26. Penelope
Hawthorn’s arms around me are the only things keeping me from losing my shit. I’m elated and terrified and manic and horny, and it feels like I’m teetering on the edge of hysteria and it’s all because I just ate a pastry. This morning I had a complete meltdown over a single bite of an omelet, and yet I’m on my second cup of the most delicious coffee I’ve ever drunk, liberally laced with full-fat creamer, after stuffing my face with a sugary pastry, and I’m okay. Well, maybe not okay.
I can hear my mom’s voice in my mind, I can smell the acrid scent of vomit, and I can feel the burning in my throat from her fingers, but it’s muffled by my own anger. Somehow, seeing my sister’s fury ignited my own, and it’s loud enough to drown out my memories and the conditioned life I’ve lived for so long.
I’m sure I’ll hate myself later. The guilt and fear won’t just fade away, but for right now, surrounded by Hawthorn and buoyed by Izzy, my mom can’t get to me. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, but I like it.
“Okay, the food porn and pictures are done,” Davis announces, curling his lip and sneering at me like I’m the dirt on the bottom of his shoe. “Are we plotting some revenge or what?”
Leaning back into Hawthorn’s chest, I sag against him, letting him hold me up as I drink my ten-thousand-calorie drink.
“Does anyone have a pad and a pen?” Izabella asks.
“No, Miss Nineteen-Eighty, I don’t have a pad and pen, but I do have an iPad and my finger,” Kip jeers playfully.
“Fine, whatever, a pen and paper would work just as well,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Penelope, this is your baby, did you have anything specific in mind? I have a few ideas, just stupid stuff to piss them off, but every bit of revenge is worth it. Right?”
“I…” I pause, glancing at the mixed bag of expressions on the faces of the people around me. Hawthorn is stoically supportive, my sister is excited, Gulliver is pensive, Kip is amused, and Davis is scowling. “I thought we could leak it to the press that they’re dead.”
There’s complete silence for a minute, then Davis snickers. “Well, fuck, I wasn’t expecting that. That’s a hell of a fucking start.”
“What do you mean exactly?” Kip asks thoughtfully.
Leaning forward a little, I place my cup on the coffee table, then curl my shaking hands into my lap. “I thought that we could leak it to the press that they were killed in a yachting accident out at sea or a helicopter crash in Egypt or something. It doesn’t really matter what we say, it’s more about people thinking that they’re dead so that we can low-key fuck with their lives.”
“Won’t they just announce it’s not true?” Gulliver asks.
“I mean eventually, yes, but I don’t even know where they are right now,” I say with a shrug. “All their new housekeeper said was that they were overseas and had no plans to come back to Green Acres this year. The worst-case scenario is that after a few days, they see the news and they have the hassle of proving they’re still alive. Best case, it’s months before they find out, and we contact their bank and close all of their accounts and cancel their credit cards. Izabella and I could release a statement saying that although we were estranged from our parents, we’re still saddened by their loss.” I giggle.
“I love it,” Davis says. “The tabloids love fake news, hell, we might even be able to get into the house to get your stuff.”
“If we could get into the house, we could do an estate clearance and sell off everything—all the art, the furniture, everything—and you girls have complete plausible deniability,” Gulliver says with a sinister smirk. “When they show back up, all the money will have been donated to charity.”
“Ha,” Izabella barks. “They’d hate that.”
“Pre-plastic surgery photos,” I all but shout.
“Ohhhh,” all of the guys coo in chorus.
“Mom?” Izabella asks.
“And Dad,” I say evilly.
“Your dad’s had plastic surgery?” Hawthorn asks, the shock obvious in his tone.
“Yep, and if we can get into the house, I have pictures of them both,” I say excitedly.
“I think we should absolutely do all of that, but I’ve been thinking about this since we left you guys yesterday, and I think we should do something that’s a hell of a lot more impactful too,” Gulliver announces, his voice low.
“Like what?” my sister asks.
“I think we should take over the Rhodes Corporation,” he says with a dark grin.
For a moment, we all stay silent and just stare at him. Then suddenly everyone speaks at once, the sound becoming a cacophony of noise that drowns out any one person.
“Shut up!” Hawthorn shouts loud enough to be heard. “Gulliver, explain. You’ve obviously given this some thought, so exactly how would we go about taking over a company that’s been owned and run by the Rhodes family for decades?”
“What do you know about your great-grandfather’s business?” Gulliver asks me.
“Practically nothing. I wasn’t given any information about the business because the idea was that my husband would run the company,” I say, not bothering to hide the derision from my voice.
“Such an asshole, chauvinistic move,” Izabella mutters.
