Hayes
twenty-five
“Their immediate response was a fat hell no. Even though we’ve been working through all of our bargaining chips, they’re not even interested in entertaining the offer.
We went in above market value and it would be more than generous, but they don’t care.
” Diego Vallarta, the senior vice president of finance at Olympus, sounds perplexed as he updates me on the Xenios takeover and it’s not what I want to hear.
“Could be a tactic to get us to raise our offer.”
These multimillion-dollar acquisitions can sometimes take months to hammer out details and get each side what they want. There are concessions each side has to make and even more that are demanded before you can find a place to settle in the negotiations. We don’t have months.
“What are they holding out for?”
“Everything, as far as what they’re actually saying.” I hear him sigh impatiently over the line. “We expected this, Hayes.”
“What can we concede that isn’t going to fuck the whole thing up?” I reply, just as irritated.
“Our research shows they are particularly attached to the Savannah Mansion property. It’s the family estate, where they got their start. We could remove that property from the deal and likely get them to agree a lot faster.”
“Absolutely not. That’s the property this entire deal hinges on. Besides, what other option would we have for Savannah at that point? We’d need to purchase another existing hotel or build one from the ground up and lose years and millions.”
I run my hand over my face and tug at my hair.
I’m not about to lose out on the one property that started this whole mess.
I visited Savannah on a business scouting trip years ago and stayed at The Mansion.
It’s where the idea of branching into luxury boutique hotels first took root and transformed my ideas for the future of Olympus.
I want that fucking mansion.
“Keep at it and don’t remove a single property from the table just yet. I want them all.”
“You may need to step in earlier than we planned,” he says hesitantly.
Fuck. “I know. I’ll work on it. I’m in Savannah and will see what I can do today, if not tomorrow. Keep me updated.”
I end the call and pound my fist against the desk.
The last thing I want to do is go to William Fairchild with my demands at the very moment he discovers I’ve married his daughter and fucked up his wife’s arrangements.
It’s only going to make him close ranks and refuse outright.
From what our research into the Thackery trust and Fairchild inheritance has revealed, the marriage clause Paige referred to means she needs to be married when she eventually inherits her legacy.
That doesn’t look to be any time soon, given William Fairchild’s health and determination to remain at the head of his company.
Having married Paige now, likely decades before she inherits The Xenios Group, won’t make them transfer The Mansion to me any faster.
It might just make him continue refusing our offers.
I make a call to another member of my team working on contingency plans.
“We need to move forward with Plan B. Make it happen now, and I don’t care what you have to pay to get it.
I need this to get the Xenios deal going.
Use the leverage I provided and don’t hold back.
They need to know they have no choice but to sell, and fast, or I’ll go to the press.
” In this case, leverage is a nice way of saying blackmail, and I don’t even fucking care about the moral repercussions.
It’s deserved in this instance and a long fucking time coming if they give me any resistance and make me use it.
“You sure about that, Hayes? It was last-ditch when we discussed it. It’s only day one of negotiations. We have time.”
“We don’t have the time I had hoped for and this could be a huge bargaining chip. Just fucking make it happen today.”
I hate snapping at my team, but I’m nearly desperate to ensure I get the deal I want.
I’m willing to resort to blackmail and force a hostile takeover for a completely unrelated deal just to have a better hand in this game.
I’m hoping it will keep William Fairchild from losing his shit and shuttering all possibilities of selling when faced with losing everything.
This last-ditch effort might show him he’s not actually losing as much as he thinks he is.
I rise from my desk with purpose, leaving the office and banging through the door to the apartment in a rush.
Paige squeaks and slips off the bed, a thud quickly following her disappearance.
Shit. I should have taken a breath and calmed down before rushing in here and freaking her out.
“Baby, are you okay?” I call as I hurry across the apartment.
“I’m fine, just surprised,” she says, popping up from the far side of the bed, rubbing her knee. “You came in so fast, I didn’t know what was happening.”
I gather her in my arms, my hands smoothing her hair and tracing around her ear.
