Chapter 3 #3
That grin was likely exactly how he got the information. My brother was a playboy in the truest sense of the word. He attempted to seduce almost every woman he met. There were surprisingly few who turned him down. Reginald’s EA had obviously succumbed to his charms, such as they were.
“Reginald would not be happy.” I was fairly certain my stepfather had his eye on the woman.
“Reginald can go fuck himself,” Lachlain countered. “And you may want to clean the conference table if you’re going to use it anytime soon. Just sayin’.”
Grandmother gasped. “Lachlain. That’s inappropriate at work.”
The man in question rolled his eyes. “Like you and Grandfather were never inappropriate in the office back in the day.”
She actually blushed. Dear Lord. Giovanna Conti held court among the New York City elite, but right now a bright red flush crept up her cheeks, making me wonder what exactly went on when Grandfather ran Conti International.
“I don’t want to know.” The words slipped from my mouth, but the sentiment was accurate. In no way did my mind need to go in that direction.
“As I was saying…” She glared my brother’s way, her change of topic not at all subtle. “Did you or did you not agree to his offer?”
“You know I did.”
I saw no reason to lie since my brother obviously had the inside track and likely all the pertinent information.
“And it is some kind of test? Clayton, you’ve been raised since birth to excel at this business, and now he wants you to prove yourself by besting a company he himself has been unable to best.”
“Apparently.”
She sighed. “I honestly don’t know what your mother was thinking.”
“I’m pretty sure she wasn’t,” Lachlain offered.
I had to agree. My parents were the perfect pair, both in life and business.
Father had tempered the hardness Mother inherited from her father.
In turn, she’d focused the former playboy and hotelier heir.
At least Lachlain had come by his ways naturally.
The merger of Conti International’s high-end urban hotels and Montgomery Resorts luxury resort brands was the pièce de résistance.
Then Father died, an accident taking him from us when I was fifteen, leaving Mother reeling.
She’d slipped into a deep depression, and I thanked God every day for Grandmother, who’d stepped in.
I could take care of myself and Lachlain, who was only a couple of years younger, but Sofia was only three.
Mother couldn’t take care of her, and I’d had no idea what the hell to do with a toddler.
The nanny we’d all had was amazing, but Grandmother was the one who gave us the strength to move forward.
I’d thought we were on the mend as a family when Mother started to act like her old self again, until Reginald slid into the picture.
He’d had his sights set on her long before she met Father, and he’d found the perfect opportunity to ingratiate himself once again.
Unfortunately for all of us, he was nothing like Charles Montgomery. Now, we were all paying the price.
Lachlain looked at Grandmother, his face gentling as he spoke. “Listen, I love Mother, but she fucked us over.”
“Lachlain, that’s no way to talk about her.” Grandmother clutched her hands and looked away.
Standing, I rounded to the front of my desk and reached for one of her hands. She didn’t like it when we spoke harshly about her daughter, even if she understood. My siblings and I loved our mother, but we’d hated her decision to bring Reginald into the family.
“I’m sorry, Grandmother, but you know it’s the truth.” Lachlain took her other hand in his. “It was bad enough she married that man, but to not change her will and put Clay in charge was criminal. We’re all suffering because she couldn’t stand up to him.”
Mother and Reginald married a little over a year after Father died and she’d named him as successor in her will since I was only sixteen.
Then she got sick, never changing it before she passed.
Consequently, my family’s company was not in the hands of family.
But it would be. One day, it would be, and this was the first step to ensuring that happened.
“Grandmother, why are you upset? This is the first legitimate opportunity he’s given me to get my hands on anything. I’ll gladly take the Montgomery brand off his hands because he’s driving it into the ground.”
What was once a thriving resort brand only survived now due to the Board of Directors’ love of money and a bullish market keeping Montgomery somewhat afloat.
Built on an outstanding reputation, the money rolled in consistently on our current resorts, but Reginald had put a halt to anything new.
This agreement would change all of that.
