Chapter 8
8
BENNETT
T he second I walk out of Linda’s office, I feel as if someone is watching me. Just like I did the second I stepped onto this floor. As I head back to the elevator bank, I ignore all the eyes looking my way. You would think I was in a fucking monkey suit with how hard people stare in my direction whenever I’m within a few feet from them. I know I barely make it out of my office on most days but it’s ridiculous. If I were a different man, I would fire every single person on this floor just because their stares irritate me.
But I’m not that cruel.
Well, I am, but they don’t need to know that.
As soon as I’m in the elevator, and away from the infuriating stares, I pull out my phone and log into the company database. The urgency to learn everything that I can about my new employee it rolling though my body like a damn title wave.
Growing up, my parents and Henry would attend school conferences regarding my lack of attention when it came to certain subjects. It was something that extended well into high school. I wasn’t as enthused about learning about English and history as I was about science or math, they would say. Those were my two favorite subjects but to some of my teachers, that didn’t matter, they wanted my attention no matter what.
Thankfully, my parents and Henry were on my side and on more than one occasion informed the educators that it takes a lot for my attention to be captured and if they weren’t getting it then they were doing something wrong.
Is that the exact words that they said? I have no clue, I was never present for those meetings, but that’s what I was told was said. To this day, it still takes a lot for someone or something to capture my full attention. Especially when the title of CEO is so close to being in my head and I have to concentrate on getting all the votes that I need to make it happen. My concentration should be on that and that alone.
But all of that went to shit when my car pulled up to the front of the Lane building and my attention went from wanting to conquer whole damn city to the woman that was standing a few feet away from the entrance.
From the angle I was in, I was only able to see her back, but apparently that was enough to have my eyes moving up and down her body, taking in every visible inch of her as if she was mine for the taking.
Why she captured my attention, I have no idea but she did and as soon as my driver opened the car door for me, I started making my way over to her. I had a meeting with a tech company in Australia, but they could wait. In that very moment, she was more important.
Whoever she was.
So I walked over to her.
I was only going to catch a quick glimpse of her, see her face, and engrain it into my memory so that I can find her later, but then I heard her speak.
The words weren’t for me to, but when I heard her tone, I wanted them to be. I wanted every damn word that came out of her mouth to be for me and me alone.
I have no fucking clue what came over me when I laid eyes on this woman. I haven’t had this visceral of a reaction to the opposite sex in half a decade, and yet here is this woman, who looked lost and its as if a firecracker has been lit up in me.
More so when she let out a yelp when I spoke out loud. I don’t know why, but watching this woman get flushed and flustered was fucking adorable and I don’t usually find thing adorable.
For a second, I wonder who she was and why I was so damn intrigued by her?
My intrigue for her grew when she turns to finally meet my gaze, her eyes going slightly wide and her mouth popping open just the slightest bit. From the back I wanted to claim her as mine to have but when I looked into those gray eyes of hers and took in every single inch of her beauty, I wanted to ravage her and never let her go.
Damn, just thinking about it now makes my mouth water. When I looked into her eyes, that when I knew that I was going to fucking hell. This strange woman was just looking at me, like anyone else would if a stranger had approached them, but just a simple look was making my dick twitch.
Her eyes were just as beautiful as ever other part of her that I could see.
For a few minutes, I was enamored by her and I didn’t want the feeling go away.
It should have though. It should have when she told me that today was her first day in an assistant position. That should have been my first clue as to who she was, but I wanted to be naive. I wanted to think that we had hired other assistants to start today and this was not the woman I told Linda to hire for myself. The the few minutes that I spoke to her, I wanted to believe that this woman wasn’t going to be my new employee, which would ultimately make her off limits according to company policy. I wanted to be naive but then she said her name and the naiveness went out the window.
You would think that the second I had confirmation that the woman I had volunteered to walk up to the eighth floor was indeed my new assistant, that the intrigue and my attention span would have wavered, but no. The second I heard her name escape her lush lips, not a single fuck in the world was given. The woman intrigued me and I didn’t give a single shit that she was my new employee. I didn’t give a shit down stares and I still don’t give a shit.
Am I going to do anything about this found attraction to my new employee? No, but that still doesn’t stop me from want to know every single last detail about her. And it partly has to do with her ability to capture my attention.
I have to know if she can be trusted. More so now that I find myself wanting to actually be Bennett when I’m around her and no just another cold hearted asshole. If I’m going to be CEO, I need people in my corner that aren’t going to stab me in the back and go spilling my dirty secrets to every single person they met.
Which Is why I’m currently letting myself into the the company database. I need to learn all that I can about this woman that her resume didn’t tell me and I need to do it before she comes up to my office and officially starts her first day.
