Page 20 of Devilish Bully (Steamy Latte Reads Collection #3)

THE CEO

LUCIAN

That weekend

I’m learning a lesson I’ve seen and heard for years, but it never affected me until just now: Don’t mix business with pleasure.

While music blasts from the speakers, I’m watching Kendall dance with people from my hometown.

It’s all friendly, but the sway of her hips, the way her hair catches the light, and the soft flush on her face pull me in with every beat.

Men glance too long when she spins, laugh too loud when she brushes their arms, and jealousy burns low and sharp in my chest with every dip of her body.

“Who the hell suggested that I invite the board to my hometown?” I ask Brian. “Find that person and schedule a lobotomy for them asap.”

“It was you , sir.”

“There’s no way,” I say. “I would never suggest something so stupid.”

“February 10th, 8:12 pm, location—your office.” He taps his screen and clears his throat. “Brian, invite the board members to one of my mother’s birthday weekends with me. It’ll make them feel like I care and come off like that family ‘B.S.’ that my father swears is so important.”

I roll my eyes. “Thanks for bringing out the receipts, Brian.”

“You’re very welcome, sir.”

Kendall takes another twirl on the dance floor, but before I can approach, Penelope steps in front of me.

“Can we talk to you in private for a moment, Lucian?”

“Sure.” I take one final look at Kendall and follow her down the hall and into my family’s dining room.

For some reason, the rest of the board members are already waiting by the windows.

“If this is your way of trying to have a business meeting,” I say, “It’ll need to wait until Monday.”

“Actually it can’t wait,” Penelope says. “We have to send off the pre-final IPO work on Monday.”

“Well, good thing everything is already sealed and ready to go.”

“We were hoping we could make one final change to the CEO listing.” She pauses. “Would you mind resigning? We have a statement ready to go and it’s highly polished and positive.”

“Excuse me?” I cross my arms. “You want me to step down as part of the IPO package?”

“We think that we could use someone who’s a little more established and Wall Street–savvy to helm the ship from here on out.” She smiles. “That’s all.”

“Please tell me this is a fucking joke…”

“You’ll still be the CEO in name,” she says. “It’ll be similar to how your mother and father retain their titles.”

“I’m still waiting for the punchline.”

“If we’re going to tell the world that we’re ready to be in business with the sharks, we need to bring in someone who isn’t in the family, so this will look more like a Fortune 500 company, and less like something from a family’s legacy.”

“It is my family’s legacy.”

“Yes, well…” She looks over at the board members who are nodding their heads, and the floor drops out from under me.

My chest tightens, heat claws up my neck, and the roar of my pulse nearly drowns her out as I realize I’ve been hosting my own execution.

For once, my father’s sermon about “family values” being a shield instead of a weakness rings true—and I hate that he might’ve been right.

“Who the hell are you thinking about bringing on to replace me?” I ask—as if my dismissal is even an option. “How exactly are you going to put together their sign-on offer and bonus package without me being involved?”

“We’ve been hoping you would be involved.”

Been hoping… Past tense…

I keep my face stoic. I’ve never been blindsided quite like this, and I’m regretting ever inviting them anywhere near my family this weekend.

“Let’s start over.” She holds up her hands in a slight surrender. “Look, Lucian?—”

“We’re no longer on a first name basis…”

“Fine, Mr. Pearson,” she says. “You brought us on years ago to help you guide this company to ultimate success and this is the best way to get to that destination. It’s not personal, and?—”

“It’s more than fucking personal.”

Kendall’s voice cuts through the room like a blade. She strides in, eyes blazing.

“Miss Clarke, with all due respect…”

“Don’t use big words like that when you don’t know what they mean.” She moves closer, planting herself between me and Penelope like she belongs there. Then she glances between us, daring her to lie.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Mr. Pearson,” Penelope says, shaking her head, “can you kindly ask Miss Kendall to return outside until we finish this private conversation?”

“She can stay.”

“I could never figure out where the additional board fees were going, or why it varied so much from month to month, but…the numbers are more than clear now. It was you—all of you—socking away Mr. Pearson’s company money to hire a new CEO and put together a bonus package behind his back.”

Her words aren’t a question, and her accusation sucks all the air from the room.

“Increments of sixteen thousand, twenty-four thousand, thirty-six thousand…” Kendall shakes her head, her voice cutting sharper with each number. “It should be up to three million if you stashed it away in a money market account, right?”

“This matter really doesn’t concern you, Miss Clarke.” Penelope looks at me for help, but I don’t offer her any.

“So, it’s not enough for you to get paid six figures a month for merely consulting,” Kendall goes on, relentless now.

“You want to take the company public, cash in on all your shares, and bring in someone who will let you funnel even more money out in kickbacks. That’s not strategy—it’s theft dressed up in designer suits. ”

“We’re doing what’s best for Pearson Industries.” Penelope hisses.

“Then tell him the truth,” Kendall snaps. “Tell him he doesn’t need to go public at all. He’ll make the same amount staying private and making acquisitions instead. It’ll just take three years longer—and you don’t want to wait that long, do you?”

What the…

“I’ll return to talk to you—along with the rest of the board—when we don’t have an intern spouting her opinion.”

“Miss Clarke is not an intern.” I can’t keep the venom out of my voice as I grip Kendall’s hips, grounding myself on her presence. “Answer her question.”

“No.” Penelope shakes her head. “I only answer to you.”

“I’m telling you to answer her questions.”

Silence.

“So it is true…” I shake my head, letting go of Kendall’s waist.

“I’ll speak to you in a minute, Miss Clarke.”

She storms out, her heels snapping against the floor, her fury echoing long after she’s gone.

And I’m left staring down a board that’s been plotting my downfall under my own roof, in my family’s house, while the woman they call an intern just fought harder for me than anyone else in this room.