It wasn’t everything, but it was a fuck ton more than I currently had.
All I had to do was convince Ms. Henley to hear me out, a task I feared would be difficult after that call.
“I’m not upset, I’m concerned. Also, I’ve done some research.
” She pulled a manila folder out of her bag and handed it to me.
“The Henleys are in a town called Henley Falls, which is named after them. It’s simply charming,” she gushed.
For being Manhattan born and bred, Grandmother had a fondness for small towns, possibly due to the number of Christmas movies she and Sofia watched during the holidays.
“The quintessential small town. You know what happens when the rich, handsome stranger shows up trying to change things, Clayton.”
Unbidden, images of Reese played through my mind, her sass an accompanying soundtrack.
Quickly, I shut them down, though I knew it wouldn’t be for long.
“I’m not falling in love, Grandmother.” The only thing I had time for right now was business.
I’d given up on the type of love my parents had.
Maybe one day I’d find someone and make Grandmother happy. Now was not the time for that.
“If you’re talking handsome, it should be me going, Grandmother.” My brother was an ass.
“I’m simply explaining how it is in the movies and those romance novels your sister reads.
However, it would be perfect for the Montgomery brand, and the type of project your father would have relished.
You could do as he would have and embrace the opportunity.
Which is why I don’t understand Reginald’s game.
He’s tried to drive it into the ground for years and now he’s giving you the chance to bring it back to life? ”
I’d had no time to even contemplate the game he was playing, but I’d bet my last dollar there was one.
He’d called me into his office the moment I’d returned from Munich and given me less than twenty-four hours to agree to the terms. The whole thing felt off to me, but then again, everything he had done recently felt the same way.
The man was up to something, and I was going to figure it out, especially if it meant I could get my hands on Conti too.
The way it fucking should be.
I dropped the folder on my desk, before retaking my seat. “Grandmother, I’m not disagreeing with you, but I want my company. The only consideration I have right now regarding this property is how to get it so I can get what I want.”
“Clayton, I don’t believe they want to sell. That’s not what the transcript said, nor does it make sense from what I’ve seen.” She pointed at the folder lying on my desk. “Simply look at what I found.”
“I’ve already looked into their social media.
” I was not about to mention my reaction to Reese.
Her questioning look prompted me to add, “I will, Grandmother.” I didn’t often speak to placate her, but now was one of those times.
My only focus could be on devising a game plan to get what I wanted.
Getting the family to sell would be the most logical, but I was leaving my options open right now.
“Once I have Montgomery, we can figure out what we’ll do with the property. ”
I had plans upon plans for Montgomery’s future. One small town in Virginia was not going to distract me from all of them.
She stood, annoyance clear on her face. “It can’t be all about the company, Clayton.
That’s not how your father would have acted.
He would have embraced the possibilities and worked with the family.
Why you insist on pretending you are not his son when it comes to business is beyond me.
You have the same ideas and inspirations and aspirations as he did.
For you to lose them all simply because of that man astounds me. ”
I sighed. Grandmother thought I was more like my entrepreneurial “work with them” father than the man Reginald had groomed in his absence.
I highly doubted that, but I had a hard time explaining why.
“Father, however, is no longer here, and I’m not the man you think I am. I will do anything to get Montgomery.”
“No, Clayton.” She rounded the desk and placed her palm on my cheek.
“You are not the man you think you are. You’re your father’s son.
Don’t let this opportunity make you do something you will regret.
This deal with Reginald doesn’t simply have to be about getting Montgomery in your hands.
I think it can be so much more. I hope you’ll see what it could be and make that happen. Maybe this deal is truly fortuitous.”
Finally, something I could agree with. “Exactly, to get ahold of Montgomery.”
“No.” She shook her head. “To learn who you are.”
As she walked out, Lachlain in her wake, I sat there silent. She was wrong. I only had one option, and acting like my father with this property was not it.
Still, for hours after, that one word played over and over in my head.
Fortuitous.