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Fallon

M y plans for a normal life went out the window. I wanted to come out of my hermit hole and have a great semester, but that was long gone and I didn’t know what to make of it.

Trying to forget most of what had been going on, I took a shower, letting the warm water and steam consume me from the inside out. Brent was fast asleep in my bed and Kelly was in the kitchen preparing leftovers from last night.

Why was my life so fucking strange?

I asked for normal different–not this shit!

Using my loofah, I tried to scrub it all away to no avail. The soap cleaned my skin, sure, but not my mind of the absolute shit show that was unfolding.

My mental inventory of events was overwhelming. Getting a boyfriend over the summer was my first step to my normalcy feelings of sophomore year–going on dates like regular people had me hopeful. Somewhere along those lines, Brent decided to rain on my parade with hail like the reckless asshole that he was.

Don’t even get me started on those fucking texts, the scandal, and the dirty business practices of the elitist assholes who tried to run the world like they were illuminati wannabes.

I could handle the boy problems, but the other stuff? Nope.

Groups and cliques around us were imploding at insane rates, facades of niceties crumbling like a decaying building on its last leg. I watched someone get murdered in real time for God's sake.

The VIP room with the underground, shady deals was my new life. They expected me to play along or die.

My titanic hit the iceberg; I was sinking. My stomach threatened me again.

My company provided places for black market operations! The implications of that were insane!

Oh yeah, and the weird fucking texts I keep getting. What the fuck, right?

Alexander was a complete fucking weirdo and probably had plans to force me into having sex with him. He seemed the type.

And there’s my stomach acid in the tub.

My skin was rubbed raw with the thoughts stirring in my mind. The water went cold with how long I stood under the stream–my skin was pruny. Maybe I could drown myself in the hot tub later.

I tiptoed around my room in nothing but a towel because I forgot to get a change of clothes before jumping into scalding hot water, too excited to bathe all the nasty thoughts and Brent off of me.

Stupid, stupid girl. You fell into his trap again.

By the time I had oversized clothes on that covered more than everything, Brent stirred in my bed. I need to wash those sheets immediately.

“Too bad you’re not still naked,” he yawned.

“I’m heading out after breakfast. I have a meeting at Montgomery Group.” I kept my voice soft so he couldn’t hear the trepidation in my voice. He didn’t deserve to get that from me. I was just a fun time for him and a business deal for Chamberlain Industries.

“Let them know you’ve been formally invited to the compound with the head of Chamberlain Industries to spearhead conversations about the business partnership.” He stretched out and planted his feet on the ground. Sometime during the night, his boxers found their way back onto his body.

I grunted an agreement and left the room to let him do whatever it was he wanted to do. He had no bearing on my life, and he could see himself out.

Ew, he was probably going to use my shower.

“Morning!” I entered the kitchen, fussing with my oversized clothes. Maybe I went too big but I wasn’t going to chance another change with him in my house. No way.

She carefully laid out a buffet of whatever we had in the fridge on the kitchen island. I wanted to feast with how empty my stomach felt after throwing up in the shower, hoping it would stay down this time. Hashbrowns and bacon felt like the safest options for my first plate.

“Ready to grab today by the balls?” Loading up her plate, Kelly flashed me a smile. Too calm, too unbothered. It freaked me out.

Suspicion grew with everyone I was around.

Before I could make her suspicious of me , I grabbed a breakfast sausage and bit into it, smiling back. “Yup. I may not know what’s going on, but sounds like a plan.”

Brent emerged out of my room looking like he never fell asleep. Freshly cleaned and put together, it was easy to put last night behind me. “I should keep extra clothes here if I’m going to be staying over.” He looked down at his clothes. They didn’t even look like second day wear.

Kelly snorted. “You live across the street.”

He loaded up a plate and plopped down at the table with the same casualness as Kelly and I did living here. Like he was a current resident at my fucking house. What an asshole. Two days was all it took for him to become roommate level casual at my house.

