Executive Decision (Lakeshore Empire #1)

1. Acquisitions

1 ACQUISITIONS

Eleven years before…

Daphne

There was business, and then there was family business. Sometimes, being a Delphine was too much. My family reached institution status over a decade ago, but I stood in the shadow of this legacy—new to corporate law and hungry for more responsibility since leaving Oxford. I sat surrounded by stacks of bankers’ boxes related to a British acquisition. I’d agreed to spearhead the work but wondered if I’d flown too close to the sun—something I had not seen in days.

“I’m going out!” My brother closed his laptop and stood.

“Davey, we have tons more to read through. These financials are a disaster!” I protested.

Davey was the oldest, but not the most reliable. Only a few years my senior, he got by on charm. While he could be great at finessing deals, he didn’t want to do the work that kept them going. Mergers and acquisitions were my bread and butter, but he was the charismatic force I needed on the front end. I wasn’t the charming one. I wasn’t much for schmoozing.

“You got this, kid!” Davey left the conference room.

As the elevator doors closed, I screamed in sheer frustration. “Motherfucker!”

I miscalculated, thinking I was alone in our tower on Chicago’s mag mile. Footsteps approached. My father’s protege and favorite confidant—Cal Markham, stood in the doorway.

“Are you alright?” Cal asked.

“I’m fine. I thought I was alone.” I did not need others involved in this process.

Cal leaned on the doorframe: one eyebrow raised. “It doesn’t sound alright.”

Cal was handsome as hell, charming, and annoyingly good at everything. As Chief Marketing Officer, he always tried to show his worth—much to Davey’s chagrin. I usually let their territorial spats play out, secretly enjoying it.

“You can tell me, Daphne. I am glad to help if I can.”

“It’s nothing you can help with,” I said. “It’s just… David Jr... He leaves me to pick up all the pieces. I need him to step up and handle the face-to-face aspects of this.”

“But he refuses to educate himself?” Cal snickered. “Welcome to dealing with Davey.”

I rolled my eyes. “You have no idea.”

“No. I do. Your dad does, too. You should ask him for advice or get him to come down on Davey for doing none of the work. You’re drowning?—”

I set my jaw. “I’m not drowning, Cal.”

“I don’t mean it as a negative, but leaders ask for help.”

So, you can look like a winner and edge in even more?

“I will just work harder.”

“It is eight on a Friday night, and you’re here. The city awaits you. For once, take a page out of Davey’s book. Say fuck it and go out.”

“That will not win this fight. You don’t get it.” I shook my head.

“I do. I’ve been you. My greatest regret is not living a little. Besides, I’m glad to help where I can.”

“Yet, you are Dad’s favorite person,” I murmured.

“I’m not,” Cal chuckled. “You are, Daphne. Live a little.”

His tone felt genuine. He didn’t argue. He wasn’t reacting to my prickly, exhausted energy. How the hell was he always so calm ?

I groaned. “Can I ask you a question then?”

“Sure,” Cal agreed.

“What would you do to engage them on integrations? Are you getting a feel for it working through branding? I know I haven’t even made it to that part with you, but… what is your read?”

Cal approached and sat across from me. “It’s a mess. If I were you, I’d start by telling your dad the CFO is a joke. You’ll confirm what everyone knows but hasn’t said yet.”

“Is that not cruel?”

“Nah. It’s business.”

I snickered. “Wow. I am… surprised.”

“By what?”

“You don’t seem like the ruthless type, Cal.”

Is it a trap ?

I rolled a pen between my fingers, thinking through my next move. He stared through me in a way that made me fidget. His brown eyes searched me.

“I got where I am because I was honest. Be the ruthless one. Prove your worth by using your brain, Daphne. That is what David expects.”

“You make me sound like a tough bitch,” I said, annoyed.

He chuckled. “I would never call you a bitch. I would call you demanding and tough.”

That’s precisely how men call women a bitch in the boardroom without saying it! I bit my pen, frustrated.

Cal softened. “It’s a compliment. I wouldn’t give you advice and insight if I didn’t view you as a peer, Daphne.”

I couldn’t meet his gaze or trust his words.

“You don’t get a say in that. I don’t report to you,” I said.

“Well, if my opinion matters at all, I’d like you to stay.”

