16
“ A ndrew is trying to fight this takeover tooth and nail.”
Remy looked up from the legal document he reviewed at Kieran’s words. He wasn’t surprised that Andrew Monroe didn’t want to lose his company. No one ever did when it came as a surprise, but he hadn’t been doing things he was supposed to. His board had already given him expectations, and he had ignored them. So, they’d taken the next step to move him out of his position for the company’s benefit.
“It’s understandable. You’d be the same way if someone swooped in and stole Cayman Industries from under you.”
“That’s not going to happen. One, because I’m smart enough to be the majority shareholder, and two, I don’t conduct business like a child. Not to mention my board of directors like me.”
Remy snorted as he shook his head. “Surely, he conducted business better than a child.”
“No,” Kieran responded. “And now that I think about it, I insulted children because I’m sure they could conduct better business.”
Remy chuckled as he circled a part in the passage he’d been reading before Kieran had gained his attention. Placing his pen aside, he leaned back in his seat.
“Well, everyone doesn’t think to conduct business as you do. If I remember correctly, however, you used to own more shares before you got married, and the board doesn’t like you. They respect how you run things and like the money they earn.”
Remy knew that Kieran had gifted twenty-nine percent of the eighty percent of shares he’d owned to Alijah after their wedding day, but he’d realized that he enjoyed picking on Kieran concerning what he did for his wife. Especially since it was a complete one-eighty from the Kieran before. Hell, he was even nicer to people, if only marginally. He also knew that Kieran was no stranger to the fact that while the board of directors thought he was an asshole and crass, they respected his business sense.
Kieran rolled his eyes. “Should I give her yours too? And I don’t particularly like them either. At this point, it would benefit me to fire you and give you a seat there.”
It was Remy’s turn to roll his eyes because he knew that Kieran wouldn’t, and even if he did, he knew Alijah well enough to know that she wouldn’t take them. Remy also knew that Kieran wouldn’t fire him either. Not to toot his own horn, but aside from Cruz, Nik, Paetyn, and his wife, nobody else could deal with him like Remy did. It was the best type of job security. Not to mention, he was good at what he did.
Remy slid the documents across the table as Kieran passed him another one. He leafed through the pages before starting at the beginning.
“What’s wrong with this?” Kieran questioned, and Remy looked up to see him pointing at a section he’d circled in the other document.
“It’s the wording. It sounds like the entire agreement will be void after sixty days. I know that isn’t what they meant, but if Andrew’s board has a change of mind, he could use that as a starting point in a lawsuit.”
“Why do we still employ the same legal team if you’re always catching shit they miss?”
“It isn’t always, and I see it from both standpoints,” Remy replied. He only caught mistakes occasionally, and he didn’t need Kieran trying to fire an entire team because of it. It just meant until they hired another one, Remy would have to use his law degree far more than he wanted to. He preferred the business one.
They lapsed back into silence, reading the paperwork in front of them. Since the legal team had finished drawing up the documents, they’d met in the conference room on Kieran’s floor to go over the final details and paperwork of the takeover .
Remy finished looking them over, finding nothing he’d suggest being changed, and slid it back across the table to Kieran.
“Have you seen where Alijah suggested we go yet?”
Remy shook his head. “No, I’m taking Lawrence out tonight, and he wants to show me afterward. Though, I don’t care where they’ve chosen. I’m sure we’ll all be able to find something to do.”
“Well, they’re going, aren’t they?” Kieran asked with a smirk, and Remy chuckled.
“Indeed, they are.”
Remy had to agree with Kieran’s unspoken thought. If they couldn’t find anything, they could always do their significant others, and while he was sure they all planned to do that to some extent while there, the chances of that increasing were high if nothing else caught their attention.
They finished, and Remy waved at Alijah, who was on the phone, as he stepped into the elevator. He didn’t have any more appointments for the day, and it was only an hour till five, so he figured he’d go to his floor, grab his things, and he and Chloe could leave for the day.
At least, that had been his plan until he stepped off the elevator and found Victor Finch sitting in his waiting area; he glanced at Chloe, who tapped the top of her phone. She’d called him, probably to warn him that Victor was there, but he’d left his cell phone in his office.
Remy turned his attention to Victor as he made a mental note to talk to security about letting him up when he didn’t have an appointment.
“Victor, I’m surprised to see you after our last conversation.”
“I know, and I took what you said into consideration.”
