Chapter 4
Axel
Today is Addison’s first day after signing the contract a week ago.
It’s not off to a good start. She’s five minutes late to her first strategy meeting.
Already irritating me before she walks through the door.
Liam’s at the head of the conference table, Nolan to his right. I’m across from Nolan, and the rest of the seats are filled with our crisis team: Mason from legal, Pauline from investor relations, and Kyle from our PR team.
The chair to Liam’s left stays empty.
I check my watch. “Maybe she changed her mind.”
Liam keeps his eyes on his tablet. “She signed the contract.”
I spin my pen between my fingers. “Contracts get broken.”
“Not by people who need them.” Nolan’s gaze flicks toward the door. “She’ll be here.”
I settle into my chair. “You sound sure.”
Liam adjusts his cufflinks. “She’s not stupid.”
“Neither are we.” I tap my fingers on the armrest. “Doesn’t mean this isn’t a mistake.”
The door opens, and Addison walks in.
Black fitted pants catch my attention first, or more specifically, her legs do. She’s wearing a green sleeveless blouse that matches her eyes and shows off toned arms. The heels add three inches, but leave her shorter than everyone in the room. Her dark hair is pulled back tight.
Fuck. She’s hot. Just as hot as when we met her the first time.
Her eyes sweep the room once. When they land on me, she doesn’t look away first.
I hold her stare, and she doesn’t flinch.
This one likes a challenge, I think wickedly.
Liam stands. “Ms. Archer. Thank you for joining us.”
She moves to the empty chair. “I reviewed your public statements since the Harrison Luxe story broke. They’re worse than I thought.”
No apology for being late. No explanation.
Most people would grovel. She leads with criticism.
Liam’s lips thin. He’s already irritated. “If our public statements are so bad, then it’s good you’re here to fix them.”
My brother. Always so in control. I wouldn’t have been so nice.
Nolan gestures to the team. “This is Mason from legal, Pauline from investor relations, and Kyle from our internal PR team.”
Addison nods once at each of them. Then she sits, pulls up a document, and wastes no time. “Your public statements read like they were written by a legal team trying not to get sued.”
Mason shifts. “They were written by our legal team.”
“I can tell.” She keeps her eyes on the screen. “Which is why no one believes them.”
Pauline straightens. “We’ve been transparent about our lack of involvement in Harrison’s operations.”
“You’ve been defensive.” Addison scrolls through something on her tablet. “You need to stop acting like you did nothing wrong and start admitting you missed something.”
Kyle clears his throat. “We’ve been managing the narrative carefully.”
“You’ve been losing.” She sets her tablet down and looks directly at him. “Investor confidence is down. Portfolio companies are distancing themselves. You’re trending on social media for all the wrong reasons.”
Kyle’s shoulders stiffen. “We’ve been following best practices.”
“Best practices don’t work when everyone already thinks you’re guilty.” She pulls up a document and mirrors it to the screen at the end of the table. “Your first statement came out twelve hours too late. By then, everyone had already decided you were complicit.”
Kyle’s face is red now. He’s all talk and no backbone, and I’ve been saying for days our response was shit. Nice to finally have someone agree.
Mason straightens his glasses. “We can’t issue statements without legal review.”
“Then get faster lawyers.”
I shrug. “She’s not wrong.”
Nolan nods. “We wasted a full day coordinating instead of getting ahead of it.”
Liam’s jaw tightens. He hates being told he screwed up. “What do you recommend?”
“Stop defending. Start leading.” She switches slides. “Commission an independent audit of all portfolio companies. Implement new oversight protocols. Set the industry standard.”
Pauline frowns. “That’s expensive.”
Addison gives her a once-over. “So is losing investor confidence.”
Mason rubs his jaw. “It also admits we were lacking.”
She waits. No one argues. “Everyone already knows that. The question is whether you’re going to own it and fix it, or keep pretending you are perfect while your reputation collapses.”
The room goes quiet.
Nolan’s watching her with that look he gets when someone surprises him. Liam’s fingers have stopped moving on his tablet.
I break the silence. “So, your plan is to make us look incompetent.”
She turns to me. “Your plan was to look complicit. Incompetent is an upgrade.”
