Chapter 44
FORTY-FOUR
Edward’s eyes flickered from Kate to Jenna and then back again with a little flash of something dark. Looking back to the freshly signed document, he then picked up his phone and stared at the screen for a moment before typing something out, ignoring the two women entirely.
Kate glanced at the document and edged towards him, trying not to seem as worried as she really was. All she needed to do was get it back and tear it up, then this was all just a horribly near miss that one day they could all look back on and joke about. Or at least talk about without permanent scarring, anyway. He glanced up as she neared and smiled, so she forced a smile back. Reaching the desk, she paused and half turned to look back at Jenna. Jenna stared back at her with a stricken expression, and Kate gave her a subtle nod to reassure her that she was dealing with it.
‘All in order, Mr Moreaux?’ Kate asked politely.
‘Oh, yes, I’d say so,’ he replied, slipping his phone into his inner jacket pocket and standing up.
‘Here, let me take that.’ Kate reached over for the contract, but as she gripped on to it, he quickly grabbed the other end.
‘No, I think I’ll have my own lawyer file this one,’ he said, watching her with a crafty gaze.
Kate’s heartbeat quickened, but she held on to her end of the document tightly. ‘As the lawyer for Coreaux Roots and whose signature is on this contract, I actually need to be the one who files it, Mr Moreaux, sorry,’ she lied.
‘Unless you’re a particularly bad lawyer, we both know that’s not true, don’t we?’ he replied smoothly. ‘It doesn’t matter who files it once it’s been signed and witnessed, which, thanks to you, it now has . So very helpful of you to sign your part before our meeting, Miss Hunter. Very helpful indeed.’
His dark gaze bored into hers and danced with amusement at the little game they were playing. He knew, she realised. He knew that his cover was blown.
‘ Ugh , sod this…’ she muttered. Gripping the contract with her other hand, too, she swiftly yanked it away from him, no longer interested in keeping up the pretence. Jenna ran forward, and Kate handed it to her. ‘This needs to be destroyed immediately.’
‘ Gladly ,’ Jenna replied with feeling.
Edward chuckled. ‘I’m afraid you’re too late for all that,’ he told them. ‘Oh, Miss Hunter, really… You have me down as that stupid? I took photos of every page, and the second I saw you blast back in here with Cora’s favourite little minion and that look on your face, I sent them all over to myself on email. They’re long gone, and there’s nothing you can do about those now, is there? And with your signature all over it, what better evidence of my viability as CEO here could there possibly be?’
Kate closed her eyes and felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach.
‘That doesn’t mean anything without the original though, right?’ Jenna asked urgently. ‘Kate? It doesn’t, does it? I mean, he can’t file with a picture .’
Kate reopened her eyes and glared at the devious old man, his smirk making her blood boil. ‘No, he can’t file. But that’s not the only way he could use it.’
She placed her hands on her hips and turned away with a sound of frustration. How could she have done this? How could she have made such a colossal mistake? She should have asked them about him. Jenna at least. She’d been too cautious after the incident with Aubrey, too careful. So caught up on keeping herself clean so the woman had nothing on her when things got messy that she didn’t dig deep enough for the case. And perhaps, she admitted to herself, she’d also let herself become too distracted by the situation with Sam to think it all through thoroughly enough before going ahead. Either way, this was all her fault. She had royally dropped the ball. She pinched the bridge of her nose, stressed.
‘What do you mean?’ Jenna asked. ‘How can he use it?’
‘What she means, Gemma ,’ Edward replied, pointedly using the wrong name, ‘is that I can use it as evidence in court. And it just so happens that there is already a court case coming up about who should be given control here in just a few days, isn’t there, Miss Hunter?’ He grinned coldly at Kate. ‘That crazy sister of hers and the airhead great niece. I think I’ll fare pretty well in comparison now, wouldn’t you agree?’ He rounded the desk and walked towards the door, reaching up to mimic the action of tipping his hat to them as he passed.
‘ No ,’ Jenna said, her voice low with simmering anger. ‘No. You’re not getting your hands on this company. I’ve watched you try to destroy us for years. The people you sent to plant things in here that could have us shut down, the forest fires you started, the machines you messed with…’
‘All hearsay,’ Edward replied easily, not bothering to pause. ‘Nothing ever proved, was there, child?’
‘No, but only because your brother was better to you than you deserved,’ Jenna shot back. ‘William had proof that could have put you away more than once, and he chose to let you go. Because he was a good man. He cared about people even when they didn’t deserve it, and that’s why he ended up being so much more successful than you – the thing you’re so bitter about. Because he earned people’s respect and their loyalty.’
‘Huh!’ Edward turned to face her and rested both hands on his cane. ‘The only reason my brother did so well was because he got a good deal on land before people realised the worth of this place, and he convinced a few gullible locals that he was the second coming, getting them to do his dirty work. He never deserved any of it . And he should have put me away when he had the chance. Because when I get my hands on this place – and I most certainly will now that Miss Hunter here has been so helpful – your beloved little wood shop will be stripped down piece by piece until there’s nothing left. And the land , all these miles and miles of forest surrounding that twee little toy town my brother built you all, will be sold off pocket by pocket to steel factories, mining companies and cheap motel chains. By the time I’m done with it all, you’ll barely see sunlight for all the industrial smog, and the only reason anyone will mention my brother and his wife’s name will be to curse them for coming here in the first place.’
Jenna’s bottom lip wobbled and her cheeks turned scarlet as furious tears began to fall down them. She opened her mouth to reply but couldn’t, and clapped a hand over it instead, turning her head away.
Edward continued walking away from them, and Kate cursed as he reached the door, furious with herself. ‘You’ll regret this, Edward, I assure you. And if you turn up to that courtroom, I will tear you to shreds in front of them all.’
Edward paused and looked back with a cold, hard glint in his eye. ‘I look forward to watching you try.’