I may not be CEO but I know every single thing that happens within every sector of this company. The board my think that by keeping me from being the head of the company, they take away my ability to know anything and everything that they do. But they’re wrong. With a few swipes of my fingers I have access to everything that this company buys, sells and does. Every email that is being written and sent and every single employee file for all the individuals that has worked under the name Lane Enterprises in the last sixty years. And the board is none the wiser.
That’s what happens when the board and all the execs are a bunch of old nimrods that only care about their egos, and filling their pockets and not bettering the company.
Every single technology upgrade that this company has seen in the last ten years has been because of me and not because the board thought about it.
Hell, if I hadn’t stepped up behind the boards back and gave myself access to the company data base, and implemented a high cyber security system, we would’ve been hacked more times that they would have known to do with and lost millions in the process.
A bunch of good for nothing old ass idiots.
Soon, though.
Soon, they will be all gone and then this company will be mine and I’ll be able to do whatever needs to be done to keep the company at the very top. I don’t need a bunch of old men telling what the fuck I can and I cannot do. I get enough of that from Henry in my personal life.
With a few more swipes of my fingers, I find Ella’s employee filed that was created this morning and skim through all the information that she provided. There’s nothing here that will tell me if she is trust worthy or not, which is something that I expected, but I do take note that the references she provided aren’t tied to the company whatsoever. A good thing.
As the elevator dings for the fortieth floor, I mentally write down the date of brith and address, to send over to someone to look deeper into Ms Vincent, and slide my phone back into my pant pocket before the elevator doors open.
Just like down on the eighth floor, the second I step foot off the elevator, all eyes are on me. You would think that I have three heads by the amount of times people fucking stare.
Apparently it doesn’t matter how much time has passed since you started working in the same building as them, if you share a name with the company that they work for, they will stare and think of you as an anomaly.
Some individuals will even make fuck-me eyes at you in hopes that you would notice them and stop living up to your most-eligible bachelor title and marry them so that they can get a hand of the millions you inherited and the billions that you built.
But what they don’t know is that I’m not going to be marrying a single one of them, even if I wanted to.
Marriage isn’t something that I want. Not now. Not later in life. Not even with my parents as an example. There are important aspects to life that don’t require a wife, and besides, I already have children, I don’t need anymore.
Especially if they come out just as mouthy as their cousins.
Putting the thought of a wife and marriage out of my mind, with all the annoying stares, I walk the remainder distance to my office.
The office that was given to me when I made the company over ten million dollars in one single quarter.
You would think with how much the board hates me, they would put me in an office the size of the closet, with no windows or air conditioning, but when you bring in as much money as I do, they can’t really do that. Especially with all the high profile meetings I have any given week.
I find it ironic that they will give me a corner office, not my father’s old one that Gerald currently occupies, the one on the top floor with redwood doors and floor to ceiling windows, but they won’t give me an executive title.
Doesn’t matter though, the title I want is going to me mine in no time.
As I approach my office, I go through everything that I need to get done today, including the meeting the I’m late for and sending off Ella’s information over to someone, but all those plans go out the window when I step into my designated room and see that it’s not empty.
Sitting behind my desk, in the chair that was specifically made for me, is Peter Hill, the chairman to the Lane Enterprises board of directors. And my number one enemy.
From day one, Mr. Hill has been trying everything in his power to make me not only leave the company but also sell my shares.
He wants the company for himself, I just fucking know it, but he will never gets his hands on it. Even if I’m dead.
Seeing his face in my space irritates me more than the damn stares.
But I hide all my irritation, and place a look of indifference on my face. Can’t have this fucker seeing all my cards.
“Peter. I must have missed the calendar notification that had us meeting this morning.” I say in place of a greeting as I walk deeper into my office, stopping right in front of my desk.
The old fucker that apparently doesn’t have anything else to do, gives me a fucking smirk as he leans back in my chair and looks at me like he owns the damn place.
I’ll fucking ruin him before that even has the possibility of happening.
“My assistant must have sent the email over to your old assistant and they forgot to update your calendar. You should really start looking for a replacement. You can’t keep missing important information like this.”
My teeth grind the whole time he speaks.
The only reason that I don’t have an assistant, and was in the business of hiring a new one, is because the last one was a mole for Peter and everything I did was reported back to him. I figured out after one week and it didn’t take much for me to fire them.
Which is why I’m so inclined to find out everything I can about Ella Vincent. I can’t have what happened with my old assistant happen again. Before her resume landed in front of me, I was hesitant brining anyone on to help. I was without an assistant for a good solid month with out extra help. I was able to do a lot on my own, and Henry helped somewhat but after a while it got tiring and Ms Vincent’s application came into my life at the perfect time. More so with Gerald’s announcement looming. I just have to make sure that she is someone that doesn’t want to bury me. Other wise, she will be fired before she even starts.
Ignoring his assistant comment, because I know for a fact that this little visit is not something that he had planned, I cross my arms across my chest and stare the asshole down.
