“Yes, well, there has been a lot to discuss of late.” Agnes gently smoothed her short, snowy white hair and cleared her throat again. “What bit of business should we get to first?”
“Start with the apology,” he instructed. This was the only reason he had agreed to come to this meeting, and it was the least that Heather deserved after everything she had been put through.
Agnes laced her fingers together and focused her attention on Heather. “Ms. Hall, on behalf of the entire board, I would like to offer you our most sincere apology. We were wrong to imply that you had committed any crime against Dover, and we deeply regret any pain and suffering this might have caused.”
Surprise flashed in Heather’s dazzling hazel eyes. “Oh. Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Simon narrowed his eyes at Agnes. “Are you going to be offering Heather more than words?” An apology was fine, but he wouldn’t rest until the board gave Heather something tangible to make up for how they had treated her.
“We haven’t discussed anything yet,” Agnes replied. “But we will absolutely do all that we can to show how sorry we are.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Heather shifted uncomfortably in her seat and forced a smile.
Clearly the attention was getting to her, but he knew that getting a formal apology from Dover’s board was the right step. He hadn’t told her the apology was coming because he wanted the apology to be about her, rather than about him and his negotiating tactics.
Agnes had called him over the weekend, begging him to come in for a meeting so that the board could have a chance to discuss his resignation. Deep down, he had known that the board was summoning him to this meeting because they wanted to talk him out of his decision to abruptly resign. At first, he had flat out refused to come to the meeting since he no longer owed Dover anything. But he had seen his chance to negotiate some concessions out of the board, and eventually Agnes had agreed to formally apologize to Heather if he promised to come to this meeting. The apology was the only reason he had bothered to come in today.
“There’s another item on the agenda, so let’s get to it,” Agnes said. “It’s time for us to address recent events and do whatever we can to help Dover get back on its feet.”
One of the junior board members, Roberto Hernandez, frowned. “Back on its feet? Are things really that bad?” Roberto was a relatively new board member who often saw opportunities where none of the other board members did. He was ambitious and had incredible vision that Simon had always admired.
Agnes grimaced. “Well, we’ve been getting battered from all sides lately.”
“I know Dover stock hasn’t been doing well, but surely that’s just temporary,” Roberto said.
“We hope it will be temporary,” Agnes said carefully. “But we can’t rely on hope. We need concrete action. After last week’s unfortunate events we need to come up with a plan of action. I propose that we come up with a plan to get our stock back on sound footing.”
“The best way to do that is to get back control of the media narrative,” Linda murmured from her seat. “That’s why Simon is here, correct? If he shows his face, then investors will have more confidence in Dover and things will stabilize.”
“Showing his face for one day is fine in the short term, but that won’t help us in the long run.” Agnes turned to Simon, a serious expression on her face. “Simon, you cannot resign. I’m going to encourage the board to refuse to accept your resignation.”
A gasp sounded in the room, and everyone started talking at once.
Simon clenched his jaw. He didn’t like being put on the spot like this. Didn’t like being questioned or challenged.
His resignation might have been abrupt, but he had meant it. In the chaos after Everett’s arrest, Heather had told Simon that she loved him and everything had fallen into place for him. Her love was his second chance. The second chance to be in a relationship with her after all these years apart.
Their affair had caused a scandal long before the arrest because Heather had been his assistant. His subordinate. That scandal had created huge problems for Dover, so when Heather had confessed that she loved him he had known that the only choice he had was to resign. Now that he was no longer her boss, they were free to start a relationship without a cloud of scandal hanging over them.