His gaze moved from my gown to the table card and finally to Jenna standing beside me.
He picked up the program, read her title, and laughed.
“Operations director? That’s generous.”
Jenna leaned closer and tapped the page.
“Operations director,” she said. “Longer than ‘babysitter,’ but more accurate.”
He ignored her and faced me.
“So this is how it works? You hand a family member a title and that’s supposed to be okay?”
Before I could respond, Marcus returned from the bar. He stepped beside me, rested an arm gently around my waist, and kissed my temple once.
Liam turned completely white.
He placed his drink down before it fell from his hand.
His gaze moved between Marcus and me, and every trace of confidence vanished so quickly that it was almost frightening.
“How dare you?” he blustered.
Marcus remained calm.
“Good evening, Liam.”
Liam pointed toward him.
“You destroyed my career, and now she’s parading you around like some kind of prize?”
Marcus replied:
“Your career continued, just without that promotion you so desperately wanted me to get you.”
The words landed hard.
Several people nearby became very still. Two board members from Liam’s company exchanged a meaningful glance.
But Liam could recover quickly when necessary.
He looked toward them, then back at me, and his panic transformed into calculation.
“Of course,” he said loudly. “This is personal. She’s my ex-wife. You’re her client. Now suddenly she’s attached to some review process around my company? Does anyone here really not see the conflict?”
People within hearing distance hesitated.
The atmosphere changed around us. One board member frowned.
For half a second, I could almost hear Liam believing he had regained control.
I stepped forward before Marcus could respond.
“I agree there would be a conflict,” I said. “Which is why I disclosed our history before tonight and removed myself from any direct review of your division. An outside panel handles that. The documents are already filed.”
There was a pause.
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