Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

V alerio

Another three days had passed.

The time spent with Selena had been incredible, also because we'd worked side by side, comparing notes and ruling out various people who could have held a grudge against my father. While we had no access to her father's records, we used what we knew about the various contracts they'd both been vying for to develop timelines as well as scenarios for why the threats had occurred.

We also had a plan on how to draw the culprit from the shadows.

Today was the real beginning. Then we'd wait. With our wedding only days away, the combination of what we had in our minds plus our nuptials should push whoever was responsible to a breaking point.

I rubbed my thumb across Selena's cheek, winking before pointing to my private office. It was a Saturday, the usual day for board meetings, so no one else was in the office. She was to wait until I came to get her. I had my suspicions about one board member in particular. Janice Goodwin had flown under the radar for years, someone my father had considered conservative yet a good listener, capable of making decent decisions that were in the best interest of the company.

However, it had come to light she was also fucking Jameson Gold, the man who enjoyed spending time at the Royal Players Club. No wonder he'd heard about the threats. I didn't like people telling trade secrets no matter how benign. I wouldn't tolerate that behavior.

What I'd found interesting was that Janice hadn't come to my father's funeral. Given her long time friendship with the man, someone she'd once called a mentor, I found that very odd.

My father was a hard nut to crack on the outside, but he'd been far too trusting in my opinion. However, I had to remind myself not to jump to conclusions at this point. It was all about keeping a cool head.

And a ferocious attitude.

With my brothers taking quick trips to both islands to ensure there were no destructive attempts being made on my other lucrative business, we each had our tasks laid out for us.

I buttoned my jacket and walked into the conference room. This particular meeting was all about my appointment as CEO of the board. I'd already assumed the presidency given my father's death.

It was just a formality, although I assumed the board expected me to announce one of my brothers as the second vice president. A natural concept to assume.

The five men rose from their chairs, Timothy being one of them. While not a seated board member, he was an important part of the team. Much like I'd joined many of them during my term as vice president of operations.

At least when I'd found the time.

Which lately had obviously not been often enough given the state of affairs within the company. In Selena's extensive search, she'd found that her father's company had made significant headway in winning both of the major contracts my father had been certain he'd obtain.

It also appeared Caldwell Michaels was pushing harder on the media circuit even after his former friend's death. So much for the thought of water under the bridge. I had a feeling Selena's father was simply pissed, but that didn't mean I wanted him to be the one signing the two contracts. Quite the opposite.

I'd spent time looking at the initial offer from the New York firm. The dollars initially hadn't been bad but from what I'd been able to tell, Dad had turned them down flat. I had a feeling they'd gone behind my father's back, talking to every board member privately.

Unacceptable. There was still some concept of integrity even with firms engaging in hostile takeovers.

Or at least there should be.

Janice was already standing by the window, turning as soon as I walked in. She appeared distraught, enough so her eyes were red. As she approached, she darted her eyes back and forth across my face.

"I am so sorry about Sebastian, Valerio. He was a good friend and someone I cared about. He was also a mentor for everyone in this room. Please give my regards to Gilly and the entire family. His death was so unexpected. He was honestly the picture of health. I was amazed how diligent he'd become with regard to keeping himself fit. I truly wanted to come to his funeral but had some family issues that had to be dealt with."

"Family is very important, Janice. I hope everything is going well for you. Please don't lose a moment of sleep. My father respected you and valued your friendship very much. I'll relay your condolences to everyone."

See? I could be nice as well as condescending when I set my mind to it. This meeting was about prudence. Patience. Both of which I didn't have. I was here to lay down the law as the new CEO, plant a few seeds, provide a little shock factor and observe.

Sadly, I had to keep reminding myself of that fact.

The look of stress remained on her face, as if there were so many things she wanted to tell me. Yet she turned away, taking her place at the table.

I took my place at the head of the table as well, still standing, noting the look of amusement on Timothy's face. He and I had often commiserated on just how much my father insisted on the pomp and circumstances events, including having a yearly office party celebrating the success of the company. Always black tie. Always catered.

And always terribly expensive.

Meanwhile, the truth was that profits were slipping given two major national and very popular syndicate stations had pulled their ads from our various programs. They'd been considered gravy. In addition, given the stars my father had hired were pompous shitheads, at least in my mind, they'd already begun to push for new contracts.

We were potentially at a crisis. Or at minimum a crossroads.

Even the advertising department was lacking in creativity in my opinion. Perhaps it was time for an overhaul of employees, systems, and methods of doing business.

Then I'd decide exactly what I wanted to do with Progressive Media. My father would likely be rolling over in his grave by now.

