Chapter 20 #2
“It’s not an allegation. It’s an accusation,” she says, grinning at me. She takes a deep breath and straightens her skirt. “Let’s do this.” We step back inside the conference room, and I pull another chair over for Katherine.
“Hi everyone, this is Katherine. She’s on the research and marketing team. She’s been doing a lot of research into this deal. Mr. Johnson, Katherine has some questions that I was hoping you could answer before we continue with the paperwork.”
“Of course,” Mr. Johnson shifts back and I can see he looks more tense. “Hello, pretty little lady.” He gives her a hard look. “I think you’d look mighty nice in a bikini in Coconut Beach.”
I frown at his words, but Katherine gives me a look that says she can defend herself. She squares her shoulders and just stares at him.
“Mr. Johnson, I have a question for you.”
“Well, go ahead, little lady.”
“Firstly, my name is Katherine. You can call me Katherine, or Miss Jenkins. I don’t like to be called a little lady. I’m not that little.”
He pauses and just shrugs. “Fine. Go ahead. What’s your question, Ms. Jenkins?”
“So you say that you made fifteen million in profit last year, and the previous year you made ten million. Is that correct?”
“I think those are the numbers,” he says, nodding and grinning widely. “Yes, that’s right.”
“May I ask you approximately how many visitors you had that led to that amount of profit?”
“I don’t know the exact numbers. I just own the hotel. I don’t run the front desk.” His smile slips.
“An approximate amount? An estimate of the tourists you housed?”
“I don’t know. Thousands,” he says, shrugging. “Maybe hundreds of thousands.”
“Hundreds of thousands,” she says, scoffing. “Do you mind if I use this?” She grabs my pen and a pad and I shake my head.
“Not at all.”
“So you’re saying you had possibly hundreds of thousands of visitors last year?” She writes on the pad.
“That’s what I’m saying.” His voice is cold now. “What is this Jack? I’m to answer this woman for information I’ve already sent you?”
“Yes, yes you are.”
“And you are alleging that all these hundreds of thousands of people stayed at your hotel.” She says loudly.
“I’m not alleging. That’s what I’m stating.”
“And how did they get there?”
“What do you mean? How did they get there? They didn’t walk on water if that’s what you’re asking. They flew.” He rolls his eyes and looks at me. “What bullshit is this?”
“I understand, there’s one charter flight that goes to Coconut Beach because it’s a private island.”
“Okay and your point is?”
“It flies out twice a day, and it’s a small plane. It looks like it fits—” she pulls out her phone. “It looks like it fits twenty-five people.”
“And?.”
“And so twenty times two would be forty people a day?”
“Yeah, smartypants, you can do math.”
“Forty people a day, going three hundred and sixty-five days a year, is not hundreds of thousands. Plus, you have to think that not everyone flying on these flights is going for tourism and to stay at your hotel.” She says smartly, and now Mr. Johnson’s face is a deep dark red.
“I don’t know what you’re saying, miss, but I don’t like the inference that you’re trying to—”
“Also,” she adds, “you don’t have that many rooms. Isn’t it true that a number of your rooms are under construction?”
“Well, we are a hotel that prides—”
“But haven’t they been under construction for the last three years?”
He presses his lips together at her question.
“What is this, Jack? What is going on here?” He looks over at me and jumps up. “Why do I feel like I’m in Court?”
“We’re just trying to verify which information was true and which wasn’t,” I say, staring at him through narrowed eyes. “I’ll have you address my employee here and treat her with respect.”
“I don’t really like what she’s trying to infer about me and my hotel. Everyone knows that to keep up with modern times, you have to do a little bit of construction here and there. That is not anything new to the work of hotels.”
“That is true,” she says, “but if you’ve been doing construction for three years, it seems like that’s more than just keeping up, Mr. Johnson.”
He frowns. “I don’t have to be talked to like this. I have several other businessmen who are interested in participating in this purchase, and if you are no longer interested, I will just walk away. I will walk away, and you’ll lose the best deal of your life.”
“I don’t think there are many other people who are looking to invest in this hotel, Mr. Johnson. You and I both know that.” I stare at him. “And frankly, I could have you prosecuted for fraud if it turns out that the information you provided in this deal is incorrect. Do you understand me?”
“Prosecuted.” He looks over to his attorney, who nods imperturbably, and then he looks back at me.
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying.
There’s nothing that has been falsified.
No numbers, no nothing. If perhaps some forecasts were added into the paperwork that were not one hundred percent accurate, that is not on me, but that is on—”
“Let’s just be real here. How many people stayed at your hotel last year?”
He presses his lips together and doesn’t respond.
“You’re a numbers guy, Mr. Johnson. You’ve told me several times you’re a numbers guy. We both know hundreds of thousands of people didn’t stay in your hotel. How many stayed in the hotel last year?”
He presses his lips together. “I’m not answering the question. I plead the fifth.”
