He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!
Chapter 74: What Did I Miss?
Richard exploded out of his seat. "How dare you—"
Roxanne caught his wrist, her grip surprisingly firm. She gave a slow shake of her head, pulling him back from the edge. Then, she turned her gaze entirely onto Nicholas. The room felt suddenly ice-cold.
"You can sit on your high horse and spew whatever pathetic insults you like, Nicholas," Roxanne said, her voice dropping into a lethal calm. "But none of it matters. You don’t live my life, and without even realizing it, you are showing every executive in this room exactly what kind of man you are."
Nicholas’s smug smile instantly froze.
"If you are willing to expend this much energy defending the very person who just tried to dismantle your family’s legacy, then you don’t deserve the Vance name, and you certainly don’t deserve a seat at this table," Roxanne continued, her delivery sharp and unhurried. "You are simply showing us just how many toxic values you and Christian share."
She paused, letting the silence stretch, and slowly looked around the table at the stunned board members.
"You have a volatile liability on your hands," she warned smoothly. "Perhaps we should invite one of the women you’ve built lasting relationships with to comment on your character." She stopped, tilting her head as she looked at Nicholas with a look of pure, cutting pity. "Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be one."
She leaned back, entirely unbothered.
Nicholas’s smile vanished completely, the blood draining from his lips as the room plunged into an uncomfortable quiet.
Nicholas slammed his fist against the mahogany table, the impact rattling the silver cutlery and crystal water glasses. He surged to his feet, his chest heaving. Richard was up a fraction of a second later, his massive frame instantly shielding Roxanne, his eyes blazing with a protective fury.
"How dare you say that to me?!" Nicholas barked, spittle flying from his lips as he glared past his brother. "Watch your mouth!"
"You watch your words!" Richard shot back, his deep voice shaking the quiet room. "You do not get to speak to my woman that way. Never again!"
Nicholas’s nostrils flared, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He stared down at Roxanne, who simply picked up her glass and took a slow, elegant sip of water, completely ignoring his existence.
"Tell her to watch her mouth," Nicholas hissed, his hands trembling as he tried to control the rising anger in his voice.
"She will do no such thing," Richard countered smoothly, his stature completely dominating the space. "If you are going to throw insults around this room whenever you please, Nicholas, then you should be man enough to sit down, shut up, and take a dose of your own medicine with the exact same composure with which you dished it out."
"Sit down, both of you," Henry commanded, his deep baritone cutting through the standoff. He leveled a severe look at his sons. "Every individual at this table will be treated with basic professional respect. Stop acting like undisciplined children and sit down!"
The two men slowly lowered themselves back into their chairs, the air still thick with unresolved violence.
Margaret’s sharp eyes immediately darted across the table, locking onto Roxanne. Her lips curled into a sneer of pure disdain. "Are you satisfied now?" she asked, her tone dripping with venom. "You are actively tearing my family apart. I hope you are proud of yourself."
"Oh, come off it, Mother," Pamela interrupted, wiping the last of her tears away. "You know perfectly well she isn’t the catalyst for this disaster. When are you going to stop hiding behind your pride and accept the truth? Stop pretending this family is a flawless dynasty when we are far from it. The only thing any of us is actually good at is making billions. Beyond that, we’re a mess."
"Shut your mouth, Pamela!" Margaret screamed across the table. "You are the absolute last person who should be speaking right now! We have been sitting here for years waiting for you to bring a respectable man home, and you were busy sleeping with another woman’s husband, and a pathetic, middle-class loser at that!"
Pamela swallowed hard, the harsh rebuke hitting her like a physical slap. She lowered her head, staring blankly at her lap.
Richard ignored his mother, his focus shifting back to the mystery. His brow furrowed deeply. "Pamela, if you didn’t record that video and you didn’t hand it over to Christian. Then who did?"
All eyes snapped back to the center of the room. Low murmurs broke out, executives frowning and shifting uncomfortably. One by one, the board members began exchanging sharp, suspicious glances around the table, desperately trying to unmask the traitor hiding in plain sight.
Suddenly, the sharp, rhythmic click-clack of heels echoed from the marble foyer outside.
Every head turned toward the sound. The clicking stopped, and the heavy double doors of the dining room swung open. Cara stepped inside. A brilliant, calculated smile was plastered across her face, her eyes shining as she took in the immediate attention of the entire room.
"Cara!" Margaret gasped, her tone turning ecstatic as she instantly opened her arms in a grand gesture of welcome. "We have been waiting for you, dear."
Cara didn’t even glance her way. She stepped fully into the room, her gaze single-mindedly locked onto one target. Richard. She moved gracefully, a slow, deliberate sway in her hips as she marched toward his side of the table.
Roxanne’s jaw hardened, her fingers tightening into tight fists under the table as a hot wave of jealousy flared in her chest.
Richard didn’t look up at Cara for a single second. Instead, he kept his eyes squarely on Roxanne, reaching across the table to grab her hand, locking his fingers with hers in a fierce, visible show of solidarity.
Roxanne looked into his steady, dark eyes, drawing comfort from his touch, before her gaze flicked over to Cara, who was now standing directly at Richard’s shoulder.
Cara’s eyes dropped to their locked hands, a flash of pure annoyance twisting her beautiful features. Recovering quickly, she leaned down, her fingers sliding smoothly along the fabric of Richard’s tailored shoulders.
"Hello, darling," she murmured near his ear.
Richard’s head snapped toward her, his expression twisting into one of disgust as he jerked her hand off. She pulled back with a smug purr, stepping away toward the other end of the table. Richard’s fists clenched, his jaw working as his total displeasure radiated through the entire room.
With angry eyes, Richard watched as Cara glided effortlessly down to Margaret’s side. She leaned down, kissing the matriarch’s cheek while completely ignoring the rest of the executives.
"Hello, Margaret," she said, her voice smooth and perfectly practiced.
"Please, sit down right beside me, my dear," Margaret beamed, pulling out the chair next to her. "We have all been desperately waiting for your arrival."
Cara sat down gracefully, steepling her manicured fingers beneath her chin as she looked around the tense room. "I can certainly tell," she said, a sharp, knowing smile playing on her lips. "So, what exactly did I miss?"