Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
M y assistant, Carson, poked his head inside the door to my office. “The board called an emergency meeting.”
“What?” I asked, glancing up from my laptop. Surely I’d misheard. When I saw his expression, I realized he was serious. “Shit. When?”
“Ten minutes.”
“We’re supposed to be on the helicopter in ten.”
He lifted a shoulder. “It sounds serious.”
No shit. The board could call an emergency meeting at the request of two directors, but it rarely, if ever, happened. The fact that they’d called one now did not bode well.
“Did they say what it’s about?”
He shook his head but stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him. “I don’t know, but Donahue looked downright gleeful.”
“Fuck.” I turned toward the window and the view of the Los Angeles skyline.
Fred Donahue was one of the Huxley Grand board members—and a pain in the ass. He almost always opposed me. And ever since my biggest ally, Steve Harrel, had died, Fred had been even more determined to push his own agenda.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, wondering what he was up to this time. I had a few theories, but I didn’t like any of them.
“Tell the pilot we’ll be late—both of them.” The helicopter was supposed to take us directly to the private airfield so we could leave for Mexico. There was nothing I hated more than being late. Well, being late and surprises.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Anything else?”
“Have my siblings been notified about the board meeting?” I asked, knowing that Carson would understand I was referring to both my actual siblings, Jasper and Sloan, as well as my cousins, Knox and Nate, who had always been more like siblings.
“Jasper’s and Sloan’s assistants are aware. I secured proxies from Knox and Nate, as they were both tied up.”
“Good.” I stood, gathering my laptop and shoving it and some papers into my bag. Very good. “And, Carson?”
“Yes?” He paused at the doorway and glanced back at me.
“Thank you.”
He lifted his chin in acknowledgment then disappeared into the hallway. He was a good assistant, proficient. Quick. He didn’t scare easily, like most of my previous assistants. All of them except one—Liliana.
I gnashed my teeth at the thought of her and her blog.
Liliana Fontaine. A great asset until she’d decided to start blogging about my company. I could admit that maybe there was some truth in her reviews. But I wished she’d come to me first, instead of sharing those thoughts with her millions of followers.
I squared my shoulders and smoothed down my tie. That wasn’t what mattered right now. I pulled out my phone and texted Pierce, my lawyer and the closest thing I had to a best friend.
Me: Running late. Board called emergency meeting.
Pierce: For what purpose?
Me: To piss me off.
Pierce: Think there’s going to be a vote?
Me: Fuck if I know. With the way things have been going lately, it’ll likely come down to the tie-breaker again.
Me: Any progress with our plan to acquire additional shares?
Pierce: Still working on it.
Shit. I hated being in a vulnerable position.
According to the terms of my grandparents’ will, all five of us had received an equal number of shares. Ten percent went to Knox, Nate, Sloan, Jasper, and me, so that the family continued to hold fifty percent of the company. But to pass anything, we needed at least fifty-one percent of the shares in favor. Now that Steve was gone, that was a much more difficult proposition.
Not only had his death left a huge void on the board, but his family had been forced to part with most of his shares to pay his medical bills. If I’d known, I would’ve settled the bills myself. Not to curry favor or increase my position, but because it would’ve been the right thing to do. Because he’d been a friend.
But I hadn’t known. I hadn’t realized how dire the situation was until it was too late.
I clenched and unclenched my fists. Now was not the time to dwell on that. I couldn’t change the past; I needed to focus on the future. My future vision for the company.
Certain members of the board, led by Donahue, had been trying to oust me as CEO and replace me with someone outside the family. And I wasn’t going to let it happen. My grandfather had entrusted the Huxley Grand empire to me, and I intended to hold on to it until I was ready to step down. And considering the fact that I was only forty-four, I had no intention of resigning any time soon.
I’d been running this company for the past fourteen years, but the brand was in my blood. I’d grown up hearing about the hotel business, about profit and loss statements, for as long as I could remember. And while, yes, thirty was a bit young to take over as CEO, I’d known the company—the industry—inside and out.
And my success as CEO proved it. I’d helped steer the company to greater wealth in more locations across the globe, while focusing on the luxury and sustainability our brand was known for. I’d increased profits. We consistently received the highest ratings of employee satisfaction in the entire hospitality industry. Probably in no small part because we paid the highest salaries, and we attracted the best, most diverse talent. Our company culture valued inclusion and innovation. This brand and what it stood for were my everything.
Donahue didn’t understand. Could never understand.
He’d joined the board five years ago, and he’d had very distinct opinions about how things should be run. He came from an IT background, and he had a different mentality. He preferred to fail fast and break shit, whereas I was focused on maintaining the legacy and prestige of the brand.
