Chapter 3
Clayton
“So, do we have a deal?”
I stared across the desk my father once sat behind to the man who occupied the seat now, not only physically but organizationally.
The day Mother had married Reginald Aster, bringing him into our family, was a day I wouldn’t soon forget.
The day she died, and he took over as CEO and President of Conti-Montgomery, was the day I worried I’d never forgive her for.
It was also a day I’d rue forever.
Now I sat here, trying to decide if the offer on the table was legitimate.
Conti-Montgomery came into existence when my parents married and merged two successful and prestigious worldwide hotel chains. Unfortunately, they were both gone now, and in their place was a man I hated with every ounce of breath in my body. It was only fair given how much he hated my father.
“So, let me get this straight.” I leaned back in the chair, never taking my eyes off him.
“Some rep from a family in Virginia called in and asked if we work with small hotels.” At his nod, I continued, “We have no additional information about them, what they own, or what they want, yet you have decided you want that land and are offering me control of Montgomery outright if I succeed in getting it. Do I have that right?”
I knew full well I was looking a gift horse in the mouth, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out his game, and there was definitely a game.
Reginald didn’t do a damn thing out of the goodness of his heart.
First, he’d have to have one for there to be good within it.
As he didn’t, anything else was a moot point.
“Correct. It’s all laid out in the contract.”
That I knew. I read it four times in the fifteen minutes since Reginald had slid it my way, trying to figure out the game or how he was going to fuck me in the end. Simply put, I didn’t trust the man as far as I could throw him.
“What’s the catch?” There had to be one I just couldn’t see.
“No catch.” He steepled his fingers under his chin, looking for all the world like a villain. “You can’t tell me you don’t want control of Montgomery.”
I wanted my birthright, both Conti and Montgomery, more than I wanted anything else.
It should have been mine already, if not for Mother’s blindness to him and inability to do what needed to be done.
Having him in charge after they married was one thing.
I was still in school and in no position to run the companies.
The fact that she never changed her will after I started working at Conti-Montgomery was something I didn’t think I’d ever forgive her for.
“Of course I want control of Montgomery, but you have to admit this is highly suspicious.”
His eyes narrowed, clearly unhappy I didn’t jump at his offer. “I have to admit no such thing.”
Reginald had dangled control of Father’s company a few times in the past, always using a loophole in our gentlemen’s agreement to ensure I didn’t get it. There was no such loophole in the contract before me I could see.
“And still, I don’t believe you.” To be fair, I didn’t believe him about anything.
Reginald shrugged. “Fitzgerald wants that property, Clayton.” Fitzgerald was one of our largest competitors, and in Reginald’s eyes, the enemy. “Consequently, I want that property. You want Montgomery.”
“You’re willing to give up a portion of ‘the empire’ as you call it, all to get the better of Fitzgerald?
” Reginald’s reasoning made no sense. He’d held onto the power Mother’s will had given him with an iron-fisted grip.
Not to mention, the Montgomery brand lagged far behind Conti for two reasons.
First, Reginald didn’t want anything to do with a hotel that wasn’t in a city with a recognizable skyline.
More importantly he despised my father. “You have to know, Montgomery won’t be neglected any longer if I take over. ”
A gleam lit his eyes, one I didn’t trust on any level, but it was quickly banked.
“Maybe I’ve realized it’s time to breathe some life into it again.
I know you think you can do it, though I have my doubts.
” Of course he did. Lucky for him, I simply wanted the company to survive his mismanagement and didn’t care to have the Board of Directors fawning all over me.
His hand-picked cronies would be gone the minute I gained full control anyway.
“Think of this as a way to prove yourself to me; that you can outsmart and outmaneuver Fitzgerald.”
“A test?”
He’d tested me more than once over the years, but never with the promise of Montgomery.
In his eyes, I was sure I’d failed most of them, no matter how I succeeded in growing my parents’ brand.
Nothing about this sat right with me, but the prospect of getting Father’s company pushed those thoughts aside for the moment.
Besides, I could figure out what was wrong as I worked to get this property.
