Page 338 of Double or Nothing

“Why are you telling me this?”

Because someone should have warned Alice before Christopher placed that ring on her finger.

Because someone should have warned me before I mistook tight leash management for respect.

“Because you deserve to know what you’re agreeing to,” I tell Adrian. “Everyone does. Always.”

Family, friends, colleagues, professional associates, their board members, their members of staff and the people who rely on them at home…

“That’s fair trade,” I say.

“And this isn’t? What’s going down here isn’t?”

I don’t answer him. I don’t need to.

Adrian closes his folder. Bill’s directors sit like statues. The solicitor scrabbles through his notes.

And Bill himself rises.

My fucking God, the fury has drained the colour from his face.

“Leave the room, Bryce. Leave us to handle this.”

I stand to leave, and Adrian Whitmore stands with me.

“I’ll be leaving as well,” he says. “I have things to consider with my own board. Good day, everyone.”

Christopher turns towards him.

“Adrian, there’s no reason to overreact. Bryce is just misinformed. He’s been out of the picture.”

Adrian looks at him.

“Bryce is never misinformed. He’s the most professional man in this organisation.”

I don’t pick up a thing as I go, because nothing on the table belongs to me anymore. None of these documents are the ones I drew up or spent my time on.

I open the door to the meeting room and hold it for Adrian.

“Thank you, Bryce,” he says before he leaves. “I value your honesty.”

Yes, I tell myself. And so do I.

I should have given my own self honesty the credit it deserved. A long, long time ago.

Bill reaches my office less than five minutes after Whitmore’s departure, Christopher in tow.

“What the fucking hell were you doing?!” he asks me.

I sit behind my desk. Calm. Composed.

“Telling Adrian the truth.”

“You sabotaged months of work!”

“Potentially. Mine, mostly.”

“You disclosed confidential strategy to the subject of an acquisition.”