But he'd also told me a long time ago when the firm belonged to his sons, we would be free to do with it what we wanted.

I planned on taking the man up on that. After all, I was providing him with the wife he'd so desperately wanted me to have.

"Let's sit down, everyone," Mark Fenstone said as he nodded in my direction, smiling as he did so. "We should get on with the meeting since we all enjoy our Saturdays."

I unbuttoned my jacket before sitting down, studying the faces of the five board members. Meanwhile Timothy was grinning as he did often when we'd been sitting side by side against the wall, doing nothing more than watching the festivities. Sometimes fireworks.

Pops hadn't wanted me to be on the board. He'd believed that would create a sense of impropriety.

Well, fuck that.

Given at least three of the board members were ready to bail, my two brothers would take a seat at the table after I ousted them. That would even the odds. While the CEO could veto any decision, my father had rarely utilized that level of power. He knew the strife it would cause.

It would take significant control not to do that today. I also reminded myself I was trying to blame the world for my father's death and the board members could be nothing more than controlled puppets in this scenario.

Only my instinct was shifting the other way.

"I think we can skip all the basic formalities," Steve Perkins offered. "I would like to present for vote the appointment of Valerio Royal to the board of directors."

There was no such thing as a silent vote in this world. No one was stupid enough to vote against me. Within seconds, the deed was done. With six board members, there was always a chance for a tie, which the CEO and president only could break. It was a heady responsibility and one my father hadn't taken lightly.

"Thank you very much for your vote of confidence." That was about all the professional decency they would get tonight.

"We're glad to have you step up, Valerio. It's a tough time for your family and I hope Gilly is doing as well as can be expected," Janice said, her expression now more motherly than before.

I took a deep breath, nodding a few times. "She's holding up well. Now, there are a few housekeeping things that I want to handle this morning before we each go our respective ways. As you know, my brothers and I run two other companies who are under the Royal Corporation's umbrella. I will continue to be an active part of that, which will mean my two brothers also take a bigger role in what happens here. I assure you they are not attempting to take over, more ease the workload of everyone."

I waited, allowing that to sink in.

The board members nodded. Timothy lifted his eyebrow in amusement. He knew me well enough to realize when another shoe was going to drop.

"In addition, and I want to make this extremely clear, the Royal family is not selling this company for any amount of money, nor will it allow a hostile takeover to occur. I am well aware every one of you has been approached by Harbour Enterprises, attempting to encourage or, in my mind, blackmail you into selling your shares of stock. That will not happen. If you dare attempt it, I will intervene going straight to the SCC and I assure you, I have the power to ruin you."

I also allowed that tidbit of information to sink in, noticing just how uncomfortable everyone had gotten.

"And I continue. As many of you have heard, I am getting married. That will change things as well." I pulled out my phone, putting a smiley face onto my text going to my luscious cupcake. We still enjoyed texting. It was our sexy form of communication.

"What does that mean, Valerio?" Steve took the drop in conversation to jump in, leaning over the table.

"It means that I have a family life. And I want to enjoy that. In order to do so, I need people I can trust without reservation around me. Given there is a vacancy in the position of vice president of operations, a title and a job neither one of my brothers have any interest in, I took it upon myself to select the best candidate."

My beautiful woman was right on cue, waltzing in through the doors as if she owned the place. I had to admit, as much as I adored her in her jeans, tee shirts and ponytails, the red suit and coiffed hair along with four-inch stilettos left me with very sinful fantasies at the forefront of my mind.

Yes, I would ravish the wild and sultry woman just as soon as we ditched the fancy clothes. Maybe I'd put on another one of the Hawaiian shirts that she seemed to adore so much.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Selena said. "I am Selena Michaels, Valerio's fiancée and your new vice president of operations. I am so looking forward to working with all of you."

To say there was a shockwave through the room was an understatement and I couldn't be happier. Everything had been played out exactly as I'd hoped.

Even Timothy was in shock, but the evil glint in his eyes meant he knew exactly what I was trying to do.

Flush out the rat.

There was a whole lot of sputtering and sweaty faces but over the course of the next few minutes, the board members did their best to regroup before walking out.

I was one hundred percent satisfied.

At this time.

"I think we are done here and I do hope you enjoy your weekend." I stood first, the others still looking at me warily. Likely wondering what the hell was going on in my mind.

I kept a smile on my face as they gathered what little they'd brought into the room, barely making eye contact before leaving. Only Timothy remained behind, his grin positively glowing.

He closed the door after them, swaggering in our direction. "Whew, Mr. CEO. You know how to put a fire under their butts."