He had not because if he genuinely had, he wouldn’t have put himself in a position for another dismissal. He wouldn’t have considered returning if he had listened to what was said. Remy made a show of looking at his watch.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to hear whatever proposal you’ve come up with today.”
“It’ll just take five minutes.”
“I have another appointment to get to, but if you make an appointment with Chloe or Alijah, either myself or Kieran will see you when there’s space in our schedule.” He turned his attention to Chloe. “Can you find space for Victor?”
Chloe smiled at him. “Of course, Mr. Price.”
With that, Remy walked into his office, closing the door. He probably could have handled that differently, but he was not in the mood to deal with the other man, and he knew Kieran would want to kill him for throwing his name out there, but Victor was originally his problem, and Remy was more than willing to hand him back over.
Remy grabbed his phone and keys from his top drawer. He sat in his chair, waiting for Victor to leave. He didn’t have to wait long as Chloe entered his office five minutes later.
“He isn’t happy that I scheduled him for November, where I will then have to call him to reschedule for the new year,” she informed him with a smile, and Remy chuckled.
“Have I told you lately what a wonderful assistant you are?”
“No, and you really should do it more often.”
Remy stood. “I’ll do you one better. You can leave early today and come in at nine tomorrow.”
“I know that’s more for yourself than me,” Chloe told him. “I’m going to assume you have a date tonight that you plan on letting tire you out.”
Remy smirked at her. “Very close, except I do the tiring.”
“As my boss, that’s TMI; as my friend, I’d like details the next time you take me and Oliver out for drinks since we’re both being forced to live vicariously through you.”
Remy didn’t know when he and Chloe became friends, and he knew it was sticky hanging out with anyone who worked under him outside of the office, but she was efficient at her job, and he hadn’t seen the harm in getting a drink now and then or having dinner. Besides, Kieran had stepped over the ultimate line and married his assistant.
“You’ll be drinking something non-alcoholic,” he informed her.
“Yes, yes. I was speaking metaphorically.”
“I’m heading out. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have a good night, Remy.”
He stepped onto the elevator and rode it to the ground floor. His car was brought around a couple of minutes after he stepped outside, and he headed toward his condo. He had a few hours before picking Lawrence up for dinner. He would find something to kill time.
“I have to tell you, Lawrence, I was skeptical about taking this meeting. I hadn’t thought about changing my supplier, even with my current one, increasing their minimums and decreasing delivery frequency, but I’m glad I sat down with you.”
“I can understand that. Sometimes, it’s easier to stick with what you know, and if you decide to do that, it’s completely fine, but I wanted to let you know what we had to offer and how it would benefit you, Mr. Cross,” Lawrence responded as he watched the other man take a drink of the whiskey in his glass.
It was his last appointment of the day, and the man wanted to meet at a local restaurant since he would be finishing up a meeting there when he was scheduled to meet Lawrence. He hadn’t minded. It would get him out of the office early, and he may have been able to get home early. The latter thought had gone out of the window when he’d glanced at the time moments ago. He hadn’t realized they’d been discussing the products for over two hours.
Lawrence wasn’t upset about it. Potential and new clients always had a lot of questions, needing their concerns to be alleviated before they committed, and he’d always been willing to take the necessary time to answer them and give them accurate information. He’d go beyond with this one because if he landed it, he would have signed the largest and second-largest contracts Global Technologies had seen since he started working there.
“I told you. Call me John, and I’m seriously leaning toward switching, though it would be at least six months. I’m still under contract and prefer to ride it out instead of breaking it.”
“My apologies, and of course, we wouldn’t expect you to.”
“So, now that we’re all talked out on business, are you a local Lawrence?”
“Yes and no. I was born here, and my parents moved to Las Vegas when I was little. My mom and I moved back when I was sixteen, and I spent my time going back and forth until college. ”
“Where did you go to college?”
“I went to Florida State University.”
“From Denver to Vegas, back to Denver, to Florida, and back again. Interesting,” John responded.
“I guess I wanted a different type of heat than what Vegas offered. What about you? Are you a native?”
“No, I was born and raised in Maine, and several years ago, I decided I wanted to change scenery.”
Lawrence figured he wasn’t a local from his dialect and what he perceived as a slight accent, but asking was only common courtesy. He picked up the mojito he’d been nursing, primarily because he’d been answering questions and took a drink. He felt John’s eyes on him, studying him.
