Chapter Forty-Nine. Holden
FORTY-NINE
Holden
“Okay. So you have nothing, then?” I ask, more than irritated.
“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, we’ve deduced options.
It’s not an LLC. There are zero LLCs with Monarch in the name that have affiliation with Rhett or TinSpirits or Rothschild in general.
There are a shit ton with Monarch as a last name.
I’m systematically going through them, but it might as well be a needle in a haystack at this point.
Do you have any clue how many people with the last name Monarch live in the state?
” Bob sighs. “Best and only bet is to ask Chad again what he meant by it or chalk it up to him being drunk and desperate for your attention.”
“Last I checked, I’m the one who gives orders, but we’ll let that one slide.” I’m in a surly fucking mood tonight and it’s not Bob’s fault. It’s mine. But it’s so much easier taking it out on him. “And Chad isn’t exactly singing my praises right now so that might not be the best idea.”
My home is the last place I ever do business, but this is the kind of business that needs to remain in private. On paper, Bob does not work for me. He has never stepped foot in any office I’ve worked in. He does not know me. We are complete strangers who have never met.
And yet due to a few palms he needed to grease and people he needed to intimidate, he’s in town for less than twenty-four hours.
Bob moves across the room, his hulking frame looking normal in the vast spans of my penthouse. He removes his baseball hat—the one he wore to hide his face some from anyone who might be looking too closely—and holds out a blue file folder to me.
“Here are the plans for the dissolution of TinSpirits. We’ve bundled similar assets together for a quick sell-off.
As you know, it’s much more attractive for venture capitalists to come in and buy up like-minded pieces then to have to sort through them one by one.
More bang for the buck for them and less hassle all around. ”
I take the folder and flip through it, knowing I’ll look at it more thoroughly later. “You already have offers?” I ask when I notice the printed proposals.
“Yes. On a few of the packages. Negotiations haven’t happened, so right now I’m treating them as interest forms. It’s hard to sell when we can’t tell them where the business is or any specifics due to confidentiality.”
“I’m aware.” I nod and take the folder from him. “I need a few more things lined up, though, so I can have everything hit at once.”
“Timing is key.”
“It most definitely is.”
He prattles on, and my thoughts shift to watching Rowan at work earlier today.
The tight sweater. Her command and confidence.
Her controlling the meeting with a possible new aluminum company like the pro I knew she would be.
“Like I said, there are proposals in there. Some want to act fast. Some want to negotiate. Some want you to throw Rowan in as a bonus.”
“What?” I stare at Bob and set the file down absently without thinking.
“You’re somewhere else that is not listening to me right now, but that sure as shit got your attention.”
“I said I’ll review them. I have another meeting to get to.” I glance at my watch.
“Tonight?”
“Are you questioning me?” The chill in my smile ends the conversation.
But when he leaves, when I watch him on the cameras depart out the back door of the complex without encountering anyone, I sit down on my couch and sigh. There is no meeting for me to go to. There is no anything. Just more thoughts of Rowan and how I did what was for the best.
The Chadwick farce is over.
Halle-fucking-lujah.
I set up the little scenario at The Vine, ending the thought of Chad touching her and tarnishing her reputation a little.
Maybe I tarnished it because I wanted it to match mine?
I pour some scotch and take a sip but even that doesn’t dull this shit. The feelings. The wanting. The needing. The falling.
Best-case scenario? Remind her of the man I am, not the man she wants me to be. Because the man who walked in here months ago is definitely not the same one sitting here right now.
Remind her how?
By putting the rest of the plans in motion. Kickstarting into gear why I came here.
By making her hate me before she can love me.
That’s the easy way out.
But I’m pretty sure it’s too late.
And not just for her.
But for the both of us.