“James will be picking me up to go to the office today.” I looked over at Kelly dumping ketchup on her hashbrowns and tried pretending last night never happened. Everyone at the table knew and didn’t talk about it while I silently finished most of my plate, praying that my phone would ring to save me from this awkward breakfast.

Brent winked at me over his food and my phone buzzed.

Unknown: Secrets spilled create a stain just like blood

Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.

Incoming Call: Evans

“Looks like that’s me,” I said, standing to grab my purse and bolt out of the house. “Hello?”

“Your car is waiting. James and an associate will escort you.” Click.

I held the phone out in front of my face. “Nice to talk to you too,” I replied to no one, closing the front door and escaping the events of yesterday.

“Hello, Miss Montgomery,” a man at the door greeted, opening it up for me. He offered to take my coat and purse for me, but I opted to keep everything on me. No way I’d trust anyone for a while–even with just my coat.

A few men walked around me, making me feel like I had the freaking secret service at my disposal. Boarding the elevator, they circled around me in a protective manner. The upcoming CEO deserved protection, after all.

That’s why I had James stationed on me day and night, swapping out occasionally with someone else for around the clock eyes.

They escorted me to the boardroom, full of men in expensive suits, and stood in a strict line outside the door. Hands at the ready in front of them and eyes forward–it was kind of cool, but a bit off putting.

“Miss Montgomery,” Evans said, holding his arms out, walking towards me to greet me in a hug. “You look wonderful! Look how much you’ve grown up.”

Very different from when he was on the phone. I scanned the room, everyone looking at me and only me. “Um, thanks.”

Mr. Evans, CFO of Montgomery Group, shifted around some power due to the lack of a CEO, was acting CEO in preparation of my arrival. My birthright as they said. I was set to take over at twenty one, but why I wasn’t aware of things earlier or brought around say, when I was eighteen, made no sense.

Instead, I rotted away at my aunt’s house, waiting until she kicked me out.

“Since we are all here today, I’d like to honor your mother’s memory. Her leadership and ferocity shaped this company into the powerhouse it is today. Without her, we’d all be out of a job.”

All the men nodded in response.

I tried to shove down the lump forming in my throat as everyone bowed their heads to show respect. Maybe today was a bad day to realize I needed to grieve my mother properly. I never visited her–at least, not yet.

She was waiting for me to come talk to her.

A few beats later, he spoke up again. “First steps as our new CEO! We have a crucial meeting to schedule with you and Augustus Vaughn, head of Chamberlain Industries. I know he will want an immediate audience after hearing the news that you will be acting in certain roles until your full succession as CEO of Montgomery Group.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What shall this meeting entail?”

Someone at the overly large table leaned forward. “Vaughn is looking to expand into some of our prime real estate holdings. A very game changing partnership for us moving forward.” Real subtle. He was insinuating what I already knew in the least conspicuous manner–I’d seen toddlers do a better job.

So, he knew. Now, who else?

My eyes glanced across the room and settled back on Evans as he spoke up. “That is Mr. Caldwell, legal counsel.”

“I see,” I said, my mind racing in anticipation of the major life change I was in for. “Will there be coaching for this meeting, or will I be showing up with my pants down?”

He slipped and a small smile appeared on his lips, appearing proud of me for starting off strong. “From what we’ve seen, he’s grown less patient over time, but is still a shrewd businessman with... unconventional tactics. He’s likely to gauge your resolve.”

Unconventional tactics? Could these guys be any less obvious? I wondered when I would have the opportunity to talk about it or if it’s an “ everyone knows but doesn’t say” type of ordeal. Who did I ask about the rules of the game?

“Your mother always stood firm in her ground during talks with Vaughn.” Legal Council Man chimed back in. I already forgot his name. “He’s likely to expect the same from you as her successor–and daughter. They had a fruitful relationship we continued to manage over the last handful of years, but it’s time for you to come into play.”

