5. Hayden
Chapter five
Hayden
“Rosalinda Flores. Can you believe that shit?” I complain to Lionel on our way to the attorney’s office who used to manage Salvador’s estates. I have no extra time to “hope” she’ll follow through on her father-in-law’s promises about the land. So I need to go to the source and get everything taken care of myself.
“It’s pretty unbelievable,” he replies. “Mr. Flores never had many nice things to say about her.”
I scoff. “That’s because there aren’t many.” I know I’m disguising my internal anxiety with anger. But I’m more comfortable with that emotion. It’s more powerful and less vulnerable.
Lionel nods. “Right you are, sir.” I’m never sure if he actually agrees with me, or if he’s just going along with what I say in order to stay in my good graces. For my own dignity, I hope it’s the former.
However, I’m distracted after he’s about to roll right past Sawyer Law Offices.
“Wait, Lionel! This is it.”
“Oh.” He slams on the brakes, and I brace myself against the chair in front of me. “Sorry about that.”
After gathering my bearings, I tell him it’s fine. Then, I sit back again, check and smooth my suit coat, and eventually step outside.
“See you in a bit,” I call out behind me.
“Very well, sir.”
After hearing the engine start again and the car pull off, I head inside.
Right away, it’s a million times nicer than the dinky office I was in yesterday. There’s plenty of light, a pleasant fragrance in the air, and even a floor-to-ceiling waterfall in one corner.
The receptionist is also an upgrade. She’s an older woman who is dressed in a nice emerald sweater and black pants. There’s also a gray braid running down the center of her back, which I can see because she’s initially turned away from me.
“Good morning,” she says cheerfully after noticing that I’m there.
“Good morning.”
“How may I help you?”
“Um.” I approach and lean against the edge of the wooden desk. “I have a meeting with Steven Sawyer. Attorney Steven Sawyer,” I correct myself.
“Very well.”
As we walk through the office, I see plenty of nicely dressed people on the phone or typing away at their computers.
Hmm. He runs a pretty tight ship. That is something I can really respect. As long as it isn’t too tight, that is. Some bosses take things too far, and my father was certainly one of them. He’d run his employees to the ground and discard them like they were nothing after he’d gotten what he needed out of them.
“Here we are,” the receptionist finally announces.
I smile and thank her.
The door is already open, so I just knock on the metallic frame.
“Hayden?” the man inside asks after looking up from a spread of paperwork on his desk.
“Yes. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” We’ve been going back and forth over the phone ever since I found out about Rosalinda’s takeover.
“You too. Please.” He gestures to the seat across from him.
I unbutton my jacket and sit down.
“So, as I explained, I have one week to get the land for the first Ivory Shores Hotel.”
He’s wearing a shirt and tie, but it’s all so tight that it’s accentuating his double chin. “Right.”
I find his response to be ambiguous and confusing. “Well, have you had the chance to speak with Mrs. Flores about any of this?”
“No. Unfortunately not.”
“Alright.” I’m trying to be understanding, and I assume he’s a busy man. Unlike my father, I make a point to frequently remind myself that the world, in fact, doesn’t revolve around me.
Steven then reaches to his side and picks up his briefcase. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to head over to Flores Holdings with me.”
Oh? I wasn’t anticipating that, but I have blocked the morning off of my schedule beforehand. “Okay. I suppose I can do that.”
He smirks. “Great.”
“Do you want me to call my driver?” I offer.
His wrist flicks in my direction. “Nah. We’ll take mine.”
Alrighty then.
Like Lionel, his driver also drives an SUV. Although I wish it was a little bigger because I feel a bit cramped in the back with Steven’s rotund body.
“Everyone comfortable?” the driver asks.
“Mhmm,” I lie.
“Could you turn the air up just a smidge?” Steven requests.
“You got it, boss.”
After that, I’m left practically shivering, but it’s fortunately a pretty short ride.
When we get there, it isn’t just the air conditioning that’s sending a cold zap down my spine. Instead, it’s the line of employees stomping out of the lobby, holding boxes filled with plants, staplers, pictures, and the like.
“What the hell?” Steven asks.
“I—I have no idea what’s going on. But I think we’d better find out?”
His head swivels around, and after making eye contact with me, he nods.
“Excuse me,” I try to flag down one of the disgruntled people filing out of the building. She’s a young woman with a blonde ponytail and large, black glasses.
“What?” she snaps back.
I take a few steps back before asking with caution, “What’s going on?”
Her pretty face twists into a scowl. “I’m not working for Rosalinda Flores. Over my dead body.”
Ah, okay. Now I’m starting to understand.
“Or that mousey little daughter of hers.”
“What?” I turn to face Steven, and I’m a little upset he didn’t put me in the “loop” before we came all the way down here. “Addie is in charge?” I press.
He sighs and glances down at the ground. “I wasn’t at liberty to say. You know, company confidentiality and all of that.”
That didn’t answer my question. “So, Addie is the new CEO?” I ask again.
His chubby cheeks rise, and that causes the ends of his mustache to also curl upward. “Not exactly.”
Jesus. Now more than ever, I know that I have to get inside and find out what the hell is going on here.
Once through the big glass doors, the scene is not much better. Angry people are stomping around everywhere, while other employees keep their heads down, just trying to do their jobs.