I entered the conference room, and Donahue’s attention snapped to me. I tried not to smirk. So maybe I did like surprises, so long as I wasn’t on the receiving end.
“Graham?” Fred jerked his head back. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane?”
“Helicopter, actually.” I slid into my place at the head of the table. “But I would never miss a board meeting, let alone an emergency one.”
His face reddened, and he opened his mouth. I braced myself for his tirade, but Danika placed her hand on his arm as if to soothe him. Silence him.
Mm. Interesting . I supposed that answered my question. Danika must be the other board member who’d called for an emergency meeting.
Carson switched on the projector, and I scanned the rest of the board members, trying to determine who else might be in on this little political maneuver. My younger brother Jasper appeared on the screen, his shirt unbuttoned and his hair wet. He’d flown to Mexico a week ago to finalize everything for our soft opening. Palm trees swayed in the background, and I tapped my fingers on my thigh beneath the table. He looked irresponsible. Like the billionaire playboy everyone expected. I knew that wasn’t entirely fair or true, but he could try not to feed into their low expectations of him.
A minute later, our sister Sloan joined us. Her clothes were rumpled, and she was slightly out of breath. Unprofessional.
I needed to have a talk with the two of them. Because clearly, they didn’t understand how precarious our current situation was. We were on the verge of a coup by the board.
But Jasper had been acting strangely ever since he’d gone to London to stand in for Sloan while she’d taken her annual sailing trip. And Sloan had been floating on cloud fucking nine ever since she’d married Jackson. I was happy for her, truly. And I liked Jackson, respected him. But did they have to be so sickeningly in love?
Maybe I just didn’t get it. Would never get it. Hell, I’d been told by women in the past that I was incapable of love. I hadn’t wanted to listen, but when you heard something enough times, you tended to believe it.
“Everyone’s here,” I said, eager to end this farce of an “emergency” meeting. It was likely nothing more than a chance for Fred to stir up shit, as usual.
Fred stood, a sort of smug self-importance surrounding him and ballooning out. God, I couldn’t wait to get out of here. “Thank you all for being here. I called this emergency board meeting because there’s been a significant and sudden drop in our stock price.”
I sat back in my chair. “Yes, it dropped, but it’s not unprecedented. There was a scandal. We will weather it. And we will come out stronger.”
I was trying to downplay the scandal, but it still rankled. Last year, allegations had been made that the brand wasn’t taking the privacy and security of high-profile guests seriously enough. And rightly so. Paparazzi had slipped past security multiple times, as had someone who’d wanted to harm my sister, Sloan. The situation was now well in hand, thanks to her husband, Jackson.
Then we’d been the target of a sting operation to uncover escorts. Claims that Huxley employees had looked the other way. Or worse—actively recruited escorts to fill seats at our bars and clubs.
I’d been questioned about my knowledge, not that I’d known a damn thing about it. It had been a fucking mess, and it had shaken investor confidence. It had certainly made me question some things about how our locations were being run, and I’d kept a closer eye on operations ever since.
“Mm.” Fred tilted his head, and I wanted to punch him in the face. “This was not a slight dip. It was a significant plummet . If we don’t do something, and soon, it could go even lower.”
Great. I just loved when members of the board resorted to scare tactics without considering the full picture. But if stock prices dipped low enough, they could force a vote to oust me as CEO.
“I understand that you’re concerned. We’re keeping an eye on it.”
“Keeping an eye on it?” he spluttered. “So you want us to just sit here and watch as the company tanks.” Fred flung the words at me. “Spend even more money on overpriced and ill-considered new developments? People are saying that the brand is outdated and elitist. That it’s run by a cold, heartless billionaire.”
I frowned. “Who’s saying that?”
He pointed at the screen, where an image of me was displayed on the cover of a widely circulated, prestigious business magazine. In bold letters over the image were the words, “Cold. Heartless. Billionaire.”
Fuck.
I needed to get my hands on a copy of that article.
Even so, my stomach clenched with dread, based on the title alone. The board had been on my ass for nearly a year, telling me to change my image. I hadn’t heeded their warnings, instead brushing them off as over the top or ridiculous. Shouldn’t my record as CEO of the Huxley empire speak for itself?
In the past, it had. But now that our stock price had dropped, I was in a weaker position. I needed extra shares to regain my footing. Before it was too late.
I remained silent, willing him to damn himself.
“What do you propose?” one of the other board members asked.
“A merger,” Fred said, the word landing with a thud.
Several people gasped, but I was pissed. A merger? Was he crazy? And how long had he been planning this?
Despite my ire, I maintained a calm facade. Confident. Cool. In control.
“One dip in our stock, and you’re talking merger?” I shook my head, and I was sure my expression was patronizing as fuck.
Because, seriously? That was his plan? A merger? That would likely send everyone into even more of a tailspin.
