Board Stiff by Jessica Jayne Read Free Book Online Page A

Phillip didn’t make
it mandatory.   He was retired and took
the position he only wore suits to weddings and funerals now.     He
took his seat at the head of the long table as chairman of the board.   John respected Phil, who had also been in the
construction business for much of his life.   He gave John a lot of great advice on the trade after he took over the
company from his father, John Sr., and John appreciated the man’s insight.
    “Phil,” John said,
nodding his head in the direction of Phil.   The rest of the board members filtered in.   There were six outside directors and Michael
Herron, the CEO, sat as the sole inside director on the board.   Everyone grabbed their seats and poured
coffee.
    “Bagel?   Scone ?   We have cinnamon and cherry,” Suzie said, walking
in with a basket full of bagels and pastries.   She offered the basket to John first.   He smiled and pulled a cinnamon scone from the basket and placed it on a
napkin in front of him.
    “Thanks, Suzie,”
he said kindly.
    “Any time, Mr.
Dorsey,” she said sweetly.   The other men
chuckled as she made her way around the table to offer the treats to them
before placing the basket in the center of the table.   Before exiting the room and closing the door
behind her, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at John.   He felt everyone’s gaze on him when the door
finally clicked shut.
    “What?” he asked,
feeling a little embarrassed by all the attention.   It wasn’t that John wasn’t used to
attention.   He was.   Women hit on him all the time.   And from time to time, he would flirt
back.   Maybe ask them out to dinner.   Sometimes it would lead to sex at their place…
only their place, so he could easily escape when it was over.   But since Shayna, John shut himself off from anything
other than sex.   Finding his ex-fiancée
in bed with his best friend left a bad taste in his mouth for
relationships.   They were a waste of
time.   He kept telling himself he wanted nothing
beyond the desire to satisfy his sexual needs and have a little companionship
for an evening.   Even though most of his
friends had settled down… a few of them on their second marriages, he wasn’t
interested in taking that route.   It was
nothing but trouble.
    “Dorsey, we have
to tease you,” Andy Price snickered.   “Perhaps we’re all just jealous that she’s only got eyes for you.”  
    “Can we get
started?” John asked, slightly annoyed.   Maybe he should just take Suzie out and shut them all up.   It had been a couple weeks since he’d been on
a “date.”   The thing was, he would have
to see her every quarter for board meetings, and he knew it would never go
beyond a date or two.   Forget that idea!   He pulled out the agenda from his blue folder
and set it in front of him.   “Based on
the agenda, it may be a long day.”
    “Sure thing,
Dorsey,” Phil said with a smile.   “Let’s
call this meeting to order.”

Chapter Two
     
    Elizabeth Wright’s
palms were sweating.   Her boss, Corbin
Shaw, the general counsel for Advantage Insurance Company asked her to do the
presentation to the board of directors on the big construction defect case that
would likely plague the company for the next couple years.   Advantage insured three of the twenty
defendants in the lawsuit.   There were multiple construction issues with a beachfront
condominium project, and since her arrival at Advantage three months ago, Elizabeth had been
following the case closely.   The impact
of the lawsuit could cost Advantage millions in defense costs, not to mention
what the company may have to pay out if found liable.   She understood Corbin’s request for her to
discuss the case because she was the most knowledgeable about the case, but
that didn’t make it any less nerve-racking.
    “Liz, you will do
fine,” Corbin said, sitting next to her on the leather couch just outside the
board room.   She held one piece of paper
in her hand