“Incompetent billionaires,” I scoff. “Great branding.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Better than corrupt billionaires.”
“We’re not corrupt.”
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were.” Her eyes stay on mine. “But right now, people think you’re hiding something. You need to show them you’re trying to do better.”
I lean forward. “And you think people will buy that? Three billionaires suddenly caring about ethics?”
“You hired me.” She tilts her head slightly. “The woman who exposed Harrison Luxe. The journalist who cost you two hundred fifty million dollars.” She pauses. “If I’m standing next to you—vouching for this audit and these new protocols—it’s not public relations bullshit. It’s credible.”
It’s why we bought her company, after all. To use her reputation to save ours.
But her plan isn’t flawless. “What happens when people think you sold out? When this turns into another mess—for you, and by association, us?”
“Too late. I already told them myself.” She pulls up a new screen that shows current social media posts and headlines. “I announced my new role this morning.”
Pauline blinks. “You announced it?”
“Someone was going to break the story. So, it’s better if it came from me.” She scrolls through the reactions. “Responses are mixed. Some think I sold out. Some think it’s strategic. Most are waiting to see what happens next.”
Liam leans forward. “What happens next?”
“I publish an article explaining why I took this job.” She switches to a draft.
“I investigated you thoroughly. Your due diligence was solid. You divested from Harrison within forty-eight hours. Now you’re implementing the most aggressive oversight in the industry.
” She looks at Liam. “And I’m here to make sure you follow through. ”
That’s actually brilliant.
She is telling the media that she’s not working for us, but she’s policing us.
Nolan sets down his pen. “You’re positioning yourself as the moral authority.”
“I already am the moral authority.” She closes the document. “I’m just making sure everyone remembers it.”
She pulls up a new slide. “This is the rollout timeline. Independent audit announcement goes out tomorrow morning. I publish my article tomorrow afternoon. You do a joint interview with the Financial Journal on Friday. Nolan handles the legal briefing. Liam does investor calls. Axel handles the social media strategy.”
“Social media strategy?” I ask.
“You’re the most active on social media. You’re also the most reckless.” She keeps her focus on the screen. “People pay attention when you post. Use that.”
I snort. “You say reckless. Liam says liability. I call it effective.”
“You’re charming when you want to be,” she responds. “It’s a weapon. Deploy it.”
Liam’s watching me. I can see the calculation in his eyes. He’s deciding whether to let this play out or shut it down.
“What about you?” I ask Addison.
“What about me?”
“Where do you fit in this rollout? Besides publishing your article?”
“I don’t.” She closes her tablet. “You three are the story. I’m the narrator that people trust.”
I shift forward. “And what happens when they stop trusting you because they say you’re sleeping with the enemy?”
“I’m a professional.” Addison looks at me like I’m a minor inconvenience. “I’m not sleeping with anyone.”
“People are gonna assume otherwise,” I tell her. “You ready for that?”
Nolan recoils slightly, like he’s just smelled something rotten. “Axel, what the fuck?”
“People are not going to think that.” Addison’s eyes narrow. “Or is it so hard to believe that not all women want to sleep with you?” She picks up her stylus. “The only thing compromising my credibility right now is this conversation. Are we finished?”
Liam stands. “We’ll implement your strategy. Draft the statements and send them to Mason for legal review by the end of the day.”
Addison nods once and turns to leave. Then she walks out and closes it behind her.
The room stays quiet for five seconds.
Then Pauline exhales. “She’s intense.”
Nolan exhales. “She’s good.”
Liam hasn’t taken his eyes off the door.
People start gathering their things and filing out.
I don’t move.
Liam’s the last one in the room besides me. “Say it.”
Fuck. The last thing I want right now is a lecture. “Say what?”
He just stares and me, waiting for me to relent.
I cross my arms. “You want me to admit that I was an asshole.”
He meets my eyes. “Yes. You shouldn’t have said that.”
“Fine,” I start. “I was an asshole.”
“Don’t antagonize her. We need her,” he warns. “And she’s not going to take your bullshit.”
I shrug. “I know.”
Liam drags his hand through his hair. “Then why are you smiling?”
“Because she’s gonna fight back. And that’s gonna be fun.”