He couldn’t possibly know what the stakes were or how my internal battle over staying in Chicago dominated my life.

“I tell you what,” Cal continued. “As a goodwill gesture and because your brother is on my last fucking nerve, I’m grabbing food from the Lebanese place. I’ll pick up some for you, too. We can then sort through more of this mess.”

“You don’t have to?—”

“If we are both going to be hermits on a Friday night, we should eat well, Daphne.”

I remained cautious of his motivations, but was a sucker for a kebab. “Get me that kofta thing. And thanks.”

“Anytime. We’re a team, Daphne. We need to get this across the finish line.”

* * *

Cal

“Yeah, fuck them all,” Daphne snickered. “God, this is a mess. If I was in charge, I’d have all their heads. Sack them! Is that terrible?”

I watched Daphne Delphine scroll endlessly through emails. She bit her pen, wholly focused on keywords. How she knew what to look for, I didn’t know. She organized chaos and dove headfirst into any assignment. While people assumed he groomed Davey for greatness, I knew David prized Daphne above all even if she lacked her brother’s confidence.

I chuckled. “No. I’d do the same. Tell your dad everything. Lay out the case. You gotta find the risks—to find where the bodies are buried, right?”

She adorably cocked her head. “I never thought about it like that, but yes.”

“Then do your job. You will be rewarded for your honesty.”

She removed her glasses and took down her ponytail, fanning an impressive head of wavy blonde hair. I tried not to ever think of my female coworkers as attractive—it was rude, and I was above shitting where I ate. However, Daphne was objectively pretty.

She exhaled, then flipped her hair back and replaced her glasses.

“So, this fucking guy. Look at this!” Daphne beckoned me to her side.

I read over her shoulder as she drank beer. She found gold in a bad admission from the CFO about contracts he signed but didn’t review—legal catnip.

“If we got audited right now, we’d be fucked,” Daphne said.

“I had no idea.”

“You’re not a lawyer. I know you are creative and good at that, but we still have to have the foundations there so we don’t get fucked.”

Did she just call me out? I should have taken offense to a twenty-something nepobaby reading me. Instead, I stared into her green eyes and read her. Her lighthearted chuckle morphed into a serious intensity I’d missed before.

“What? Can’t you handle a bit of criticism?” Daphne quipped, playing it off as a joke.

“I’m a big boy,” I said. “I can handle it.”

She bit her lip, which sent me over the edge. In the past few hours, I watched her flip her ponytail nervously, sift through papers like a naughty librarian, and now, give me hell. I shouldn’t want her. I was a little drunk and a lot drawn to this slightly chaotic version of my boss’s daughter.

“You and Davey are both grown men but sometimes fight like kids!” Daphne doubled down.

“I pay no mind to that.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you doubting me, Daphne?” I raised my eyebrows.

A playful smirk curled around her lips. I wanted to kiss it off her face. Too distracted, I said nothing as she reached across me to grab another file, brushing against me. Her perfume and the feeling of her long, soft hair brushing against my arm triggered something.

I leaned in to kiss her. As our lips met, she kissed me back. I reveled in how her lips felt pressed against mine and how sweet she smelled. I shouldn’t do this. It was a disaster in the making, but as she kissed me back, I felt like I’d just let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

She pushed me away and stood as if waking from a nightmare.

Daphne rambled, “Shit. I don’t know what I did… I don’t… I’m…”

“Sorry. Sorry. I don’t know why I did that.” I backed away. “I felt like we were having a moment and all that. I guess I wasn’t and?— “

“It’s okay,” Daphne lied. “It’s… fine.”

But she wasn’t fine.

“I am sorry if I gave you some signal, Cal. I feel so stupid. I have a boyfriend. And… it’s a little complicated, but… I would never cheat on him.”

“I’m gonna go,” I said. “It’s nothing you did. I feel terrible. It’s inappropriate, and I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

I felt like I was pleading for my job.

“It’s okay. We’re both a little drunk,” Daphne said. “I am not upset. We both got our wires crossed. I appreciate your help, but we should take a step back.”

And a cold shower .

“You’re right,” I said.

“I’m not going to say anything to anyone,” Daphne said. “Just relax. You didn’t mean to offend me. I’m… it’s okay.”

She relaxed. It was an honest mistake. I should have held back. I stepped on the elevator worrying I opened Pandora’s box.