The Billionaire Babe

36. Valerie

Things are going from bad to worse. The only saving grace in any of this is AJ and the fact he came back for me. I broke down last night. Yesterday was too much, and even though I tried to be strong, when he looked at me as though he would crumble without me, I lost it. Having someone like AJ, big, burly, and tough, pick me up and run me a bath, sitting with me and washing my hair, soothed me like nothing else ever has. Now reality is back with a bang.

“You know, I think you have more media out in front of your apartment building than I saw at Harrison Rothschild’s campaign launch,” Chelsea comments, as she looks over the patio at the rows of people and cameras below.

“I gave Victor a coffee and croissant on my way up today. I felt like he needed it,” Chloe says. She wears a path in my carpet where she paces. My best friend is stressing for me.

“After all this, I think I need to give him a bonus,” I mumble as I make a note in my diary to do exactly that. AJ, Brady, and Cody have been in and out all day. They are monitoring staff, hiring new guys, and Fortress has left almost all their other jobs to look after me, a fact Simone tells me Jimmy and Club Vine are supportive of so far. I have men downstairs, in the garage, near the elevator, at my door.

“You know, there is one thing that we haven”t talked about in all this…” Simone says, looking at me.

“What’s that?” I ask, frowning. We have been over and over everything. I am sure there is nothing I have missed.

“It is your birthday this week. I know being locked up here means no real fun, but we should have cake and a little party with the boys, maybe?” Simone says, always up for a party, and I give her a small smile.

“We have bigger things to worry about. We can celebrate next year,” I tell her, and my friends all look at me with concern.

“It’s your birthday this week?” Levi looks up from the sofa, where he has been perched all day, searching media articles and trying to keep us all updated on what is being said. I spent some time during the week talking to George and assembling a few team members to help in my endeavor, including a team to drip feed stories to the media. While many articles paint me in a bad light, together George and I have tackled my father head-on, his own star now falling in the eyes of the public. He is no longer considered the man of the city he once was. Without George, I have no idea what I would have done. He has supported me every step of the way, as have all my friends. I smile at Levi. He never leaves my side; he is AJ’s eyes on me when he isn’t here.

“Yeah, but I’m not really feeling it this year,” I say with a shrug. My life is a mess. Once I get that under control again, maybe we can celebrate.

“Cool,” he says simply, going back to his laptop.

“Val, check this out,” Chloe says, and I step over to her and look at her cell screen. “Apparently, he flew out this morning.” I look at a photo of William Schmidt walking up the stairs of a private plane.

“It says he is moving to Dubai to start a new life after being left at the altar. Asshole. He was always planning on moving to Dubai; he just thought he would take you with him,” Simone mutters, and I sigh.

My cell rings, and everyone looks at me. This has been happening all day. Everyone is waiting for my father’s call to see what the next move is. But I don’t want to wait for him and then react. I need to keep momentum going on my side, maybe surprise him for once. As soon as George”s name appears, I answer.

“Hey, George,” I say, looking at the room of people as they all go back to whatever gossip they were reading on their own phones. I walk away for some privacy.

“Board meeting has been brought forward and is now in three days. Van Cleef Corp is in complete disarray. Your father is trying to control everything, but it appears your runaway bride act yesterday dismantled more than just his plan to marry you for foreign investment in the company. A lot of the staff have revolted. Some have left, others are demanding answers to why both you and I are no longer there,” he says, and I feel sad. It is nice that people liked working with George and me so much that they are protesting, but I hate that Van Cleef Corp has come to this. I feel guilty, because if I had just done everything my father wanted, then everyone would be happy. But I roll my shoulders back and fill my lungs with confidence, because there is always a better way, and my father was continually too lazy and too money hungry to consider other options.

“Have the board packs gone out?” I ask him. We had all our board papers collated and packed, ready for each board member, and this week while I was playing the good daughter and having bridal dress fittings, George was working from home, sending out the board papers, along with calling stakeholders and supporters. My father might not like him, but George is well respected in the business community and has a lot of connections.

“Everything has been delivered and signed as received. No doubt your father also got his own pack and has now seen the strategies you are proposing. I dare say the collaboration with the Rothschilds will anger him like fingers down a chalkboard,” he says, and I scowl.

“He probably didn’t even look at it. I am sure he flipped through it and then threw it in the garbage.” I take a breath and think about the situation.

“You need to lay low for a few more days. The board is instructed to vote on three matters. One, keep leadership as is with no changes. In the current climate, that would be stupid,” George explains.

“I agree.” I nod even though he can’t see me.

“Two, they vote to replace your father with you. We have a strong business case for this, but again, given the current situation, they may also see this as a risk,” he adds, and I hold my breath.

“What’s the third option?” I ask, already knowing it, but asking just the same.

“Three. They replace your father with new leadership. Someone entirely separate from the family and the company history.”

“Are you sure they can do that? My family built this company; surely, they can’t just take it?” I ask, feeling frustrated.

“Well, the business rules state that they can’t unless they see complete reputational damage occur. At the moment, Van Cleef Corp is all over the media.”

“Yes, because my father tried to marry me off to a man for business interests,” I say, rubbing my eyes.

“Just stay safe and in contact with me until the board meeting.”

“That’s easy. AJ has me in complete lockdown,” I tell him. I can’t walk outside or go to the Van Corp Offices to speak to staff, and I can’t put my case forward to the media. I know this complete lockdown is necessary because my father is a real threat, but it doesn’t mean I like it.

“I must say, seeing you run to that man and him throwing you in that truck is a video on Society News that I have watched on repeat,” George admits. “I’ll be there later tomorrow. I look forward to meeting him. In the meantime, I can start pulling together some things for AJ and your security team,” George says, and I smile.

“Thank you. I think you will like him. I think the two of you will get along well.”

“Any man who can protect you, Valerie, is already a firm friend of mine.” My heart warms. I now understand why my mother loved George so much. As I hang up, I think of her. Of what she ever saw in my father, of what she would think about this entire situation and what he is doing.

Then I think of AJ, and I know regardless of if I become CEO or not, I have already won. Because he came back. He came back for me.