Page 23 of My Big, Fat, Hot Billionaire Enemy

And probably a hell of a lot more complicated.

Good.

I was getting bored anyway.

And honestly, I can’t wait to see the look on my father’s face when he finds out what I’ve done.

8

Lucy

My inbox pings, a sound that normally signals another brushfire to extinguish but today… today it’s the digital equivalent of a ticking bomb. Or maybe a lifeline? Honestly, who can tell anymore?

The subject line is sterile, professional. Almost aggressively so. ‘Project Nightingale. Preliminary Proposal Draft.’ Sent via Christopher Blackwell’s famously efficient, possibly robotic, assistant Tatiana Cole.

Project Nightingale? Seriously? What focus group came up with that gem? Sounds like something you’d name a hospice wing, not a corporate takeover… or, fine, potential partnership.

My hand trembles just a little as I click it open. Probably need more caffeine. Or less. My body’s natural state seems to be ‘vibrating with low-grade panic’ these days. I take a quick, fortifying sniff of my wrist. Bergamot and jasmine, my personal armor scent.

See? Professional. Composed.

Except for the frantically pumping heart situation.

I start reading. It’s dense. Full of legalese that makes my eyes cross, but I force myself to focus, scanning for the landmines. Acquisition clauses… hmm, not quite. But there are investment tranches. And board seats… okay, weighted his way, but not a total lockout. Shared control?

Shared? Is Blackwell capable of sharing anything besides maybe a condescending smirk?

Then I see it. ‘Key personnel retention clauses, specifically naming Lucy Hammond as interim CEO, reporting directly to Christopher Blackwell.’

Interim CEO.Me. Reportingdirectlyto him.

Okay. Wow. That’s… unexpected. It’s not the hostile gutting his father, Mark ‘Darth Vader of Real Estate’ Blackwell, would have orchestrated. It’s not even the strip-it-for-parts scenario I’d steeled myself for. It’s… complex. It gives Hammond & Co. a fighting chance. It givesmea chance. Albeit a chance on a very expensive, very intimidating leash held by the man himself.

Is this good? It feels… suspiciously not terrible? Which, in Blackwell world, probably means it’s secretly terrible in ways I haven’t figured out yet.

The “Lucy Hammond as interim CEO” part has to go, of course. I’m not having my Dad kicked out of his own company.

I tap my pen against my notepad.Project Nightingale.Maybe he just likes birds. Who even knows with that guy?

I need coffee. And perspective. And someone who understands crazy billionaire dynamics.

Which means Ava.

“Project Nightingale?”Ava repeats, stirring her latte with unnecessary vigor. We’re tucked into our usual corner at ‘The Daily Grind,’ a coffee shop thankfully devoid of corporate sharks, smelling comfortingly of roasted beans and slightly burnt sugar. Ava, even fresh from her studio with a faint smudge of ultramarine blue near her temple, looks more put-together than I feel in my tailored blazer and pencil skirt. Marriage to Gideon ‘Seriously Also A Billionaire’ King agrees with her, apparently.

Her private security detail, provided by said billionaire, stands guard vigilantly outside the coffee shop, a reminder of who she is. Who she’sbecome.

“I know, right?” I say, taking a large gulp of my own too-hot Americano. “Sounds like he’s planning on opening an aviary, not investing in commercial real estate.”

“Maybe it’s code?” Ava suggests, tilting her head. “Like, ‘Operation Throat Rip’ was already taken by his dad?”

I snort-laugh, almost choking on my coffee. “Probably. But seriously, Ava, the proposal… it’s not awful. He wants board control, obviously. And the part about me taking over as interim CEO is a no-go obviously. But still, he’s proposing keeping the Hammond name, retaining key staff, investing capital tied to milestones…”

Ava stops stirring. She looks at me, really looks at me, with those artist eyes that see way too much. “Lucy. How do you feel about Christopher Blackwell and this offer?”

I fidget, adjusting the silver bracelet on my wrist. It clinks softly. “Professionally? It’s… a viable path forward. Probably our only path forward, if I’m being honest. He gets financial oversight, we get the capital and tech infusion we desperately need. It beats bankruptcy court.”

“Uh-huh,” Ava says slowly. “And non-professionally?”