Though, I supposed Donahue had found another path to getting rid of me as CEO. Perhaps I’d underestimated him.
“Has someone approached you?” Sloan asked.
“Moretti.”
Over my dead body, I nearly growled. But I didn’t. Instead, I spun my grandfather’s ring on my pinkie finger beneath the table and tried not to show how ruffled I truly was.
Moretti was a thug in a designer suit, and I wanted nothing to do with him. He’d been accused of multiple things, from bribery to assault, but he always seemed to get off. Regardless of his culpability, he was shady as fuck.
“Absolutely not,” Jasper said. “No way.”
“He’s our biggest competitor. Our biggest threat,” Fred continued, undeterred. A few people’s heads bobbed in agreement. Fuck me.
“I think we should consider it,” Danika chimed in. Dear god.
Between the two of them, they had twenty-five percent of the shares. That alone wasn’t enough to push a merger through, but they could be persuasive. And after a series of recent missteps, I was on thin ice with the board. This latest article didn’t help.
I might be the CEO, but with the way our company was structured, if it came to a vote and there was a tie, the fate of the company fell into the hands of one person. One law firm, actually. An independent third party that had been named in my grandparents’ will and would vote only in the event of a tie.
And if they sided with the board, they could fire me. From my family’s own damn company. I needed more shares. A majority of the shares.
“Just think of how it could enhance our reach geographically, as well as our market power,” another board member said.
“What about cultural integration?” Jasper asked. “Employee retention?”
“I’m sure those details could be ironed out in negotiations.” I wanted to punch the smug grin off Fred’s face. I watched with horror as several others nodded their agreement.
Ironed out? This was a takeover attempt, and anyone who believed otherwise was deluding themselves.
“Moretti doesn’t do friendly mergers,” I bit out, wondering how long he had been planning this. “And if you’re concerned about the brand’s image, getting into bed with Moretti is not going to help.”
Donahue shrugged, as if the entire fucking future of this company weren’t on the line. “He wants to expand into the luxury segment, and he knows we’re the best.”
Of course he did. Because we were. Everyone knew that.
“Has there been a formal offer?” Sloan asked, and I was grateful my siblings were asking the questions I wanted to but wouldn’t dare. I was afraid if I opened my mouth, all the thoughts I was trying to hold back would come spewing out.
The Huxley Grand empire had always been a family-owned brand. My grandparents had started the company sixty years ago, and my siblings and I had been carrying on their legacy since their deaths. We now had locations around the globe. And if I had my way, we’d be able to add decadent all-inclusive voyages on the world’s finest luxury yachts to our impressive list of offerings.
Fred wore a thoughtful expression, as if he had all the time in the world. As if he were in fucking control. “No. He’s merely expressed his interest.”
Jacob Moretti was a liar and a thief who didn’t know the meaning of the word “integrity.” There was no way in hell I was getting into bed with him. No way I’d let him taint my grandparents’ legacy.
I stood, beyond done with this conversation. “Until my attorney receives a formal expression of interest, there’s nothing to discuss. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a flight to catch.”
Sloan’s and Jasper’s attention whipped to me. Jasper looked as if he might protest but then clamped his mouth shut. Sloan quirked an eyebrow but remained silent. They knew we’d discuss it when we were all together in Ixtapa.
Some of the fight seemed to go out of Fred, his earlier bluster fading at my seeming acquiescence. Good.
“Are you sure you should be leaving now?” Danika asked. “This stock situation is volatile, and I imagine a formal offer is forthcoming.”
Mm. She was definitely in on it. But what did she stand to gain, besides the obvious?
“She’s right,” Donahue said, echoing her concern. Her fearmongering. “We’ll want to move quickly if we receive an offer. Moretti isn’t a patient man.”
“We wouldn’t want to seem desperate, would we?” Before they could say anything else, I left the room without a backward glance.
After a relatively quick helicopter ride, Carson and I boarded my private jet. Pierce was already on board, enjoying a drink.
“I was just ambushed by the board.” I removed my jacket and handed it to Tabitha, my preferred flight attendant from the Hartwell Agency, to hang before taking a seat. “They proposed a merger with Moretti.”
Pierce winced. “How did Jasper and Sloan react?”
Carson excused himself to the private conference room to make some calls, likely knowing I needed some alone time with Pierce.
“They were both late to the call,” I said. “Jasper looked like he was two margaritas into the day. And Sloan, like she’d just woken up from a nap.” Which wasn’t like her at all. Maybe it was jet lag?
“We can’t all be perfect like you,” Pierce teased.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling of the plane. I was far from perfect, and sometimes it was exhausting that everyone held me to that standard.
“Not everyone thinks I’m perfect,” I said. “In fact, apparently many people view me as a cold, heartless billionaire.”