“Well, after you mentioned revenge yesterday, I did a little research. Rhodes Corp. actually went public in the early eighties. Your great-grandfather retained enough shares to make him the majority shareholder of the company. Those shares were part of your inheritance and will now pass to whoever inherits them in your place. But the rest of the business is owned by various individuals and companies. The company is actually run by a board of directors, which your dad and your grandfather both sit on, but neither of them actually own stock. Rhodes Corp. is a family-controlled business, so there’s an assumption that your great-grandfather’s stock would pass to his son, who would then in turn pass it to his son. Your great-grandfather might have been an asshole, but he was a great businessman, and he made sure that no one person ever owned enough shares to have a controlling interest. But he’s not here anymore, and I very much doubt that your granddad or your dad have enough wherewithal to be keeping an eye on the stock that’s being bought and sold. I’m sure if one of us started buying up as much Rhodes Corp. stock as we could, as quickly as possible, someone would notice, but if six of us quietly purchased smaller amounts of stock, I doubt it would sound any alarm bells. It might take six months, or even a year, but eventually we could collect all of the stock available and force your parents out,” he says calmly, like he’s not talking about taking over my family’s company.
A silence falls over the group as we all process what Gulliver just suggested. This is so much more than the petty, annoying revenge I’d imagined. I thought we’d piss them off, maybe embarrass and inconvenience them, but what Gulliver’s suggesting is a full-scale corporate takeover. It’s serious and real, and I have no idea if I should laugh or scream.
Part of me is horrified at the idea of forcing my dad out of his family’s business, but the rest of me is elated. It would be the ultimate fuck you, the absolute perfect revenge on him. So much of who he is is tied up with the Rhodes name, and for him to be fired from his job in the family business, he’d lose his mind.
“What do you think?” Izabella asks me.
Turning to look at her, I can see the uncertainty I’m feeling reflected back at me, and I’m glad that it’s not just me who’s not entirely sure about this plan.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I thought we’d just piss them off, but taking over the business?—”
“We wouldn’t be taking over the business, per se, the day-to-day running of the company would still be handled by the board and the people who work for Rhodes Corp. Whoever inherits your great-grandfather’s shares would still be the majority shareholder. But if we can buy enough shares, we can certainly cause some problems and sway the board’s votes in our favor,” Hawthorn says, rubbing reassuring circles on my thigh.
“Who inherits now?” Davis asks.
“I don’t know, I was never told,” I tell him.
“I’d guess probably our grandfather?” Izabella says.
“I doubt it. Great-grandfather’s letter to me said he didn’t think either Grandfather or Dad deserved it. If I had to guess, I bet it’ll go to some distant relative, someone he deemed as worthy,” I say derisively.
“What happens if someone finds out we’re trying to buy up all the shares?” Izabella asks Gulliver, twisting in his lap to face him.
“They won’t,” he assures her. “If we decide to do this, we’ll cover our tracks, we’ll set up multiple offshore, shell corporations and hire some old money, established law firms to act on our behalf. It won’t be traceable back to us unless we decide to reveal who we are.”
“And you know how to do that?” she asks him.
“This is what we’ve been groomed to do,” Kip says confidently. “Our families own multi-million-dollar companies, and we’ve all been preparing to take them over our entire lives. Gulliver, Davis, and Hawthorn are the oldest kids of old money dynasties, and I’m the only one of my siblings that’s even remotely interested in my family’s businesses. We’ve been talking about starting our own company for years, so if we do this, we’re just starting things a little earlier than we planned.”
“He’s right,” Hawthorn says, and I twist around to face him. “Money is in our veins. We know how to make it, invest it, spend it, and take it. If we’re taking it from your parents and getting your dad kicked out of his family’s business, well, that’s just a nice little bonus. If it doesn’t work, then shares of Rhodes Corp. will always be a good investment, and we just started our own legacy,” he says with a wink.
“So you guys would own all the shares?” I ask.
“No, we all would,” Gulliver says. “Izzy and I are getting married, what’s mine is hers anyway, and you and Hawthorn…”
“I…” I start, then trail off, unsure what to even say.
“Same for me and Penelope,” Hawthorn interrupts, speaking over me.
My mouth falls open, and I stare at him like he’s an alien, because is he suggesting that we’re as permanent as my sister and her fiancé?
“Then it’s decided, the six of us will be equal partners,” Kip announces, like it’s just a given that these four guys and my sister would all just want to start a business with me.
Looking at each of them in turn, I wait for someone to protest my inclusion in this little plan, but even though Davis scowls at me in disgust, he doesn’t offer any objection about me being a part of this.