“Is there something that I can help you with, Pete? Or are you here trying to plant a listening device so you can pass one of my acquisitions as yours?”
The smirk on his face completely disappears all the while his whole back goes straight as I call him Pete, a name I know he hates. His body is completely ridged as he gets up from my chair.
“I would never do such a thing.” The man says through his teeth but we both know it’s a lie.
“You planted a fucking assistant. I wouldn’t put it past you to plant a device.” I give him a shrug and walk over to my coffee machine.
I may have already had my allotted two cups for the morning, but seeing Peter is making it feel like the type of day where I’m going to need a damn IV to survive.
“You have no fucking idea what you are talking about.”
I give him another shrug as I pour a cup of coffee. Thank fuck, I have an automatic timer, if only I had a bottle of scotch stashed here too.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Hill?” The question leaves my mouth when I turn back to face the bastard that officially has made his way from behind my desk.
“There is a rumor floating around, Mr. Lane.”
“Oh yeah? And what rumor would that be?”
“One that states that Goldman not only is going to call a meeting in the two week and announce his retirement, but also already has someone in mind to serve as his replacement.” The old fucker decides to come closer to me and let his disgusting cologne fill my airways as if he has a point to be made.
“This is the first that I’m hearing of it.” Lie, lie lie. “Good for Gerald, his wife has been waiting for his retirement.” I take a sip of my coffee to hide my own smirk that is threatening to form. “I wonder who he’s going to name his replacement.”
“Cut the crap, son. I know that the old bastard told you who he was going to choose. Now, who is it?”
Not wanting to smell the good awful cologne much longer, I put distance between me and the smell and walk over to my chair. I may have to get a new one to get rid of the stench.
At least I’m concentrating on the smell and not on the fact that there is anger rolling through me at the fact that Peter Hill just called me son.
“You should leave the son title for your own kid.” I mutter as I take a seat. “Hate to break it to you Pete, but I have no idea who Goldman is picking as his replacement. And even if I did, why the fuck would I tell you?”
“I would watch your mouth kid, or did you forget who you are talking to?”
I let out a scoff and give him the same eye roll that my teenagers give me. “Did you?”
“Your name may be on this building, but you have no power, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s going to stay that way.”
“Is that why you came in here, Pete? To threaten me? To tell me that if Goldman names me as his replacement, I will never wear the title?”
The way that the old bastard grins tells me that my assumptions are correct.
Of course they are.
Peter here may think that he is slick, but he wears his cards on his fucking sleeve. I know his next move before he does.
“Your father said you were smart. I didn’t believe him until now.”
The anger rolling through me is growing stronger. It its taking everything in me to not get up from this chair and punch Hill in the damn face. He could use a new nose job anyway.
But I just roll my eyes and let the sarcasm slip.“Gee. You would think that all the damn business and money I bring into this company would have been an earlier indicator.”
The bastard’s face goes beet red with anger. “Cut the shit. If I were you, I wouldn’t play games with me. I don’t give a shit if the old geezer names you CEO and you get every single vote in that boardroom, you will never get the ability to wear that title. Not as long as I’m still fucking breathing. It’s not meant for you.”
I can’t help but to roll my eyes at the old bastard taking up my time.“Let me guess, it’s meant for you?”
The smirk that forms on his face would tell me all that I need to know if I wasn’t able to read Peter Hill like a damn movie. “I’ve kept this company alive.” He sneers. “I’ve made it what it is.” Like fucking hell he did. “Not Goldman and definitely not you. I worked fucking hard for it. It wouldn’t be handed to me just because my daddy died. So if he names you, I will do everything in my power to make sure it never goes through. Do you fucking hear me?”
It wouldn’t be handed to me just because my daddy died.
For the majority of my life, I’ve heard those words spoken to me by countless individuals. Every time that I hear them, I want to scream at the person speaking them and beat them until they understand that my parents death didn’t hand me a single thing beside being an orphan. Sure, I received an inheritance, but I’ve worked fucking hard to get where I am and my parents death has nothing to do with it.
But Peter and everyone like him will never understand that. To them I will always be the rich kid that uses his daddy’s money to get what he wants, and that’s fine. It will just make taking what they desire the most all that sweeter.
“Loud and fucking clear.”
My response to dear ole Peter comes out in almost a growl, to make it seem to him like he actually succeeded to get under my skin.
Peter can threaten me all he wants. Nothing is going to stop me from getting the title of CEO and that includes him. He will be destroyed before that even happens.
“Good. Now if you excuse me, I have important matters to attend to.”
He throws a grin in my direction and as soon as he is out of my office, I don’t hesitate in opening up the top drawer of my desk and take out the scanning device.
I wasn’t joking when I asked Peter if he was here to plant a listening device. A conniving man like him, would do just that to get anything he wants. What he doesn’t know is that I will always be one step ahead of him.
