Dumped at the Courthouse, Married by Noon novel · Chapter 14 of 24

Chapter 14: Costly

I walked out of the lobby with my face burning and my legs steady.

On the river path my shoulders finally dropped.

Then I leaned on a rail and laughed, a little too loud, until a jogger gave me a look.

I went to work, weighed three beagles and drew blood from a cat named Bishop.

At 3:10 my phone buzzed in my scrub pocket.

It was Emmett.

"Lyle called me in at four with a new offer. His full board will be there. I'd like you in the room. Your choice. Say no and I'll go alone and tell you everything."

I read the text in the supply closet.

I texted back:

"Coming."

I drove to the river in my scrubs, with cat hair on my sleeves.

The boardroom was on the fourth floor of Voigt Spirits, a long glass room with a view of the water.

Five directors sat on one side of a black table.

Lyle sat at the head, with his lawyer on his right and a woman taking notes on his left.

Emmett stood at the far end, in a gray suit, with his hands at his sides.

I stopped in the doorway.

Lyle noticed me and gave a small, cool nod.

"Mrs. Rausch has joined us," he said. "Please. A chair."

"I'm fine here."

"As you like."

He folded his hands.

"Mr. Rausch, I'll repeat the offer so the board has it on record. If the marriage is annulled by October thirty-first, Voigt Spirits forgives the note in full. Eighteen million dollars. I retain my seat on your board. The merger is withdrawn. The brewery remains yours."

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