“I think we should invite your parents to dinner tonight. I know we said we’d tell them tomorrow, but it’s probably better to get a jump on this before they learn of our marriage on their own.”
She wraps her arms around my shoulders and looks up at me. “I don’t think I’m brave enough just yet.”
“You don’t have to be. I’ll be right beside you, giving you all the courage you could want.”
I’m forcing her hand in this, my insistence giving her little option but to follow my lead, and I hate that I can’t let her get used to the idea on her own. I take her face in my hands.
“You don’t have to be afraid of them anymore or worry about what they want you to do.”
It’s imperative that we get this meeting over with sooner rather than later so the Fairchilds can get through the anger and animosity and move onto acceptance.
I have no hope of them ever being happy about me running off and marrying their daughter without asking for their blessing or even knowledge, but grudging acceptance is as good as anything.
She gives me a rueful grin. “You better flex those muscles right along with the side of bravery you offer, because I need it all to get through a dinner with Mama when I surprise her with the fact I’m now married.”
I indulge her and quickly make a spectacle of my biceps just to hear her laugh.
The look Caroline Thackery Fairchild gives me when she and William arrive at The Abyss for the quick dinner we arranged is nothing short of withering.
She may be diminutive in stature, shorter even than Paige, but she comes across as a vicious and mighty warrior hell-bent on destroying me.
I may have met my match for ruthlessness in Caroline.
I know exactly why Paige was worried and didn’t feel brave enough to bear her intimidating mother. Lucky for her, I can be equally as protective of the woman by my side as the mama bear appraising my arm currently around her daughter’s waist.
“Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild, it is my absolute pleasure to meet you,” I drawl, my Southern-infused manners and a disarming smile ready despite the tension in my body.
“Hi, Mama, Daddy,” Paige says, the shake noticeable in her voice.
I spread my fingers wider against her side and give her a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
“This is Hayes Olsen.”
She looks up at me and I nod.
“My husband.”
The color drains from Caroline’s face and she stumbles against her husband. He catches her with his own stunned expression.
“Paige, what have you done?” she gasps, clinging to William.
At least I know she hasn’t caught wind of any gossip blogs and the press that may have picked up on our quick Vegas trip.
“What is the meaning of this?” William snaps my way. “How dare you force a child to marry you? This is a disgusting act of coercion.”
“That’s rich coming from you, Daddy.” Paige’s voice crackles with her frustration. “Marrying Hayes was my choice. It sure beats the business deal and arranged marriage to a predator that y’all thought was so perfect for me just last week.”
“We have your best interests in mind and know the alliance with the Daniels will lead to a better future for you. We would never make you marry a predator, or someone nearly twice your age,” William responds, his eyes flicking to me.
The audacity of these people. I guess I have to drop this truth bomb on them right away rather than introducing the subject gradually. I let it rip.
“Garrison Daniels is a rapist.”
My flat tone has all of them looking at me, mixed emotions playing on each face.
“He has assaulted no less than six women since what he did to Paige in high school. His parents discreetly paid for the silence of each of his victims when the truth was threatened, which is why he’s practicing law and walking around a free man.
By not reporting his heinous treatment of Paige as a teenager, and by accepting his family’s hush money, you allowed a predator to remain free and hurt far more women in even more awful ways. ”
Caroline becomes even paler as she takes in the hard truth.
“That’s impossible. We would have known.” Her hand moves to clutch the pearls around her neck and she steals a glance at Paige that I think holds the tiniest hint of guilt. She knew.
“What is he talking about, Caroline?” William asks his wife, obvious discomfort straining his voice. If he still doesn’t know, his wife is more deceitful than I imagined.
“It’s nothing, William. Paige was confused about something that happened back in high school.”
Paige makes a huff of frustration next to me at her mother’s words. I want to throttle Caroline for downplaying what happened to her daughter and continuing to cover it up even now. Before I can tear her a new one, Paige speaks.
“Daddy, he tried to rape me.” Paige’s voice is small, full of shame, and breaking my damn heart. I want that piece of filth to pay.