I place the device, one that was invented by this very company and as soon as it’s running, I take my phone out and start dialing a number that I’ve known since I was a teenager. The one number I call when I need something done.
This call was initially to get information in Ella Vincent, but now that Peter Hill has paid me a visit, my reasoning for this call has changed slightly.
The phone rings a total of three times before he answers.
“Whatever it is must be good if the prince himself is giving me a call on a Monday morning.” Dante Rosetti’s voice sounds through the other end of the phone.
When it comes to having friends, I have very few. Getting thrown into fatherhood at twenty-two and raising four kids that aren’t technically yours seems to scare people your age away. Some people though, will stick by your side and open their doors to you for whenever you need. The person on the other side of this call is the latter.
I met Dante in high school when I was a junior and he was coming in as a freshman. We both come from prominent Chicago families, something that we bonded over during computer science class, but where my family was known for its money and the charity work that was done, Dante’s was known for some thing else.
Being the mafia.
That should have been something to sway me away from a friendship with him, but I didn’t. If anything, being friends with Dante was something that I actively sought after. From the age of sixteen, I knew that being friends with someone like Dante was going to be beneficial for the both of us, and I was right.
I look down at the time on my watch and see that it’s close to ten in the morning.“Good enough for you to answer. I would have figured with the club, you would still be in bed.”
“Yeah, well when your wife is craving pancakes from a specific place, you get out of bed and get her pancakes and all the syrup in the world.”
For the first time I’ve step foot into my office this morning, I actually smile. It may be a tiny one, but a smile nonetheless.
“Look at you, the most pussy-whipped man known to life. Angelina is a lucky woman.”
This man has been married to the mafia’s consigliere’s daughter for a few months now and he is still very much in the honeymoon stage.
Dante lets out a grunt on the other side. “One of these days you are going to marry a girl and fly her across the world just because she wants something specific to eat and when that day comes, I’m going to call you and asked who the most pussy whipped mother fucker is and the only answer is going to be you.”
I actually let out a laugh. “That day is never going to come.”
“It will and I will be waiting.” If I didn’t know any better, I would think my friend is a little annoyed, but he quickly changes the subject before I’m able to call him out on it. “Anyway, I know you didn’t call me to talk about how whipped I am, so what’s going on?”
Time for business.
“I need you to do two things.” As I say the words, the scanning device beeps notifying me that no listening devices have been found.
Hill may not have planted them this time, but I have no down that he will if he ever gets the chance, especially now that I’ve planted the thought in his head.
“What are they?”
“I need you to dig into Peter Hill. I need the deep shit, that I can’t find on my side. He’s a board member that would rather see me dead in the ground than see me as CEO of this company. I know he’s in something dirty, I need you to find out what.”
The bastard has always been slimy and off putting. There is no doubt in my mind that he has his hands in something corrupt, and possible has been for years. I just have to find out what.
For years I’ve been looking into the bastard, and every single time I’ve come out empty. What ever he is in, he is good at hiding it. Which is why I need Dante’s help. I may have connections, but he is able to dig into the dark things in ways I can only dream.
“You know, some people would say that you are in some dirty things yourself.”
An involuntary growl leaves my mouth. “What I do isn’t on my company’s dime.”
“But you use your company’s resources.”
“I don’t hear you complain when those resources have helped you or landed in your hands.”
“You never let me complain,” he says and pauses for a few seconds before he continues. “I’ll look into Peter Hill and see what I can find. It’s a common as fuck name though, so if you have any other information on him, I’m going to need it.”
“I’ll send you what I have.” I say, waking up my computer and typing out an email with all the information that I know about Peter hill.
“Great. Now, what’s the second thing.”
Right. The second thing. The true reason to the newly named head of the mafia this bright Monday morning.
“This one is less dingy.”
I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t look into the woman that is bound to walk through my door any minute now. I should’t want to invade her privacy because someone else invaded mine. I shouldn’t look into there, but I want to.
I need to.
She captured my attention. She made me intrigued. And now I need to know everything about her.
When I speak next, there is no hesitation. “Her name is Ella Vincent and she just started working for Lane Enterprises. I need to know just the basics on her.”
“Okay?” Dante pauses as if he is waiting for more, but there isn’t more. “And who is this Ella Vincent to you?”
I stay silent for a minute trying to figure out the answer to that question. It takes me a longer than necessary to come up with a response, especially when the woman in question steps foot in my door way.
Did she hear me say her name?
Her facial expression doesn’t give it way, but it does show nervousness but there tinge of curiosity. It’s buried deep, but it’s there. I can see it.
Without taking my eyes off my new assistant, I answer Dante.
“I don’t know yet. When I find out, I will let you know.”
Ella Vincent may be my new assistant but something deep in me that she is going to become more than that. What exactly?
I guess I will find out eventually.