“Yes. A test. Show me you can beat Fitzgerald.” He stood and leaned forward with his knuckles planted on his desk.
There was no way in hell I’d let him tower over me to intimidate me, so I responded in kind, coming face to face with him.
“Sign the contract. Once you get the land and start development, you’ll get what you want.
You have twenty-four hours to decide.” He sat back down, grabbed his cell phone and swiveled to face the windows, a clear sign I was dismissed.
Lifting the file folder with the contract and the details about this Virginia property from his desk, I walked out of his office and down the hall to mine.
Closing the door behind me, I sank into my desk chair, tapping the folder on my leg as I stared out the window.
Though my view of Manhattan was spectacular, it was nowhere near as stunning as the one from Reginald’s office.
However, the view wasn’t the reason I wanted that space.
It was my Father’s, my Grandfather’s, and it should be mine.
If this property got me one step closer, there was no way in hell I wasn’t getting it.
I opened the folder and found a single piece of paper, the call transcript consisting of two sentences.
The Henley family is looking to expand our existing businesses into a resort-style destination.
If interested in assisting, please contact Rhys Henley.
The only other piece of information was a phone number.
Dialing the number, I hit the speaker option on my desk phone and started responding to emails while I waited for the call to be answered.
There was only one option laid out in front of me, and I’d be damned if I would not take it.
This was finally my chance to get what I wanted.
“Ridgeview Bed and Breakfast. How may I help you?”
My fingers stopped their tapping mid-movement.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I placed this call, but this was not it.
Business calls were a dime a dozen for me, and I was rarely shocked when I took one, but this one did exactly that.
I had one purpose with this call: make the Henley family an offer they couldn’t refuse and reclaim Conti-Montgomery Resorts International. Or at least part of it.
Thanks for fucking me over, Mother.
Like every other time I considered the predicament I was in, I was unable to stop the animosity I felt toward the woman who’d birthed me. I loved her, but whether intentionally or not, she’d screwed me. Now I had to strategize and claw for whatever I could get my hands on.
Getting turned on by a woman’s voice that sounded like pure sin was not in the plan.
For the first time in forever, business took a backseat in my mind.
Instead, it filled with images of the unknown woman at the other end of the phone.
Images to match the voice and wholly inappropriate thoughts it stirred within me.
“Hello?”
Shit. Focus, Clayton. I didn’t like being caught flat-footed in business, and I definitely was not accustomed to being turned on during a business call. Pulling the transcript to me, I glanced at the name. “May I speak with Rhys Henley, please?”
“Why?”
What the hell kind of response was that? “Excuse me?”
“Why. Do. You. Want. To. Speak. With. Them?”
I bristled at the tone and implication that accompanied her words. “I am not a child.”
“And yet you can’t answer a simple question.”
Her attitude simultaneously pissed me off and turned me on. What the hell was wrong with me?
I’d figure that out later. Right now, I had a family to woo and property to take, no matter how rude their employees seemed to be.
“This is Clayton Montgomery from Conti-Montgomery Resorts International.”
“Oh, we rate a call from the heir. Nope, not interested,” she hissed into the phone before leaving me with nothing but dead air.
“What the fuck?”
Staring at the phone, I was taken aback by the nerve of this woman.
Before I realized what I was doing, I redialed, anger making me stab at the phone. This is not how I conducted business. People considered me the calm one, the one who didn’t run on emotions when angling to get what I wanted. Apparently, that was not the case right now.
“Did you just hang up on me?” I demanded the moment the call connected, not even waiting for her to speak.
“Well, that depends,” she shot back, her voice full of sass. “If that was you who just called, then yes. Yes, I did.”
What the fuck was wrong with me? Why did I find her spunky attitude invigorating? Attractive even, in a perverse sort of way. Sex never came before business, but at this moment I had to ask myself why because her voice sent images through my head that were decidedly unbusinesslike.
Taking a deep breath, I needed to figure a way to deal with her. “That’s not in the least bit professional.” Nor was the way my pants were fitting at the moment, but I pushed the highly inappropriate thought aside.