He cringed then reached into his satchel. “I assume you’re referring to this.” He placed a copy of the magazine on my tray table, where it landed with a thud.
I quickly thumbed through the pages until I reached the article about me. I skimmed the words, my jaw clenching so hard I thought I might crack a molar.
What. The. Fuck?
They were supposed to write a favorable article. Something to make me seem, I don’t know, relatable. Instead, I turned the pages with a growing sense of dread. Quotes from an ex-girlfriend. A former board member. Anonymous sources that all made me look like the coldhearted bastard everyone believed me to be. Greedy. Aloof. Out of touch.
“Fuck.” I dragged a hand through my curls, tugging. “Fuck!” I said again, more loudly this time.
Yes, I sometimes struggled to connect to people. But I’d thought the interview had gone well. Had I completely misread the situation, or was the magazine intentionally skewing my image?
“It’s not ideal,” Pierce said. Understatement of the century. “But we can fix it.”
“How?” I asked. “The board has been looking for an excuse to oust me from my position as CEO. And this—” I picked up the magazine and waved it in the air. “This. With the way things are going lately, this could be my undoing.”
“Anyone who really knows you, knows this isn’t you.”
I tossed the magazine aside then blew out a breath and pushed back against the seat. I drummed my fingers on the armrests.
“Graham. Come on. It’s one article.”
“One in a series. There was the Vogue one last month. And the?—”
“Yes, but you can still turn this around. I wish you’d allow me to make your charity donations public. You give a ton of your fortune to environmental and animal welfare causes. People would eat that shit up.”
It wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation. “I’d rather make it more about the causes than myself.” It was why I always insisted on donating anonymously.
“That’s just it. If you donated publicly, you would not only raise awareness for the causes that are important to you. But your generosity might encourage other high-net-worth individuals to donate more of their wealth as well.”
“Not likely.” I scoffed. “Most of them are trying to evade taxes. They’re not just going to give money away from the goodness of their hearts.”
“That’s probably what a lot of people think about you.”
I grumbled at that.
“Okay. If you don’t like that idea, then let them see you with Queen V and Prince Albert. Who doesn’t love dogs? Or hell, you could just tell the story of how you rescued them. Or we could have someone interview you in your rooftop garden. Or with your family.”
I gnashed my teeth. “That’s private .”
“Whether you like it or not, you’re in the public eye. You can’t expect to change people’s opinions unless you show them who you really are.”
I sighed, weary of this conversation. “I’ve successfully led this company for the past fourteen years. Shouldn’t my record speak for itself?”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. Pierce was the fixer, and we needed to fix this. Before I lost control of the company I loved, the legacy my grandparents had built and entrusted to me. Fuck.
“Look, I get that it frustrates you that they focus on personal drama, but that’s what sells. It’s what humanizes people. Most people who read that magazine can’t imagine being a billionaire or running a luxury hotel empire. But they understand emotion. They are driven by it.”
“They are idiots. And my personal life isn’t up for consumption.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Pierce said. “Not all of it. But give them something to show your softer side. Hell, if they spoke to Brooklyn for even five minutes, they’d see how caring you are.”
“No.” My voice boomed through the cabin. My niece had to be protected at all costs. She already had to contend with the fact that her dad—my cousin Nate—was a famous actor/producer. And her new stepmom was a famous Olympian.
“It was just an example,” Pierce said. “I wasn’t actually suggesting it. I know better than that. But at this point, you’re going to have to do something drastic. Something that will put the board at ease and show the world that you’re not the man they claim you are.”
He arched one eyebrow, and I could read so much into that one simple gesture. Because there was only one thing I could think of that would accomplish all of that.
I met his eyes, mindful of my words with Tabitha and Carson on board. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”
Pierce inclined his head, and I let out a heavy sigh. Had it truly come to this?
“Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reason. I thought you were an expert at that.” He gave me a pointed look that I ignored.
I hated to admit it, but I was feeling a bit desperate. And I no longer had the luxury of ruling out any ideas, even marriage. I might not have a formal merger offer in hand, but Moretti wasn’t fucking around. When he set his sights on a company, he would do whatever it took to make it his.
I understood why Pierce had suggested this. I could even see the benefit of such an arrangement. I just didn’t know if I could go through with it. Or if I did, if I’d be convincing.
But even if I agreed, who the hell would I marry? It wasn’t like I was in a relationship. I hadn’t been for a while. At least, nothing that had been serious enough to remotely consider marriage.
“I still think there has to be another way.” A plan that didn’t involve a sham of a marriage to a woman I didn’t care about.
I might be pissed about the article, but it irked me because they weren’t wrong. I was a cold, heartless billionaire. And a fake marriage wouldn’t change that.