I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many angry faces all focused at me.

The board is pissed.

And I can’t say I blame them.

Not only is this a huge scandal for the network because of Rafe, but I slept with an employee, one I spent hours singing the praises of only a few days ago. Of course, this looks bad. Very, very bad.

Frankly, it’s probably unsalvageable. But damn if I’m not going down without a fight.

“I know how bad this looks—”

“Bad?” Barry stands and slams his palm down on the conference table. “Bad doesn’t even begin to describe this situation, Andrea. What were you thinking?”

I take a deep, calming breath before responding.

Don’t snap back at him.

“First and foremost, I need to make sure it’s clear that nothing happened between me and Mr. Boswell prior to last evening. I stood up for him and his position here because I genuinely believe in his brand and that it is an asset to the network. That being said, yes, we let things get too far last night. I shouldn’t have become romantically involved with an employee.”

“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have! Not only is it against company policy, but it opens us up to lawsuits from Mr. Boswell as well as even more scrutiny in the press. This is a catastrophe!”

Exaggerate much?

Sure, it’s bad. I can’t deny that. But catastrophe is a pretty strong word. An earthquake is a catastrophe. A hurricane is a catastrophe. This was a bad decision and bad timing.

“That’s a bit of an overstatement, Barry. This can be salvaged.”

His bushy eyebrows raise. “Salvaged? And how the hell do you think that’s going to happen?”

I rise from my chair and move to stand behind it. I’m not giving him the satisfaction of towering over me and looking down on me. “I will give a statement admitting to a consensual romantic encounter with Rafe Boswell and make it clear this had nothing to do with the network standing behind him after the incident at the game.”

Barry huffs out a snort-laugh. “God, you are naïve, Andrea. A statement at this point is worthless. Even if we could get Rafe on board by having him sign an affidavit that your ‘encounter’ was consensual, the damage to our reputation and to both of yours has been done.”

I can see where this is going. I knew it was coming the moment I saw the pictures with my own eyes. But something in me hoped the board would listen to reason and give me a chance to try to fix things.

“I know what you’re going to say, Barry. And don’t bother. I will resign before I ever let the board fire me. I’m sure you all discussed this before I ever got here today. I could tell the moment I set foot in this room you had already made your decision. Just know it’s a mistake. I’m exactly what this network needs, and a little sex scandal would never get in the way of my plans. I’m disappointed you have such narrow minds that you can’t see that.”

The only response I get is silence, which means I hit the nail right on the head. They wrote me off the minute those pictures surfaced. I was already on rocky ground with the whole Rafe fiasco, and this just cemented my fate.

There’s a good chance I’ll never work in television again after this.

Fucking A. I sure made a mess out of this.

I wish I could blame it on the booze, but I knew full well what I was doing and the risk I was taking letting Rafe into my bedroom. This is precisely what we both knew could happen. I just never imagined someone would actually care enough to rat us out.

Only one name pops into my head. Munro. The man is devious, and while I’m sure he wasn’t personally at the restaurant grabbing the recording, chances are good he had feelers out and had spread the word to be on the look-out for anything that could be used to take Rafe down. And we handed it to him on a silver fucking platter.

The board members shift uncomfortably in their seats while they wait for me to say something or to leave.

Good. Let them be uncomfortable.

I hold my ground and wait for Barry to speak. He eyes me for a few moments before he finally heaves in a breath and steps back from the table. “I’m sorry it has to end like this, Andrea. We had high hopes for you with the network and what the fresh perspective could offer. But remember, it’s you who put you in this situation, not us.”

Yeah right, if a male CEO slept with a female host, they would probably be smacking him on the back and congratulating him even though it was a violation of company policy.

I almost say as much but bite my tongue instead. There’s no need to go out on a bad note, or one any worse than what it is already at least.

At this point, I still have some dignity, and I’ll be damned if I let the board take that from me.

I step back from my chair and nod. “You’ll have my formal resignation this evening.”

Those are certainly words I never expected to say. I’ve never had to resign to save my ass from being fired. Regret burns in my gut as I turn on my heels and march from the conference room with my head held high.

I don’t want to regret what happened with Rafe. It was too good to now be tied to such a shit outcome. But there’s no going back to that shameless flirtation or mindless sex. Not after this. Even if I still wanted him, there’s no way this won’t blacken every moment we ever spend together in the future.

Those pictures weren’t just the end of my career. They were the end to anything I ever hoped to have with Rafe.