His Secret Addiction

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Damien's POV

Chen arrested David Reeves at six in the morning.

I got the call at six fifteen while Alex was still asleep. They'd picked him up at his apartment with a warrant. Found fifty thousand dollars in cash hidden in a closet safe. He'd lawyered up immediately and wasn't talking.

By seven, the story was on three business news sites. By eight, Sterling had called an emergency board meeting for ten.

Alex woke up to me sitting on the edge of the bed, already dressed.

"It's happening," he said. Not a question.

"Board meeting at ten. Sterling's calling the vote. Chen arrested Reeves an hour ago." I stood. "This is it."

He got up without another word. We moved around each other in the bathroom, getting ready in silence. There wasn't much to say that we hadn't already said.

In the car, he reached for my hand.

"Whatever happens today," he said, "we figure out what comes next together."

I nodded. Couldn't quite manage words yet.

**************,****

The board room was packed by nine forty-five.

All ten board members. Sophie with her laptop. Marcus standing near the back. Victoria next to me. Sterling at his usual position, looking like he'd already won.

"Let's begin," Sterling said the moment the clock hit ten. "I'm calling for an immediate vote of no confidence in Damien Cross's leadership."

"We have a week," Victoria said. "That was the agreement."

"That was before a senior operations manager was arrested for money laundering. Before Maya Patel named four Ross Industries employees as co-conspirators. Before we learned there's one point two million dollars we can't account for." Sterling looked around the table. "How many more revelations do we need before we admit this leadership has failed?"

"Damien found Reeves," Marcus said. "He identified the shell company and brought the evidence to Chen. That's not failure, that's investigation."

"He found one person after how many months? While three others continue to operate inside this company?" Sterling pulled up a document. "I've prepared a transition plan. A vote today. Immediate removal. I'll serve as interim CEO while we conduct a proper search for permanent leadership."

"Of course you will," Victoria said. "This was never about the company. This was about you wanting control."

"This is about protecting shareholders from a CEO who let criminals run operations while he was too distracted by a personal relationship to notice."

The room went silent.

Sterling looked directly at me. "Or are we going to pretend that's not a factor? That you haven't been compromised by your relationship with a subordinate? That it hasn't affected your judgment?"

"My relationship with Alex has nothing to do with this," I said.

"Doesn't it? You promoted him. You gave him access to sensitive projects. You trusted him with information about the investigation." Sterling smiled. "How do we know he isn't one of the people Maya named?"

Alex was sitting in the back of the room. I saw him go still.

"Alex Carter was cleared by federal investigators weeks ago," Sophie said. "He's a witness, not a suspect. That's documented."

"Documented by Chen, who's been working closely with both of them. How do we know that investigation was thorough?" Sterling spread his hands. "I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I'm simply saying that when a CEO is personally involved with an employee, it creates blind spots. And those blind spots have cost this company millions of dollars and immeasurable reputation damage."

Henderson spoke up. "What exactly are you suggesting, Richard?"

"I'm suggesting we need leadership that isn't compromised. That can make objective decisions without personal conflicts." Sterling looked at me. "I'm suggesting Damien step down voluntarily. Today. Before we have to force it."

Victoria stood. "This is character assassination, not governance."

"This is accountability." Sterling didn't back down. "Damien, you have one chance to do this with dignity. Resign. Let someone else clean up this mess. Or we vote, and you lose anyway, but you lose publicly."

I looked at the board members. Henderson wouldn't meet my eyes. Park was staring at his notes. Three others looked uncomfortable but not uncomfortable enough to oppose Sterling.

He had the votes. He'd finally done it.

"I'd like five minutes to confer with my team," I said.

Sterling nodded. "Five minutes."

Victoria, Marcus, and I stepped into the hallway. Alex followed.

"He has six votes minimum," Marcus said quietly. "Maybe seven. We can't win this."

"So we let him take the company?" Victoria's voice was tight. "After everything?"

"We don't have a choice," I said. "He's right about one thing. The optics are terrible. CEO distracted by relationship while criminals operate under his nose. It doesn't matter that it's not true. It's the story."

"Then change the story," Alex said.

We all looked at him.

"Sterling's making this about your judgment being compromised by me," Alex continued. "So remove me from the equation. I resign. Effective immediately. You stay, find the other three people Maya named, fix the company, and prove Sterling wrong."

"Absolutely not," I said.

"It solves the problem."

"It makes you a scapegoat for something that's not your fault." I stepped closer to him. "I'm not letting you sacrifice your career to save mine."

"Then we both lose." Alex held my gaze. "Sterling gets the company, we both leave, and he wins everything. Or I step away, you stay and fight, and maybe we salvage something."

"He's right," Victoria said quietly. "Damien, I hate it, but he's right. If Alex resigns, Sterling loses his biggest weapon against you."

"No." I said it with finality. "We don't negotiate with Sterling. We don't give him anything." I turned back toward the board room. "If he wants me gone, he can vote me out. But I'm not handing him Alex's career as a consolation prize."

"Damien—" Marcus started.

"Five minutes is up."

I walked back into the board room. The others followed.

Sterling was waiting. "Have you reached a decision?"

"I have." I stood at my position. "Call your vote, Richard. Let's see if you actually have the support you think you do."

He smiled. "All in favor of removing Damien Cross as CEO of Ross Industries."

Six hands went up.

"All opposed."

Four hands, including mine.

"The motion carries. Damien Cross is removed as CEO effective immediately." Sterling looked at me. "You have until end of business today to clear your office."

I nodded. Didn't trust myself to speak.

Alex met me at the door. We walked out together, past employees who'd already heard the news, past offices I'd worked in for fifteen years, toward the elevator.

In the car, neither of us spoke.

Finally, Alex said, "What now?"

I looked at him. "Now we figure out what comes next."