Then, I walk past a large room, which I assume is where the conferences are held. I didn’t know because Sal and I always met over coffee and never in each other’s offices. Suddenly, there’s a loud, booming female’s voice coming from it.
Stepping a bit closer, I hear a high-pitched voice, “What do you want me to do about it? I already asked all the lawyers, but I can’t do a damned thing!”
“And she has no experience,” a man quips.
Finally, I see that the woman is Rosalinda. She’s in her usual designer garb. Today, it’s a canary yellow tweed jacket that I believe is Dolce & Gabbana, sleek white trousers, and matching yellow heels.
As for her dark hair, it’s twisted tightly back and up.
When she finally sees me, her face falls. “Hayden?”
“Hello, ma’am.”
I exchange a look with Steven, but he bows his head and insinuates that this is my “fish to fry,” as it were.
She stands up straighter, wipes her fingers along her hairline, and takes out a little mirror from her Louis Vuitton bag.
“What are you doing here?” she asks after inspecting and rubbing at her teeth.
I stand my ground and swing my arms behind my back. “Well, I was hoping to talk to you.”
“Oh?”
Then, I feel a gut punch when I suddenly turn my head and see Addie sitting in the back of the room.
Her puzzled blue eyes are peering up at me, and she’s chewing on a pen.
“Addie.”
“Hayden?”
“Never mind her,” her mother interrupts and tries to redirect my attention.
But I resist and pull my shoulder away from her grasp.
“Actually, I think your daughter is exactly who I need to be talking to.”
Rosa sneers. “What?”
“Well, she is the new CEO, is she not?”
“Excuse me,” my former friend and one-time lover says as she takes her phone out of her pocket and starts booking it out into the hallway.
“Wait, Add—” She blows right past me and doesn’t even glance back for a second.
Next, a tall man stands up. “Can someone please tell us what the heck is going on here?”
He took the words right out of my mouth.
“Sal decided to play a funny joke on all of us, and he left everything to Adriana.”
Whoa. I always knew the two of them were close, but I never imagined he’d leave her with everything.
“So, she’s the new CEO?” I ask.
“Not quite,” a man with an obvious toupee interjects after walking into the room. “Teddy Erickson. Before Mr. Flores passed, he appointed me to represent The Ivory Shores Hotel Enterprises.”
My eyebrows raise. “Say what now?”
He repeats everything he just said, and he also hands out a signed contract for me to see. Sure as shit, Sal’s signature is at the bottom.
“Can he just do that?” I ask aloud before turning to Steven and asking him the same.
He holds his hands up and explains, “I just handle Mr. Flores’ will.”
Then, I focus again on Teddy.
After taking a deep breath, he explains, “Yes, he can. Oh!” He sets his briefcase down and undoes the hooks that keep it closed. “He also wanted me to give you this.”
I have no idea what the paper he’s offering to me does or says, but I still take it from him and read:
Dear Hayden,
If you’re reading this, that probably means I’m dead. In that case, I want you to promise to work with Addie and continue to build Ivory Shores Hotels. She’s got it in her to be a great businesswoman. I just know it.
Sincerely,
Sal
“So, what am I supposed to do with this?” I ask after finishing it.
“Well—” Teddy starts, but he’s cut off when Addie returns.
“Sorry about that. It was just my . . .” She looks like a deer caught in headlights when her eyes settle on me. “Nobody. It was nobody.” Her lips curl in on themselves, and she tucks some hair behind her ear before finding her seat again. And yes, I do notice how good her ass looks in the curve-hugging skirt she’s wearing.
But then I shake my head and fold my arms. Enough is enough, and I’m starting to get beyond fed up.
“Okay, so who is running this company right now?” Whether it’s Addie, Rosalinda, or some one-eyed monster—that’s who I need to speak with right now.
“I am,” Rosalinda offers.
Teddy holds his finger in the air. “Not exactly.”
“Okay, so it’s Addie.”
Her head pops up again. “What? No.”
“Not exactly.”
Christ.
Teddy then steps away from the table, leans over, and whispers into my ear, “Adriana Flores may not be the CEO of Flores Holdings, but she is in control of whatever happens to your ‘special project.’”
“Special project” is what Salvador always called Ivory Shores Hotels.
I glare over Addie again, and she doesn’t seem to be listening. Instead, she’s busied herself with drawing something. Probably a building, I guess. Since we were kids, she’s always dreamed of being an architect. And last I heard, she actually finally got her degree.
Hmmm. I stroke my chin as I think about how cool it would be if we could combine our abilities. She could design the buildings, and I could take care of everything else on the business side.
But would she be happy with that? The old Addie I knew would have been, but I hardly know the woman she is today. Heck, she could be just as power-hungry as her bottom-feeding mother is.
Then as if on cue, Rosalinda barks, “Put that nonsense away.”
“It isn’t nonsense. This company—this company is what’s nonsense,” Addie fights back.
From there, a full-on cat fight breaks out, and I want to sit on the ground and put my head between my legs.
“God speed,” Steven says while patting me on the shoulder.
Thanks.
After taking a breath and rolling her eyes, Addie’s attention focuses on me. “Remind me what the hell you’re doing here, by the way?”
“Uh . . .” I scratch at my facial scruff.
No matter which Flores woman I work with, I can see that I’m going to have my hands full.