Chuckling, I glanced from my new VP, winking before offering my own smile toward my other VP. "It had to be done. Something is going on, the threats that have been made unacceptable. I will flush out who is responsible. And no one is going to try and take down this company."

He threw his arm toward Selena. "You worked with your father for almost two years."

Selena eyed him warily before accepting the gesture. "I did, but that doesn't mean I'll give off any trade secrets."

Timothy laughed. "I wouldn't expect you would. I have a feeling you're going to be very good for this company."

"Well, I have several creative ideas already to help boost sales and attract other artists."

"I think I can speak for our illustrious leader that we both look forward to that. If you don't mind, I have a golf game to get to."

"I didn't know you played golf," I told him.

He rolled his eyes. "A celebrity thing. Don't get me started. I suck at it but my wife is insisting."

"Good for you."

He gave a salute, as he often had in the past in jest before walking out.

As soon as he did, Selena exhaled, her shoulders slumping. "Wow. They don't like me."

"They don't need to like you, my darling cupcake. They simply need to be terrified of you and what you will do."

She'd been working diligently, coming close to getting into a file my father had hidden extremely well. It hadn't been in the directory and if she hadn't been searching for something else, she would likely never have discovered it.

"We will see how terrifying I can become." She crossed her arms, giving me a rather mischievous look as I closed the distance.

I rubbed my hands down her arms, both of us experiencing the same heated round of electricity we always did.

And a luscious jolt I hoped we would always feel.

"You are one fabulous actress."

She laughed, rising onto her tiptoes and kissing my lips. When she bit down on my bottom one, it was all I could do not to drag her over the conference room table, desecrating it forever. Hmmm…

I resisted fisting her hair, ripping out the clip holding her hair in a tight, far too conservative bun. I preferred her hair down or in the ponytail I could use as a leash. Later.

"We need to leave. We must make a final decision on the wedding cake and no, I will not choose flavors by myself. Bubba." She was literally purring.

"Bubba?"

"You heard me."

"And so, it begins. Once you're betrothed, you think you can become a task master."

She dared to slide her hand down my chest to my bulging groin, stroking enough times my control started to slip even more. "You have no idea, big man. Let's go."

When she tried to pull away, I grabbed her hand. "One more piece of business. Then we can spend days on the wedding if needed."

"What's that?"

"We're going to call the illustrious owner of the firm in New York."

"Ah. And what do you plan on doing?"

"Threatening in my way."

"You mean yanking their chain," Selena cooed.

"You know me far too well, my cupcake. Exactly. Then we wait until the dust settles while we keep looking." With less than a week prior to the wedding, it should prove to be an interesting period of time.

We both sat down at the conference table and I pulled out the card I had with the number of the president of Harbour Enterprises.

"What should I say?" she asked.

"You'll know if and when your input is needed. Feel free, my darling. As I promised. We are in this equally no matter the outcome." She'd tried her father once again, the man ignoring her calls. I'd sensed she was trying to put everything into perspective.

Meanwhile, the two contracts both firms were vying for appeared split. I honestly didn't care if her father's firm grabbed one. At some point, I was hopeful the two firms would merge. If that was the case, the combined corporation would become the largest within the United States.

Had I mentioned this to my partner in crime?

Not yet.

I still needed to tell her that once we were married, the only thing that could separate us was death.

As the phone rang, she took a deep breath.

"Mr. Banner's office," a girl answered. I kept it on a simple call for now, deciding against allowing the bastard to see us. I'd heard the man worked Saturday hours as well, the research I'd done on him and his firm providing me with several delicious points of interest.

Some of which I'd use to blackmail the firm if necessary. I'd wait and see if that would be necessary.

"Mr. Banner, please."

"I believe he's in a meeting."

"This is Valerio Royal and quite frankly, I won't take no for an answer. I am certain he'll want to talk with me."

"Mr. Royal, I'm sorry but?—"

"You should hear what I'm saying, Miss…"

"Roker."

"Roker. I'm not the kind of man who will ever take no for an answer. I am also not known for my patience. I suggest you take my call. I don't believe I need to go any further."

She was as flustered as I wanted her to be. I did so enjoy threatening my enemies.

"I'll put you on speakerphone. Listen. Participate. Make faces. Whatever you'd like."

Selena gave me a heated look. "Are you certain you wouldn't prefer I be between your legs?"

She caught me off guard with that one. "Don't tempt me."

"Mr. Royal. What a pleasure to finally talk with you." I'd been quite fascinated reading about Jack Banner. The firm was also family run, a sister and a brother involved. However, he was known to associate with one of the most notorious mafia syndicates in all of New York. I certainly wasn't immune to the tactics often used by crime syndicates.

