Remember Me? (Book 1) COMPLETED

3 Months Pt 2

"Yes," I said. "I'm the other shareholder. Come in and I'll tell you what I can."

My admission seemed to trigger something in him. Grey stepped back, hands curling into fists. His cheeks turned red. "So I guess I wasn't worthy enough to know the truth, huh?" He glared at me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What defense did I have? Truth be told, Grey may have spilled to me the details of Wayward early on, but he was as tight-lipped as a clam.

Even so, I couldn't trust him. Or anyone. Not with this.

He walked past me, and I found myself turning as if to go after him, but his words made me go cold. "Don't bother coming back down with the little guys, Katherine," he said, not looking at me. "We don't want you either."

Then he left.

Oh, God, would he tell Leya?

As soon as the thought crossed my head, I ignored it. No, he wouldn't. He was angry, he had a temper, but he would come around eventually.

Besides, it was almost 7am. I couldn't worry about that now.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind Grey, Erland rushed up to my side. "I'm so sorry, Kat. I could've sworn the place was empty, but then he saw me and I couldn't explain why I was there and—"

I put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Erland. Come on."

We went downstairs to the conference room and finished the last preparations: placing packets on each chair, testing the presentation on the projector, and practicing with my laser pointer. At 7:15am, I sent Erland back up to my office.

I took a deep breath, placing my hands on the back of the chair, and closed my eyes.

Dear God, please help me. I can't do this on my own.

The elevator dinged on the floor and my eyes shot open. Here came the first board member. It was a nice older lady who had supported me in my first meeting. She smiled brightly and took a seat.

Within the next ten minutes, the entire boardroom filed in. Even Nick was right on time, settling in on the other side of the table. He glanced through the packet, met my gaze, then looked away.

At 7:40am, two more entered the boardroom: Octavia Beardsley, followed by none other than Richard Chase.

My blood froze. The eleventh seat.

Of course.

Octavia fixed her steel-gray gaze on me and sank into the seat directly in front of me. Rick wouldn't meet my gaze as he sat in the seat I had decided to leave empty.

"Good morning," I started, swallowing my emotions with a smile. "Today marks three months of my being at Wayward. In this time, I've dedicated my efforts to finding new outlets for the growth of the company. Before you, you will find a packet containing a strategic business plan for the initiative tentatively named Wayward Teens: Back Home. This project is meant to support and encourage youth in town, while drawing back those who may have left before."

I clicked to the next slide. "As you'll see here and on page 20, Wayward City has seen a decline in the population of about 15% over the past few years...." I went on, explaining the drop in the population, and how Wayward Publishing could be the lynchpin holding the city together to reach new heights.

Where before, many Committee members had ignored my presentation, now they either watched me with rapt interest or studied the proposal in front of them.

At the end, many were nodding. Even Rick, who hadn't looked up from Octavia's copy of the proposal, stole a glance at me when I opened the floor to questions.