Chapter 51

I"m told to be patient. I"m told to give you space, to give you time. But I don"t know how to do that when you are in every breath I take, in every step I make.

Amelia, you are the best thing to have ever happened in my life. Answer me, text me, give me something, anything.

It was five days before I could finally meet with Nicholas face to face. He came to meet me at the Airbnb. The woman next door stopped watering her plants for a minute, admiring Nicholas"s height and his muscular build, appreciating his custom-made blue suit that flattered his broad shoulders, and his pitch-black hair and brown eyes. Nicholas was a Greek god—quite literally, as his father"s family was from Greece. His square jaw and Mediterranean tanned skin used to cause uproar among the girls at school.

I had been the lucky one he had set his eyes on at the time. We had dated for barely two months when Richard made us break up because Nicholas's family was nouveau riche, his grandfather having made a fortune in the real estate business. Richard only wanted to establish himself within the old-school rich of California. We had remained friends since, and while our breakup really had been of our own accord when we realized we were much better as friends, Nicholas hated Richard.

Nicholas had, of course, done well after that, becoming a highly coveted attorney, and he was now progressing to manage the family empire. He was one of the most sought-after bachelors in California, enjoying his single life more than most. He reminded me of Alejandro, I realized—similar features, similar drive.

Although, no one could match the fire that Alejandro lit inside me.

Nicholas gave me the hug I desperately needed. I saw him glance in my neighbor"s direction. The woman almost fell in her bushes. I rolled my eyes with a smirk.

"I'm so happy to see you," he said as he hugged me.

"Me too!" I said as we walked in the apartment, and I closed the door behind him. "I don't know how I would deal with all of this without you."

I had rented a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, and it was just the right size to feel airy. I loved the beach theme and the light-blue and green colors. They reminded me of Alejandro's beach house.

"Why are you not staying in the house?" he asked.

We proceeded to the living room, and I invited Nicholas to sit next to me.

"I had intended to move to New York this week," I explained, "and I didn't want to be near Richard. He is the reason I got kidnapped in the first place."

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"I, uh…I don't want to talk about it, to be honest."

"Well, okay, that's fine. But things are different now. That man will be in prison probably for the rest of his days because he killed someone. The house is yours. Your mom bought it with him before her death."

"Are we sure he didn't kill her?"

That had been the most important question for me—the one that had haunted my dreams that past week. Now that I knew Richard would stop at nothing for money, I wondered.

"I am still investigating, but it really does seem like it was an unfortunate drunk driving incident, in which the drunk driver who hit her car also died. Nothing seems to indicate that Richard lied about that. I think, if it was him, he would have made sure to take your shares beforehand as opposed to holding them for you after the fact. It seems like they had intended to move to the US, but then the accident happened. That would explain why your mom was an owner of the house as well."

"I see. I still can't believe this is happening." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I know I should be happy, but I'm disturbed, confused, and angry at him—and at myself."

"I know," he said, taking my hand in his, "but it will all be different now. You have your independence, and you can focus on running YOUR company."

"I know. You're right. I still can't believe this is happening. But to be honest, it feels so right. Like part of me must have known this was my destiny."

We talked for another couple of hours, as he was helping prepare me for what was to come. Chloe joined us as well for a few hours, providing me with support and to help me gather my thoughts into concise arguments. If I wanted justice, I would need to roll up my sleeves and be involved, go to court, take this to the very end. I had also called a special board meeting at Hotel Estrellas. I was quite scared. I had to look a lot stronger than I felt, earn the trust of some directors and shareholders while being suspicious of every single one of them. I had no way of knowing if any of them were Richard's accomplices, but it was very likely. I felt better with Nicholas by my side. I opted for a simple black dress with a black vest. I wanted to look professional and ready to get straight to business.

When we walked in the meeting room at Hotel Estrellas headquarters, the nine directors were all staring at me, clearly uncomfortable. Steve came to welcome me.

I felt like I was in a haze, my brain doing its best to protect me from any sort of strong emotions. I was at my wits' end, but this was the time to change my life. I recalled always being in awe but also intimidated by those huge conference rooms, everyone sitting around a vast thirty-person, rectangular, gray marble conference table, the high-tech room being used for important meetings.

"I called this special meeting today," I stated, "because this past week has been a revelation. I am sure that at least some of you feel the same way. Richard's arrest has caused a lot of issues in my personal life, and I imagine that it hasn't been easy here either."

I paused for emphasis.

"I am not one to waste my time with pleasantries, so I am going to cut to the chase." I paused again. "Richard has managed to fool me, and he's managed to fool at least some of you, by pretending to be a good and honest man. I want to say that he took my money from me, but that doesn't feel right as I had no idea it was mine in the first place, and I did nothing to deserve such a windfall. I wasn't allowed to. He never wanted me around here too much, and now I know why. He was an awful father, owner, and man, but I don't want to dwell on the past. I just want to focus on the future."

"Well said, Amelia. Well said. And I want to add—"

"I am not done, Charles," I said, giving the man who had interrupted me a cold stare.

He silently sat back down, a look of exasperation and surprise on his face.

"As some of you might know, even if Richard has presented me to you as the capricious little girl he took care of, I do have ambitions, and I have the required preparation to manage my own affairs in this company. I do have an MBA from Stanford, and I did work at companies before, in managerial positions. I know my rights, and I know what our bylaws authorize me to do and not do. While I don't think I have the right experience for what used to be Richard's position, I do believe that I have the experience and frankly the right to belong on this board. Richard fooled me, but he also fooled all of you. You were comfortable enough believing his tales. Never once did it occur to any of you that Richard was taking advantage of me, that I might have any interest in what was rightfully mine. His tax attorney was on this board as of a few days ago—until I sued him, of course."

I took another pause, letting it sink in that I was coming for any other accomplices.

"I won"t discuss why you were so comfortable believing him, how you enjoyed his yacht parties, his eccentric trips, the ridiculous donations he has made to Claude"s private accounts from mine. It is very clear to me that there was enough there to cause concern, and while some of you really didn't know, others turned a blind eye, and I do think the outcome would have been different had you seen me as an equal."

I looked at the distorted faces around the room.

"I take responsibility for having been foolish, but some of you were purposefully ignorant. I ask that we put a special independent committee in place to investigate our books, our minutes, and our records. We are under scrutiny now as a company, but I won't let my mother's legacy be destroyed by greed."

Once I established my strength and frankly my anger and disgust, I could see a few of these men struggling to pay attention and becoming a bit nervous. But Steve was encouraging me, backing me up in every decision. The meeting lasted four long hours. The other shareholders and I added me to the board, and the board voted on a temporary CEO. I pushed for Steve while we handled the investigation and the public image of Hotel Estrellas.

There was a lot of work to be done. I assigned Nicholas as my temporary representative. Nicholas had enough work on his plate in his complex law practice, but he agreed to do me the favor.

My mental health was more important, and I needed some time away before I was ready to take the reins of my future. I needed to heal. Nicholas wouldn't make any decisions without my consent, but all I wanted to do for the next two weeks was disconnect as much as I could, let Nicholas bother me when needed. Chloe would also be involved, as I wanted her to handle the corporate governance aspect of this company going forward. For now, though, I had to focus on myself.