“Forgive me if I have the wrong impression, but there’s a benefit next month. Would you like to attend with me?”
Lawrence damn near choked on his drink. He covered it by clearing his throat and placing his glass back on the table.
“It’s kind of you to ask, but I don’t date my clients, and I’m—”
“I’m not a client yet,” John reminded him.
“Yes, but as I was about to say, I’m also in a relationship.”
“Too bad for me.”
The other man looked him over slowly, and it made Lawrence feel naked. “Are there any more questions I can answer for you today?” Lawrence asked, wanting to change the subject. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“I think you’ve answered all of the ones I had.”
Lawrence nodded. “Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you to finish your drink, and I hope you have a good evening.” He pulled his wallet out, placed money on the table for his drink, and tipped the server before grabbing his satchel and, with a slight wave, walking away.
L awrence rushed down his hall, glancing through the peephole quickly, even though he knew it was Remy, before swinging the door open. Remy’s eyes roamed over him; he knew it was because he only had a towel wrapped around his waist. He stepped back to allow Remy to enter and kissed him as he stepped in .
“I’m sorry, I met with a client this afternoon, and the meeting went far longer than anticipated. So, I’m running behind,” Lawrence told him, closing the door.
“It’s fine, baby.”
Lawrence nodded as he went down the hall to his bedroom. He’d at least been able to shower before Remy showed up. He went to his dresser, pulling a pair of boxers and socks from the top drawer and tossing the latter onto the bed.
“How was the meeting?” Remy asked. Lawrence wasn’t surprised he’d followed him.
“It was fine at first, but then it got weird.”
“Weird, how?”
“He asked me out,” Lawrence responded, pulling his pants off the hanger and putting them on. When Remy didn’t say anything, he turned to look at him and found his boyfriend staring at him.
“He asked you out?”
“Well, to be accurate, he asked me to go to a benefit with him. But it was more so the way he looked at me when I turned him down that made me uncomfortable.”
Remy scratched his beard. “That’s the same thing. Who were you meeting with?”
Lawrence walked over to Remy with his shirt in hand and kissed him. “While jealousy is extremely attractive on you, he’s just a client the company is trying to get.”
“This isn’t jealousy. You said he made you uncomfortable. I want to know who he is.”
“His name is John Cross, and I won’t be seeing him again for six months if he decides to switch his supplier, and if he doesn’t, I won’t see him at all.”
Lawrence slid his arms into the shirt. While he fixed the sleeve, Remy began to button it for him.
“If he switches, you’ll be his contact?”
“I don’t have to be. I can hand him over to one of my co-workers once I get him to sign.”
“If he does switch and you’re still uncomfortable, please do that.”
Lawrence refrained from telling Remy that he wasn’t fragile or reminding him that he was a man who could take care of himself, but he wouldn’t fault him for worrying, and he’d come to realize that Remy was used to dating men who wanted to be given prince treatment at all times. While Lawrence wouldn’t lie and say it had no pluses, there were also downsides.
He sat on the bed, putting on the socks. “So, the place Alijah showed us is this beautiful tropical resort. I saved the website on my phone and can show it to you while we wait for our food at dinner.” He put his shoes on, tying them before standing.
“Okay, baby. As long as you like it, I don’t have an issue with where we go.”
“I do like it.”
“But?” Remy questioned.
“They want to stay seven days. Saturday to Saturday, and it’s pricey for the stay, but it is a private island, and the whole island is the resort and its amenities and activities.”
“The four of you solidify the dates you want, and when you get ready to book it, let me know, and I’ll give you one of my cards.”
“I’m not letting you pay for me, Remy.”
Remy smirked at him as he pulled him into his chest. “There are two choices that come along with that statement. One, you just accept that you are going to let me. Two, after dinner, I’ll break your back like a glow stick and fuck you into submission, and then you accept that you’re going to let me. I’m hoping you pick the second one.”
Lawrence bit his tongue, trying to keep from smiling. This was one of those prince treatment pluses because he was sure Remy would pay for whatever he wanted to do when he wanted to do it, but this wasn’t one of those things. However, he did like that second option.
“I’m not letting you,” Lawrence repeated, and Remy leaned down, lips mere millimeters from his.
“Good choice.”
Lawrence freed himself from Remy’s hold and exited the bedroom. “Come on. We’re already running late,” he threw over his shoulder. He was ready to get to dinner so that they could get to after activities.