“Why would—”
“Why would I warn you ahead of time? Because I want you to know it’s coming. I want you to watch it like a hurricane, slow and unstoppable. And I want you to know that it was me. Me, the… what nickname did you give me? Thewicked witch of Fort Perth. I did this to you, and it was all your fault.” She let out a laugh, a cackle, as if she really was a witch.
Footsteps pounded in the hall, and then three men arrived. Kai was first, with a look of abject horror plastered across his beautiful face. The sight of him reminded me that he was a victim in this, too. My unveiling was also his unveiling. I shuddered to think what Sandra had planned forhim.
And then Michael and August were skidding to a stop on the carpet. My eyes skimmed over them like a marble sliding on ice. I couldn’t bear to look at them. My shame was already unbearable, a tremor deep within my bones. If I looked at them, their judgment would destroy me.
Not caring about the purse I had left in my office, I turned and ran out of the New Mexico Community Foundation for what I knew would be the last time.
54
Michael
I couldn’t blame Ginny for fleeing. I would have done the same in her position. As things were, the second-hand pain I felt for her was sharper than a chef’s knife.
Sandra watched her go, then turned to us. “Your employee is a pornographer. How will that look when you’re discussing donation requests with the Fort Perth Church of Christ, your third-largest donor?”
“Nobody needs to know about this, Sandra,” I said. I might as well have been arguing with a rabid dog.
“Oh, they will. I intend to make sureeveryonefinds out about this incident.”
“It will not be a problem.” Cornelius Cunningham came striding down the hall like he had the solution. “We will take care of this internal issue. The foundation will not allow such behavior to stand, I assure you. I have already called an emergency meeting of the board.”
Sandra smiled at him warmly. “You always knew how tohandlethings, Cornelius. The foundation is lucky to have you at the helm.”
He leaned in and patted her on the arm. “We’ll right this ship. And then we can all move on.” Without even looking at the rest of us, he hurried back down the hall toward his office.
Sandra turned her icy gaze on me. “Michael. When all of this is behind us, I hope there will be no hard feelings. I know howcloseyou are with Ms. Hanover.” Her voice cracked like a whip now. “Kai! Let’s go.”
She walked away, but her assistant hesitated. “I’m going to do something about this,” he told me and August.
“What can you do?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll think of something.” A moment later he added, “I hope.”
And then he was gone, too.
She knows about me and Ginny.The hair on the back of my neck went stiff.
“Fuck me in the ass,” August muttered. “Dad knew.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“He knew this was going to happen today,” August insisted. “Back there in the conference room. The rest of us couldn’t have been more shocked if a cat exploded on the table, but Dad was as calm as a Hindu cow. He knew she was going to drop that bomb.”
“Yeah,” I said softly. I was still staring at the spot on the floor where Ginny had been standing. “He knew.”
August’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Didyouknow?”
“How would I know she was going to reveal all of that!”
“No. I mean the OnlyFans bullshit.”
“Oh, yeah. I knew Ginny was ThiccGinger.”
He punched me in the arm. “AND YOU DIDN’T TELL YOUR BEST FRIEND SLASH THREESOME PARTNER?”
“Dude,” I hissed. “Keep it down. I only found out a few days ago. That’s why I’ve been home sick. I’ve been thinking about it all week.”