For all the noteworthy reports on the various organizations who were using more entrepreneurial tactics to completely alter how their regimes were run, many people had no idea the cartels were making a significant inroad.

And not just with their signature illegal drugs but studying the successes and mistakes made by other syndicates. San Diego had two such brutal entities, both of which had once attempted to sway my father into using his political clout to keep the heat off their backs.

I'd squelched that right away, my brothers along for the ride. It had felt good to be aggressive in a savage way.

Which meant, I wouldn't mind using the very same tactics on Banner's company if necessary. In fact, I almost hoped I'd need to.

"Yes, well, I do wish this was under better circumstances," I told him.

"True. I heard about your father and I'm truly sorry."

"I appreciate your kind words." I hesitated, trying not to laugh from seeing her scrunched-up face. She'd already pegged the guy as I had early on myself.

"I hate to cut this short, Mr. Royal, but I dragged my assistant in here very early on a Saturday for an important business call from Italy and I would hate to keep my client waiting."

"Then I'll make this short, Jack. We happen to be two highly profitable firms located on opposite coasts. While you are somewhat more diversified than the Royal Corporation, although we are involved in several lucrative ventures, we both own full media production firms."

He seemed confused by what I was saying.

"I'm sorry, Valerio," he answered, taking the cue to make the call more personal. "I've yet to have my normal allotment of coffee. If you don't mind, help me understand what you are saying."

"It's simple, Jack. You will no longer attempt to go behind my back purchasing shares in your pathetic effort for a hostile takeover."

His silence meant I'd caught him off guard. Good.

Unfortunately, he made the mistake of laughing.

"Valerio. Come now. You're a big boy as well as a medium-size fish in the water. You know the score. I'm simply abiding by my board of directors' wishes. I offered your father decent money to sell the firm, but he refused to talk to me about it. And I assure you that the offer was more than fair, especially given the rumors floating around about your father and certain ugliness in his past. And of course, you, his oldest son who wanted nothing to do with his father's company. Here at Harbour, we've decided to venture into sunny California. I'm growing weary of the winters in New York. Mark my words, Valerio. We will soon be a force to be reckoned with, especially since we are already in the process of purchasing another firm. Perhaps you know it. Task Force United? If I remember correctly, the owner is your fiancée's father. Yes?"

There was obvious glee in the man's voice. When Selena started to interject, I pressed my index finger across her lips. Now I believed her silence would be to our benefit.

One of many things I was good at was putting pieces of a puzzle together. I also excelled in the art of bullshit, something my father had insisted all three boys learn.

He'd been right to push us. So, with a smile on my face, I leaned over my cellphone. "I'm sorry to inform you this way, Jack, but Mr. Michaels' company is also not for sale. I think you're going to need to bark up another media firm's tree. Unless of course you'd prefer answering to the district attorney of New York regarding the extortion your firm has been involved with over the last few years."

The silence was more than golden. I'd discovered enough information and had talked to a couple of buddies still located in the Big Apple to know Banner's firm and family had many enemies themselves. And when pressed, they'd alluded as to why, even without proof.

"You don't know shit, Valerio, and I wouldn't try and jump in the game with the likes of me. You're not qualified to be a pinch hitter."

I laughed as if I didn't have a care in the world. "Do your research, Jack, my boy. I happen to be very good friends with the mayor and several judges within your jurisdiction who would be happy to use the information I've gathered. If you push me of course. If not, then I'll allow you to enjoy your coast while I rule mine. Have a great meeting and weekend but I strongly suggest you heed my advice."

I ended the call, pleased with myself.

"My father wanted me to work with him so he could get the firm ready to sell. Isn't that the truth? He didn't give me the opportunity to say whether I wanted it or not. Don't say it, Valerio. I know I made it very clear I wanted nothing to do with the firm, but he wasn't even going to give me a chance."

"First of all, miss cupcake, Jack Banner is a card player just like I am. He was spinning a tale to try and convince me to back down so he could roll in on a chariot of fire. Second, if there is any truth to the accusation, my guess is your father wanted to work with you to try and convince you to take a leap of faith and push aside your dreams."

"Which he knew I wouldn't do."

"It's time to concentrate on the next phase of our plan, including our wedding. The gauntlet has been pitched down twice. It's time to see what's done with it."

She took my hand as I helped her rise from the table. "I'm curious. Is any of what you told Mr. Banner at the end the truth?"

I shrugged before leading her to the door. "Possibly."

She stopped short, lifting her head. "You are very good at bluffing, but you're lucky you have me."

"Why is that?"

"Because what we need now isn't poker, it's chess."