Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“There is no war,” I say, tilting my head slightly and shrugging. “My father died, so I came home to claim my place as the head of the family. Cousin Hugh was merely acting as a steward for me, but now he thinks he’s the real power, and I’m busy showing him otherwise. In the meantime, I married my long-time sweetheart, Tara.”
“Congratulations,” Gotthard says flatly.
“Thank you. But the problem is, Hugh believes he’s the rightful ruler of Hayle, and in a lot of ways, he’s right. He’s the CEO of the public face of our family and for a long time, he was the de facto head of the private business.”
“Private business.” Bob scowls and shakes his head. “We know what you people do, Kellen. No reason to skirt around it.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” I give him a sharp smile. I can’t outright say we’re mafia—not even to these guys. They’re not in the family, which means there are certain rules in play. Anyone can be flipped and turned informant, which means I have to be exceedingly careful. No guarantee the feds aren’t listening right now.
Bob and Gotthard exchange a look and Bob only shrugs. “Fine, fair, I understand you can’t and won’t say, but I’m telling you, we understand. And we’re aware of your reputation.”
“Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Hayle.” Gotthard frowns so hard I’m afraid his face might fall off.
“We’re here to find a solution to our problem,” Bob continues. “Hugh’s been the CEO of Hayle since your father passed, may God rest his soul, and he’s done a very good job. In a large public corporation like Hayle Construction, turnover in the C-suite positions does not look good, not at all. We don’t want a new CEO already.”
I nod along as they talk, and the more words spill out of Bob’s mouth, the more I want to slam my glass into his teeth and make him bleed. This pampered little money man probably hasn’t tasted real pain in a long time and I’d love to remind him that yes, his flesh bleeds like anyone. Instead, I keep a smile plastered on my face, and hold Tara’s hand like it’s the last thing on earth.
“We want to know what your plans are,” Gotthard cuts in before I can answer. “We want to know if you are going to make life difficult or not.”
I look at them for a moment. I sip my drink and swirl it around, staring at the liquid, waiting. I make them hold their fucking breath before I finally open my mouth.
“You really want my plans, Gotthard?” I lean toward him, smirking devilishly, which makes him look even more dour. “I plan on finding Hugh, cutting his throat, and taking control of Hayle Construction.”
Bob takes a sharp breath and Gotthard merely grunts softly.
“You understand how that sounds to us, don’t you?” Bob asks and takes a drink, swallowing hard. “You can’t just say something like that.”
“It’s the truth. You know my reputation already, don’t you? Let’s not sit here and bullshit then. I want to control Hayle, which means I want the CEO position. Hugh is in my way. It’s that simple.”
“You’re talking about murder,” Bob whispers, turning pale.
I smile at the men. “No, not at all. I’m talking about removing an obstacle. Hugh’s fate is entirely in his own hands.”
Bob looks at Gotthard, who stares at me with his ice-like eyes. He doesn’t move, only remains still as a statue, back straight and hands folded in his lap. He puffs out his chest.
“We will not support you,” he says quietly. “The board will not support your bid, no matter what your name is. Hayle or not, you will never become the CEO of our company.”
I tilt my head, watching him. When he’s done, he deflates somewhat and sits back.
“I understand how these things work,” I say and stare into his eyes. To his credit, he stares back. “The board has a wide latitude in making these decisions, but my mother is the largest shareholder.”
“Fifteen percent only,” Bob says. “Not enough to override the board’s vote.”
“True, but fifteen percent is a lot. I wonder what would happen to the share price if I were to sell it all at once? Probably tank it, and I bet that would piss off your bosses.”
“How dare you,” Gotthard hisses. “You’re threatening us?”
“I know secrets about Hayle Construction, like how they installed asbestos boards back in 2002 by mistake in several schools all across the South, and how we’ve been dumping used toxic materials on reservation lands in an extremely shady predatory deal with the Native people in this grand state. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.”
Bob’s pale. Gotthard’s fuming. Tara’s looking from me to them and seems like she’s totally lost. This isn’t my arena and these tactics aren’t my preferred way to wage war, but I have a few tricks I can pull out when necessary, tricks I’ve learned from years of watching my father deftly handle the politics of his company and the blood of his crime syndicate. In the end, it’s all about people—finding out how they work, what they want, what motivates them, and pulling on those threads as hard as possible.