“We’re not in a court of law, sir,” my attorney says. “You can answer the question.”
“I don’t know the exact numbers,” he says. “Look, I just needed this deal. My family needs this deal. Coconut Beach needs this deal. We all need this deal to happen. I guess I just panicked. I guess I just—”
“You falsified records. You falsified reports. What did you think was going to happen once the deal closed?” I stare at him. “You know I would’ve sued you.”
He stares at me. “I would’ve been in the Cayman Islands by then. I guess—” He looks at Katherine. “Your little girlfriend here did more research than I was expecting. How did you find out this information? I thought I made sure to dot all my i’s and cross all my t’s.”
“It’s funny what information you can find out when you do just a little bit of digging,” she says, shrugging.
“I wanted to ensure that Jack purchased the best hotel possible, and I wanted to ensure that I took my job seriously.” She looks at me.
“Because this job is important to me. I’m more than just a pretty face. ”
“You did a good job, Katherine,” I beam at her. “Thank you. You saved my ass.”
“It wasn’t all me. The entire team helped.”
I shake my head. “No. Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” she says.
“Don’t keep boosting everyone on your team and not taking the credit for yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you took the blame when I obviously knew you weren’t the one who caused that PowerPoint presentation to happen.” She looks down and blushes. “And I also know that Cora, Xander, and Marina did not find out this information. In fact, I’d be shocked if they did much research.”
“No, they’re good people,” she smiles at me. “They did work. I mean, no, they didn’t find this out. It was me. But they do work. They work hard, and they love working here, and we’re a really good team. I mean that.”
She smiles at me. “They’re good people, and they work hard.”
“You know what? You’re a good person for advocating for them, and I appreciate how much you’ve put into this. I’m glad that I hired you.”
“Excuse me. Are we in the middle of some sort of Dr. Phil episode?” Mr. Johnson says, sounding pissed and I just shake my head in disgust.
I stand up and grab Katherine’s hand. I look over at Mr. Johnson and at my attorneys.
“The deal is off right now. I’m sorry,” I shake my head.
“We won’t be moving forward with the purchase and I think you need to leave, Mr. Johnson.
And before you think about trying to pull this scam on any other businessman, I will warn you not to do it because I will have you prosecuted for fraud, and I will contact everyone I know in the hotel world about your plans. ”
He stares at me. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Jack.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying,” I hiss. “Come on,” I say to Katherine, and we leave the room. I close the door behind me and just stare at her. “And to think, I thought you were calling me because you wanted a quickie.”
“You always think I want a quickie,” she says, and her face becomes serious. “Sometimes it’s about work.”
“And to think you thought that you weren’t important to my team.” I stare at her. “Thank you,” I say softly, “and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You’re an asset to Heathcliff Enterprises. You’re an asset to me.”
“Am I?” she says, staring at me, lips parted.
I want to kiss her. I want to pull her into my arms. I want to take her up to my office and fuck her hard and fast. I love this woman.
And yet it’s because I love her that I know that I can’t do that.
I don’t want her to think that our entire relationship is based on our sexual attraction.
I don’t want her to think that I only care about her because I need her.
I love her for so many other reasons, and I need her to know that I value her.
And right now I can tell she needs to be respected as an employee that has done a fantastic job.
“You’re a smart cookie.”
“I mean, I try my best,” she says, twirling her hair. “But I’m thankful to you that you listened to me and you took me seriously. I’m sorry that the deal didn’t work out.”
“I’m not,” I say. “There are plenty of deals to be made, and maybe this wasn’t the right one. You’ve impressed me. You did what so many other people in my company have not done.”
“What’s that?” she asks, eyes full of pride.
“You went the extra mile. You’re good at your job, Katherine. You’re good at business. You’re good at research. I want you to remember that. You excel in this position. You impressed me. You’re a kickass businesswoman.”
“You mean instead of running a bed and breakfast?”
“I mean, I think you are capable of doing whatever you want to do.”
She smiles at me. “I have to think about how I can make money to help my sisters pay for their college tuition and fees, so maybe I will be a businesswoman.” She runs her fingers through her hair, and she stares at me.
“But anyway, that’s not your problem. I should get back downstairs because I have more research to do on the other hotels. ”
“Thank you.” I grab her hand and squeeze. “You did a great job. You’re a great worker, Katherine. I know that you know that. And I’m sure everyone in this building is soon to know that.” I touch the side of the face. “I want to kiss you so badly right now.”
“I know,” she says, “but I just don’t want people to think that if I get anywhere in this company, it’s because I’m doing the boss.”
I smile and nod. I want to lean forward so badly and give her a big kiss, but I don’t.
“I understand. Professionalism in the office all the way.” I want to tell her I love her so badly, but instead, I step back. “Good job, Katherine. I’ll speak to you later.”
“Yes, boss,” she says and I watch as she walks away. This woman makes my heart soar and I can’t wait to make her officially mine.