“We have a problem,” Nat said.

Carter looked up from his computer, where he’d been going over the last battery specs he had before he’d been distracted from the project. Both Nat and Zoe were standing in front of his desk, looking worried.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I just got a call from Rosalind James’ assistant,” Zoe said, naming one of the members on the Purely Pleasure Board. “Tucker and I are close, and he’s a huge gossip. He wanted to know the details of this emergency board meeting that’s being called tonight.”

“A meeting of our board?” Carter asked.

Zoe nodded. “I played along like I knew what he was talking about. Apparently Rosalind had him change plans tonight so she could attend.”

“Fuck,” Carter swore. He looked over to Nat, who had a grim expression on her face. “What do you think?” he asked her.

“It’s a coup,” Nat said.

“Fuck,” he said again.

“Seriously?” Zoe asked, and then she turned red. “Um, do you two want me to be here? I can go…”

“It’s fine, Zoe. We trust you,” Nat said. “We might as well tell her,” she said to Carter.

“She probably already knows,” Carter said. There wasn’t much that went past Zoe when it came to his life. She was his assistant, after all.

“About Nat taking over as CEO?” Zoe asked. “Yeah, I know about that. You had me check the company by-laws last month, remember? But what does that have to do with a coup? Who’s trying to take over the company?”

“Charles Palmer and that asshole Dillon,” Nat said. “You think he has the votes?”

Carter shook his head. “There’s no way. So that means he has something else up his sleeve. What’s his plan? He wouldn’t do this without ammunition. Do you think he found out Olivia is sick?”

“I don’t think it’s that,” Nat said.

She bit her lip, flipping her hair over her shoulder in a way that he recognized. She was hiding something. “What are you not telling me?” he asked.

“I want you to promise not to get mad,” Nat began.

“Words that are deeply reassuring,” Carter said dryly, leaning back in his chair.

“The Halloween party at the Secret Society Lounge? Dillon saw you and Maddy there together. He approached Maddy yesterday, saying all this shit about how soon, she’d be working for him. I told her to ignore him. I thought he was just running his mouth. She wanted to tell you, but I was the one who told her I’d handle it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interfered.”

“It’s fine,” Carter said. “Just… tell me this stuff, okay? I need to know all the details so I can make sure to protect us all from all angles.”

“So what’s their plan here?” Zoe asked the two of them, looking confused. “Go to the board and tell them what? That you and Maddy are dating? There aren’t any rules about employees dating.”

“Charles could argue that I used my power to influence Maddy. He could say that I was acting irresponsibly. That I opened us up to potential lawsuits if the relationship went bad. He could do some damage if he painted a bad picture,” Carter said. “Especially since I banned his own son from the company because he was making my employees uncomfortable.”

“What you and Maddy have is not the same as Dillon cornering me in the closet,” Zoe said firmly, looking angry that anyone would think so.

“You and Maddy are in a healthy consensual relationship,” Nat said. “You two just fell for each other. We could use that as the argument.”

Carter shook his head. “We’re going about this the wrong way,” he said. “We have a weapon in our arsenal that Charles and Dillon have no clue about: They think I want to stay CEO.”

A smile crept across Nat’s face. “I see where you’re going with this,” she said, looking down at her watch. “But if we’re going to pull it off, we’ll need to get to the airport now.”

“Go, both of you. Right now,” Zoe said, pulling her phone out and already tapping away at it. “I’ll have flights booked for you by the time you get there. I’ll text you the flight information.”

“Will you let Maddy know I have to miss our lunch?” Carter asked, standing up and grabbing his jacket.

“On it, boss,” Zoe said.

“And I’ve got a meeting with Renee,” Nat added.

“I’ll let her know, boss,” Zoe said, and Nat beamed at the honorific, making Carter so damned glad he was able to turn the company over to her… at least, if they managed to outsmart Charles.

He’d be damned if Charles and Dillon ousted him from his own board. His board wasn’t puritanical, obviously; they wouldn’t be offended by the idea of a CEO dating his employee. But it was populated by smart businessmen and women, and Carter fully owned up to the fact that falling for one of your employees wasn’t the greatest business sense. Charles could maybe sway a few members who hadn’t been thrilled with the Portland move. There could be a real risk if he didn’t get to the board meeting and take charge before Charles could spread his poison.

“Let’s go,” he urged Nat.

“You think this will work?” she asked him as they made their way to the airport.

“It better,” he said.

It had to.