“Yes,” my sister announces loudly. “I think we should do it. Fuck Mom and Dad, and fuck Great-Grandfather too. Rhodes Corp. is the reason he wrote that will. His stupid company is why both of our lives got so messed up. So fuck him and his stupid family legacy. Let’s try to buy the shares, and then even if we can’t get the board to kick Dad’s ass out, it’ll still drive him nuts to know we own something that won’t ever be his,” she says gleefully.
All eyes turn to me, and I swallow thickly before I nod, slowly at first and then more decisively. “Yes, let’s do it,” I say quietly, sagging against Hawthorn as the reality of what I just agreed to sinks in.
“Hell yes!” Davis hoots. “So, what are we calling ourselves?”
“I already thought of that,” Gulliver says, tapping at his cell phone for a moment, before turning the screen toward us and showing us a roughly-designed crown with six points, with the words Ultio Inc. beneath it.
“Revenge,” I whisper reverently, translating the word from Latin to English.
The next hour passes in a daze, with lists of investors being handed out and familiar names discussed while I just watch it all happen around me, still a little shell-shocked at the way my little revenge plan has exploded into so much more.
I never expected anyone in this room to accept me, and not even in my wildest dreams did I think that they’d be willing to include me like this. I told them I wanted revenge and I knew I’d need their help, but I assumed my presence would be merely tolerated for Hawthorn’s and my sister’s sake. Yet somehow, I’m now an equal partner in a company with these five powerful, single-minded people, and even Davis is being a little less hostile to me.
Hawthorn’s arm is around my waist, and the quick kisses he keeps pressing against my neck are the only reason I know I’m not hallucinating or dreaming right now.
Everyone in this room was born into a powerful, old-money family. It’s ironic how Great-Grandfather’s will wanted me to force alliances with just the kind of people I’m now starting a business with, yet it’s only after I walked away from his rules and influence that I found them.
“Okay, so Ultio Inc. now officially exists, with the six of us holding equal shares,” Kip announces, looking up from his iPad with a huge grin on his face.
“So do our four new shell companies,” Davis announces.
“Four?” I question.
“That way, if anyone looks into who’s buying the shares, they’ll find the shell company, which will just loop through the other three and then back to itself before it links to Ultio Inc.,” he tells me, without even a single scowl or insult.
“What do we know about the families on the investor’s list?” Gulliver asks, picking up the paper with the names on it. “Hudson Holdings?”
“That’s Elliot Harrington’s family’s business,” I tell him.
“It is?” Hawthorn asks.
“Yes, his family inherited it from his great-grandmother’s side of the family, they’re in rail, mainly commercial freight,” I reel off as the others stare open-mouthed back at me.
“Nouman Batrich,” Gulliver says next.
“That’s a partnership between the Astells and the Parks, fairly new, I think they started the business about five years ago. They own property in New York, half a dozen high rises, and loads of commercial space,” I tell the group.
“Vagnerwarmen?” he asks, his brows furrowed together.
“The Goodwins, they’re in pharmaceuticals,” I say with a shrug.
“How do you know all that?” Izabella asks.
“They’re all families on the list, I know the basic history about all the names on it,” I tell them.
“Holy shit,” Hawthorn says, leaning forward, taking the list from Gulliver and holding it in front of me. “How many more of the shareholders are names off the list?”
Five minutes later, Kip has notes next to twenty-five out of the thirty companies on the list.
“So, most of the shares are owned by families who were hoping Penelope was going to marry their sons and they’d all inherit billions?” my sister asks.
“It looks that way,” Kip replies. “And that works out perfectly for us. Once the world finds out that Penelope isn’t marriage fodder anymore, I’ll bet they’ll be happy to get rid of the shares.”
“So we need to announce it with a bang,” Izabella says excitedly. “Maybe with another article or something?”
“What about a big fucking party?” Hawthorn suggests. “We can invite every fucker off your list and announce that the money’s gone and that you’re off the market,” he growls, dragging me to him and kissing me.
“It’s not the worst idea in the world,” Kip says thoughtfully, interrupting our kiss and pulling all attention to him.
“What’s not?” I ask a little breathlessly.
“Having a big party and inviting all the families off the list. We’ll officially announce that Penelope has made the decision to relinquish her claim on her inheritance, and then while they’re all sulking over having lost out on the chance of marrying into a billion-dollar payout, we’ll approach them about buying their shares,” he says with a smirk.
“That’s actually sort of brilliant.” Davis snickers.
“Maybe we should invite your mom and dad too,” Gulliver sneers.
“We can’t, didn’t you hear? They’re dead, killed in a tragic yachting accident,” I say, smiling widely.
Everyone bursts into laughter, and somehow, I think I just became part of the group.