Page 43 of Charm (Billionaire Buck Boys #7)

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Holden

Jameson sprints toward me as I exit the elevator on the floor that houses our executive offices. It’s a typical move for him when he wants something from me.

I’m just about to turn around and step back into the open elevator to earn a laugh from my brother, but the woman who snuck around me to get inside has already pressed a button, sending the doors sliding shut.

“Have a nice day, Mr. Sheppard,” she says as she disappears from view.

I toss her a smile at the very last second. “You too.”

Jameson reaches me just as the elevator takes off to one of the floors below us. “I needed to talk to her.”

“Her?” I jerk a thumb over my shoulder toward the elevator. “Who is she?”

He lets out a hearty laugh. “Jesus, Holden. Try and keep up. She’s our new accounting manager. I introduced you to her a couple of months ago on the day she started.”

“Nope.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Yep,” he says, mimicking my stance. “It was right after you came back from East Hampton. The day after, I think. I remember because she told me I had a great tan, and didn’t say a word about you.”

My brother always seems to have a great tan.

“I should have known you’d forget that meeting.” He slaps the center of my back. “You had just spent the weekend with Greer. Your mind was not on business.”

He’s right about that, so I shrug off the comment. “You can take the stairs and meet her in the lobby.”

“Her name is Carol,” he says with a smirk. “I can also just call her and say what I need to say.”

“Which is?” I gesture toward the corridor that leads to our offices.

“To tell her what a great job she’s doing.”

Leave it to my brother to compliment every employee whenever he gets the chance. That’s who James is.

“Did you hear the good news?” He elbows my side.

I glance at him before I dart a finger into his bicep. “What good news?”

“The Sweet Indulgence news.”

“What?” I ask, my voice catching in my throat.

Any news that remotely involves Greer is news I want to hear right fucking now.

“You really like her,” James accuses, but there isn’t a teasing note in his tone. “I don’t know her, but she’s built a solid business with Krista. That tells me a lot about her.”

It tells me that she has strength and fortitude. It tells me the woman has grit and a will to succeed that not many people possess in this industry.

I loosen my tie slightly. “What’s the news?”

“She really didn’t tell you?” He motions for me to step to the left to allow room for Sasha to pass.

She’s on a call, so all we get is a weak wave from her.

Jameson waves back. I nod because I know Sasha isn’t focused on us at the moment. She takes her job seriously, and that has always meant she blocks out everything but the task at hand.

“Greer didn’t tell me a thing,” I say before I go on. “I haven’t spent a lot of time with her. The last I heard, she wasn’t interested in selling to us.”

We reach the open door to Jameson’s office, and he’s the first one to step inside.

My office may be bigger, but my brother’s is a better reflection of who he is as a person.

There are framed pictures of his wife and son on his desk.

He even took one of us with his phone at the beach house a few months ago.

It’s in a dark wood frame in the center of his desk.

I keep meaning to ask for a copy of it, but the request always gets lost when a business matter pops up.

Before taking his seat behind his desk, he motions for me to sit in one of the two guest chairs that face him.

I settle into the left one because the right one has a lump on the seat that always jabs my thigh. I’ve complained to my brother about it more than once, but he tells me the chair once belonged to our grandfather, so it stays as is.

“Krista and Greer had a clause in their partnership agreement that didn’t permit either to sell the business without the other selling as well.”

“That’s complicated.” I lean back in my chair.

“That’s putting it mildly.” James touches the corner of one of the framed pictures of his wife. “My guess is they didn’t see an end in sight to their partnership when they signed that document. They do now.”

Crossing my legs, I loosen the knot on my tie more. “Do they?”

“Krista called an hour ago to tell me Greer has proposed they cut the clause from their contract.”

“Which means Krista can sell her half to us,” I finish his thought before I point out something my brother is well aware of. “We don’t partner with companies. We buy them.”

“That’s not a hard and fast rule, Holden.”

He’s right. We’ve never put it in writing, but the intent of our purchasing fledgling candy companies and taking them under our wing has always been clear. We’re broadening our customer base and expanding our reach.

Jameson calls our end goal “ global candy domination .” I call it good business.

“What would we gain by partnering with Greer?” The question is almost laughable coming from me.

All I want to do is partner with her, but I want a bed to be involved and plenty of orgasms for her… and me , but her pleasure is all I think about.

“I’m the one who did the initial research into them,” he states bluntly.

“I know,” I stress the point. “You view the company as a worthwhile acquisition. My question is, do you still view it through that same lens now that we won’t have complete control?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” he says, exasperation evident in his expression.

“I don’t get what?” I ask calmly because that’s what he needs from me.

Jameson needs me to listen to him. For too long, I didn’t, and silencing his voice is something I will never do to him again.

“I tasted every single product they’re selling.” He stares at me. “They’re all great, but some have the potential to make us millions, Holden.”

“Millions?” I question for clarity.

“Tens of millions,” he amends his first declaration. “If we buy Krista’s stake in the business and can convince Greer to mass produce what she’s already producing on a small scale, we do a test run and distribute to a handful of our global locations.”

We’ve taken this approach plenty of times in the past and have enjoyed good results in most cases, but I’ve never seen this look in my brother’s eyes before.

I can tell he’s viewing this through a new lens.

He’s considering how Sweet Indulgence offerings will complement what we’re already selling under our brand.

“Long term, I see us phasing out Sweet Indulgence entirely. We’ll offer Greer a boatload of money to sell her half to us, and she’ll accept,” he says as though it’s a foregone conclusion.

I laugh so hard my head falls back.

He chuckles, too. “What’s so fucking funny?”

I regain my composure and smile at my younger brother. “You’re underestimating her will to succeed, Jameson. She’s committed to Sweet Indulgence.”

His gaze drops to the picture of his wife. “She sounds a lot like my wife. Sinclair’s been working hard for years to make a name for herself in the literary world.”

My sister-in-law’s ghostwriting career has launched her into a solo and very public endeavor. She’s penning a fact-based book on our grandparents. Interest in the project is already off the charts.

“They are alike,” I agree with a brisk nod. “Sinclair has never given up on her dreams. Don’t expect Greer to give up on hers. If we do happen to partner with her, we’re in it for the long haul.”

Jameson shoots me a sly smile. “Something tells me you would be good with that.”

I don’t argue the point because he’s right.

I’d be more than happy to partner with Greer in any capacity for as long as she wants.