me, Archer. If Nate didn’t call this meeting for any reason other than to harass you?—”

“You?” Nate points at him. “Sit down. Shut up. Or else I will start telling the other board members all about your overseas sex tourism. Laos? Gambia? Ukraine?”

Mr. duBeck staggers and collapses in his seat as if someone had fired a shot at his center mass. His eyes protrude like they are about to pop out of his head.

“Good man.” Nate sweeps his gaze over the assembled board members. "If I go to the press with what I've uncovered, you'll all be fucked. You were on a board for years while financial improprieties went on under your nose? Who would hire you if word got out? You would be tainted by scandal.”

“Mr. Fordham, I don’t think—” Mrs. Smythe starts in, her gray coiffure quivering. She looks like a large, graying lump of Jell-O.

“Mrs. Smythe, let me stop you right there. I know that two of your three husbands died under mysterious circumstances. You paid the same coroner hundreds of thousands of dollars to declare the deaths heart attacks. Isn’t that right?”

Mrs. Smythe gapes. “Well, I—I?—”

“Right.” Nate looks at me, smiling blandly. “We have the same type of information on each one of the board members. Mrs. Smythe here should be less afraid of her secret getting out than the rest of you. Corrupt sons of bitches, every last one of you. Seriously, the next one that says a fucking word gets his or her secret spilled to a tabloid.”

I’m pretty sure I hear an audible gulp. Eyes around the table widen, everyone looking around at the gathered group.

“Right. That’s settled. And before anyone gets any ideas, I’ve got a fucking dead man’s switch. Fucking with me is the only way to be certain that your secrets will go viral."

Nate lets the threat hang in the air for a moment, allowing the gravity of the situation to settle. I can feel the balance of power shifting. Damn. Nate was right.

I could be dressed in a damn clown suit right now and no one would notice. No one else is bothering to look beyond themselves.

My dad clears his throat. “What do you want, you prick?”

Nate rubs his hands together as his eyes slide around the room.

“I have a proposition for you. Vote Annalise back in as CEO. In exchange, I'll keep your terrible secrets to myself."

The room explodes into a cacophony of protests. Nate holds up a hand to silence them.

"This is non-negotiable. You put Annalise back in charge or you prepare to face the consequences of your actions."

The board members exchange wary glances. Their expressions are a mixture of fear and resignation. One by one, they cast their votes, until it's official.

I'm back in as CEO of Gellar Industries. A wave of relief crashes over me. I push myself to my feet.

“Now get the fuck out of here,” I growl.

The entire board looks at me as if I’ve grown another head. I slap the table, standing up. Mrs. Smythe stumbles out of her seat, running for the door. Everyone else follows her, even my scummy parents.

The parting look my mom gives me is one of immense revulsion. I blow her a kiss and she scowls. Then she turns the corner and vanishes.

The girl I used to be three months ago would have withered under that glare. What has happened to me?

"Annalise.” Nate calls me back from my thoughts. I look at him, feeling off-center. "You’re back. I know you didn't want it to happen this way. But it’s done. You’re the CEO again."

"Blackmail, Nate? There had to be another way to get me back in charge."

He shrugs a shoulder. “I know what rich people fear most: losing their money and status. Sometimes, you have to play dirty to win. Besides. It worked, didn't it?"

My lips press into a thin line. "Only because they were more afraid of being exposed than they were of me. They don't respect me, Nate. They'll never take me seriously now."

"You've got your company back, Annalise. That’s step one."

“Nate…” I look at him. “You’ve managed to undo one thing. But you did a lot of damage. You’re talking like you want me to just fall at your feet and be thankful you even looked my way. And I’m here to tell you that isn’t going to happen. You fucked up. And I’m not sure that there is a way back from that!”

I end my speech before I burst into tears. It takes all that I’ve got to rein my emotions in.

“You’ve got to give me more time.” Nate touches my face. "I'm trying to make things right."

"Trying? You think that's going to cut it?" I laugh bitterly and back away from his caress. "You may be a big name on Wall Street, Nate Fordham. But when it comes to credibility with me, you have none. Zero. Zilch."

Nate reaches for me again. Desperation is etched in every line on his handsome face. "Please, Annalise. Just give me one more day. One day to prove to you that I can change. I can be the man you deserve. If I can't make it right after that…” He swallows hard. “I swear I'll leave you alone forever."

I study him. The raw vulnerability in his gaze, the tension in his broad shoulders. Part of me that still throbs for him, despite everything. I want to believe him.

But the scars run deep. I can't let myself forget what Nate has done.

“I’ll wait one more day. But things are far from fixed.”