Free Miss Match by Lindzee Armstrong, Lydia Winters Page A

inexperienced, but the board only brought up generalities. You were in such a bad place, so I didn’t mention it to you. Your chi’s already out of whack.”
    Luke clenched his hand into a fist, resting it on his knee. “This is my company.” And Dad’s. “Who do they think they are?”
    “The freakin’ board of directors! They control fifty-five percent of the company. I’ve already been placed on a verbal warning for not keeping you in line. They can replace you, if they feel it’s justified. They already took on a lot when Rick refused to appoint an interim CEO and worked through his illness. Now that Rick is gone, they want a CEO who is focused on the job. And after Saturday . . .” Mitch let out a long breath. “If you go, I’m out, too.”
    “So you’re telling me this meeting is to fire us?”
    “I don’t think they’ll outright fire us. Not today. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
    Luke sank back against the upholstered seat of the limo. “Well thanks to you, so do I.”
    “Just don’t do anything stupid, okay? Act penitent. Contrite. Promise to do better. Something. It’s not just your butt on the line anymore.”
    “If you’d told me about this earlier, it never would’ve gotten to this point.”
    “I shouldn’t have to tell you to do your job.”
    The limo pulled up to Ryder Communications’ corporate office—a fifteen story monstrosity in downtown Los Angeles. Put on your game face, Luke. Maybe this meeting had nothing to do with the gala.
    Maybe hell would freeze over, too.
    I can fix this. I will do anything to fix this.
    Luke straightened his tie, then stepped out of the limo and followed Mitch. He squinted as sunlight glared off the reflective surface of the building. They passed tall palm trees and a modern art sculpture that Luke had never understood. A fountain gurgled softly right outside the entrance, but it did nothing to soothe Luke’s nerves.
    “Mr. Ryder,” the receptionist said, her eyebrows raised in surprise. Luke scowled. It wasn’t like he never showed up at the office. He’d spent fourteen hour days at this place until a few weeks before his father’s death. Taken on a lot of CEO responsibilities while his dad grew sicker and sicker. Every long weekend and school break during college had been spent here. He’d been one of the first to arrive and last to leave the office every day until his father’s cancer progressed to the final stages.
    “We’re heading up to the conference room on the fifteenth floor,” Mitch told the receptionist.
    “I’ll let them know you’re on your way.” She picked up the phone and dialed.
    Luke followed Mitch to the elevator. The sensors detected their presence as soon as they were in range and the doors opened automatically. When they arrived on the fifteenth floor, the secretary there was hanging up the phone. “The last of the board members just arrived,” she said.
    “Thanks,” Mitch replied. The conference room doors swung open as they approached, and Mitch waited for Luke to enter first. Trying to keep me from running away? With the board threatening to oust him, there wasn’t a force in the world that would keep Luke from this meeting. Whatever it takes. Saving his father’s legacy was worth whatever promises, half-truths, and outright lies he had to tell.
    They weren’t taking Ryder Communications from him. He wouldn’t let them.
    Fifteen of Los Angeles’ stodgiest men and women sat around the mahogany conference table, chatting amiably with each other. Floor to ceiling windows flooded the room with light and a view of the Los Angeles skyline. None of the board members seemed to notice Luke and Mitch’s arrival. That’s because they’re all half blind and mostly deaf.
    “My daughter just announced she’s expecting a baby,” Walter said to Harold.
    “Congratulations.” Harold pushed his glasses up his nose. “How many does this make?”
    “Five grandchildren.” Walter chuckled. “The