Page 14 of Merry Fake Bride

He was a bully in his personal life and his work.

Stepping into the role of CEO after his death placed me in the position where every pair of eyes watching me expected me to follow in his footsteps, and to an extent, I have to.

Forced to honor every old deal that was a work in progress before his death, I’ve watched people lose their entire livelihoods and homes just because their property touched the wrong invisible line on the ground.

The past two years, I’ve lived in the shadows of his atrocious deals, and this apartment complex is the last one.

But I’m at my limit.

Underhanded tactics, bullying, and threats? I can’t stomach another day like this.

“No?” Donald raises one aged, bushy brow at me. “Kairo, we’ve spent months working on this development. We haveconstruction on standby, and builders and more are all hampered in their work because of one stupid bakery.”

“I don’t care.” I meet his gaze as coolly as I can. “I know what you want to suggest and I’m not doing it. We do this properly.”

“Why?” Harvey smooths his tie down his chest. “What does it matter?”

Telling him I’m tired isn’t an option.

“This is my father’s last deal. The last way we can honor him and everything he did for this company. So we’re going to do it properly.”

A murmur of agreement rises around the table and my excuse is thankfully accepted.

“Well, we have to think of something,” Erin says after a moment. “They’re stonewalling us.”

“They’re behind on rent,” pipes up Penny. “By four months, about to be five.”

“We did raise the rent pretty high,” Erin agrees. “But they’re still refusing to play ball. Their lawyer keeps preaching about how long they’ve been on the land and how it buys them some grace in the eyes of the law.”

“Then kick them out once they reach six months,” Donald sighs. “We’ve waited this long, what’s two more months?”

“I’m not paying those workers for two more months of zero work,” Harvey scoffs.

“What else can we do?” Donald asks, slumping back in his chair and brushing away the crumbs from his complimentary morning croissant.

“Make them another offer,” Penny says. “But low-ball them. Make it lower than we’ve offered before and much lower than anyone else around them accepted. And raise the rent again. With Christmas around the corner, it’s the perfect time to apply financial pressure and force them to sell.”

They’re like hyenas, sitting in an ivory tower debating how to make someone’s life worse just so this deal will pass and they’ll all make a shit ton of money.

I’m not innocent in all of this either.

My blood is on every bad deal I’ve forced through in the past two years because my father’s memory has been more important than anyone’s morals.

But this is the last one.

The last deal, and then I’m free from his shadow, free from his chains, and his ghost can finally leave me alone.

A chill prickles at the back of my neck, so I stand suddenly and button my suit jacket while everyone’s eyes fix on me.

“I’ll talk to the owner.”

“We’ve tried that,” Erin says with a grimace. “They won’t take our calls anymore and direct everything through their lawyer.”

“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. This is the last hurdle, correct?”

A murmur of agreement rumbles through the table.

“Then that’s settled.”