106. Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter one hundred six
Reid
Idress in one of my most expensive blue and gray pinstriped suits with a silver tie. A suit that says I’m powerful, I have money, I will fuck you over if I have to and today—I have to. I shave close to the skin. Speed is important today and yet I take every stroke slowly, calculation in my movement and thoughts. Carrie doesn’t push me to explain myself. That she understands my need for quiet and concentration is just another reason to love her. It also speaks of trust, as does her cool, calm reaction to what we now face.
At my request, Savage arrives at the apartment to shadow Carrie. I greet him at the door, and when Carrie, dressed in a conservative pink dress, joins me at the front door, he smartly gives us space. My hands come down on her shoulders and I pull her close. “Take care of West Enterprises. The Maxwell team knows me. They know I’m not going down. The merger is still under wraps, but this will cause it to leak. It’s public record. Elijah will leak it just to create panic.”
“I’m sure he chose today to do this to ensure panic.”
“Agreed,” I say. “If it feels right at the time, we can announce the merger at the press conference. We’ll decide together beforehand. Just be ready in case it ends up on the internet. Tell the staff if you have to tell them or don’t tell them. Do what you feel is right at both offices.”
“I get it. I have to go with the moment. I appreciate that you trust me enough to handle that.”
“I sought you out because I could see what you were capable of. I know what you can do and it’s damn comforting right now. Your team needs reassurance. Focus on them. Our partners are all fat cats right now after this Bennett deal. They’ll run cover for us.”
“I can handle the staff,” she assures me. “If you need Gabe, I can handle both offices.”
And she can. I know she can. I cup her face. “I know you can and I’ll handle Elijah and any accompanying problems. There won’t be backlash.”
Her hands cover mine. “I know you will do what is necessary, and the very fact that you are as thoughtful and calculating as you are right now, tells me it will be just that, necessary. Not rash. Not angry. Not vicious. Necessary.”
“Vicious can necessary, baby.”
“I know that and if it is, it is. Just go make sure everyone is safe and clear the path for another furry baby and our wedding.”
“I intend to.” I kiss her, hard and fast, and then I set her free. “Savage,” I call out to where he’s standing at the kitchen island. “Take care of my woman or else.”
“Never lost a woman yet,” he assures me. “Just a few men.”
I scowl. “Not a good day for a joke.”
“I’ll kill anyone who comes near her,” he says. “And I’ll enjoy it. How’s that?”
“Better,” I say, and refocus on Carrie again. “Call me if you need me.”
“I won’t call you unless it’s critical.”
I grab her because I just can’t fucking help it, and I kiss her again. “I’ll see you soon,” I promise, and this time when I release her, I exit the apartment. My phone buzzes with a text from Blake that reads: Stairwell. I cut right and enter the stairwell to find Blake and Gabe waiting on me.
“Your sister is on her way through the lobby,” Blake says. “I didn’t think you’d want to deal with all that love right now, no matter how much you might appreciate it.”
“No,” I say, thinking of my focus, that would have broken. “Not now. Later.” Gabe and I exchange a look and Gabe’s stare is as hard and focused as mine. He knows where my head is. I know where his is. Wherever the fuck I need it to be and probably one shade darker. People don’t know how dark my brother is. I do.
“Did we confirm the source of the story?” I ask, refocusing on Blake and getting right to business, damn thankful neither of these two are going to try to talk about what I feel right now. What I feel is focused and done. This stops. The end.
“We did,” Blake confirms. “I tracked an email exchange and several calls between Elijah and the reporter that broke the story.”
It’s exactly as I expected. Elijah couldn’t turn anyone against me so he used me against myself. “Where are Mick and Tabitha now?”
“Mick seems settled in his hotel room,” Blake says. “There’s no flight booked for him or Tabitha.”
“What else do I need to know?” I ask, again cutting through any chit-chat. I need to move on. I need to take action.
Blake studies me a moment. “It depends on what you’re going to do.”
“I need the audio between us and Tabitha,” I counter, ignoring his intended question.
He reaches in his pocket and hands me a small recorder. “It’s loaded.”
“And the calls between Mick and Tabitha?” I ask.
“Also on there,” he says. “What’s your move?” he presses, swinging back to my avoidance which is more calculation and me processing as we talk.
“What about the proof of those offshore accounts?”
He reaches in his pocket and hands me a drive. I accept it. “Where’s Elijah right now?”
“At his office,” Blake says.
“Then I’m going to his office,” I say, looking at Gabe. “Protect Carrie. She’ll be protecting everyone else, including me.”
“Count on it,” he assures me. “I assume the merger will leak and we’ll deal with it at the press conference.” He doesn’t wait for confirmation. “Carrie and I will handle what needs to be handled. You just make that little prick gone.”
“I’ll ride shotgun and stay close,” Blake says. “But I go back to: What’s your end game? What’s the plan?”
“To end this and do it now, today, before that press conference,” I reply. “And Elijah is going to decide what that means.”
Blake narrows his eyes on me, no doubt looking for things that don’t exist: erratic anger and desperation. I’m focused. I’m driven. I’m done with Elijah and Elijah is about to find that out.
Thirty minutes later, Blake has gotten me past the hell of the press at our apartment and assured me he’ll keep them away from Carrie. Another thirty minutes later, and I’m inside the building that houses Elijah’s corporate offices, where life is calm because he sent the hell to my life, my future wife, my family, and my company.
Leaving Blake in the lobby of the building, I ride to Elijah’s floor and walk into his lobby to stop at the reception desk. “Where’s Elijah?”
“Can I tell him who’s here?” the young blonde behind the desk asks.
“No, you cannot,” I say, cutting right and starting to walk, pausing by a passing woman. “Which way is Elijah’s office? I’m in a rush to get him a stock tip he needs.”
“Of course,” the woman says, pointing down another hallway.
“Sir!” the receptionist calls after me, her voice nearing as she obviously tries to follow me.
I start walking and I keep walking until I’m entering a new lobby that leads to an overstated arched wood door that I assume is the entrance to Elijah’s office. The woman at the desk guarding his door frowns at me. “Can I help you, sir?”
“No,” I say. “But Elijah can.” I close the space between me and her and she stands up, but I pass her by, walk right through his doorway and find him standing at a floor-to-ceiling window. I shut the door and lock it. He turns to face me. “Thanks for the invitation to visit, Elijah, because that’s what that bullshit you pulled with the press was, wasn’t it? An invitation for more of me. Because that’s what you got. More of me. Right here, right now. Let’s do this.”
Elijah smirks. “Yes. Let’s do this.”