A metric ton of weight settled onto my shoulders. The overviews and tutorings that James took me through started making sense in my mind and I was ready to use them. “Understood. I’d like a full briefing on our holdings, recent acquisitions, and any history between our two companies.”

The men around the table looked to each other before shuffling around to pull out tablets and computers, seemingly ready to dive into the details. Or childproof them.

If I was going to be the CEO of Montgomery Group, I needed to be fully educated enough to hold any secrets above other people’s heads on top of the intricate inner workings of my company.

This was my new normal and–as much as I wanted to fight it–I had to be prepared for whatever would come my way. The company was becoming clearer to me through my continual readings, and Augustus Vaughn most likely expected another Maria.

Mr. Legal Counsel exchanged a knowing glance with Evans and I could easily read into what it meant. Again, these men sucked at subtlety. “Before we head into the meeting with the details you’ve requested, I would like to speak on a private legal matter with you.”

Evans nodded at him. “If I could have non-essential personnel leave the room for this.”

I tried to pay attention to body language to pick up on some cues. A few seemed relieved to put away their belongings and exit the room and others appeared completely unbothered by the request.

Sitting in my chair, inspecting my manicure, I hoped to mimic the unbothered look. “I’m here and now most of the board has been kicked out.”

Legal Counsel and Evans took their places at each side of me while I was at the head of the table. They each pulled out tablets, looking hesitant to start speaking.

They didn’t know I knew that they knew.

What a fun predicament.

“Your mother and Mr. Vaughn–”

I cut him off. “My mother supplied properties for Chamberlain Industries to operate in drugs and arms overseas and sometimes in country.”

Both of them went wide eyed. They must have assumed I knew nothing and wanted to ease me into it. Evans coughed a bit from hearing me speak so bluntly. “Well, yes. For this meeting it is imperative you approach with caution and not plain speak. He may assume you are aware of former–and current–arrangements and speak in a vague manner to avoid suspicion.”

I cut back in. “He may just expect a carbon copy of my mother. From what everyone keeps telling me, she was ferocious, no? I get that I’m green behind the ears from her not disclosing anything to me, but that’s not an answer we can get from her, now is it? So, stop treating me like a baby and tell me– in plain speak –everything about their relationship.”

The people closest to me kept me ignorant for so long like I’d never find out the reality of the shit the rich and wealthy got into. What the elites got into.

There was no way anyone in this world was clean, and I had to swallow the pill that my mother was one of them.

Both men were so unsettled by my brazen speak as if they’d never seen my mother. I’ve seen the stuff about my mom. Brutal businesswoman . With me being dreadfully behind on knowledge, needing to learn everything about my world, now was not the time to be unsettled.

“There are a few details Mr. Caldwell and I need to discuss before the board returns.”

Mr. Legal Counsel, a.k.a Mr. Caldwell, cleared his throat. “I have been your mother’s legal counsel for what seems an eternity. When she first got started, Mr. Vaughn offered her whatever she wanted in exchange for the temporary usage of certain properties at preorganized dates and times. This kept things under wraps while forming a strong bond with the two and creating a god-like level above their competitors and just about everyone else. The two weren’t on top for no reason. When he offered her this proposal, she took it with no hesitation.”

I shook my head, wondering what made her say yes to something like this. “Why didn’t she just say no and start a company like everyone else?”

Evans shifted in his seat and fidgeted with his hands. “Well, Augustus Vaughn technically gave your mother the leg up in her world to build an empire. How else could a woman with a background like hers be able to become one of the wealthiest women in the world so quickly? She wanted that for herself, and she took that offer with no hesitation. He saw what she could become and how it could be mutually beneficial.”

Brent’s grandfather was the devil my mother made a deal with. He dragged her into a criminal underworld, dangling success in front of her face like a carrot. I wondered if Brent would try the same with me–unless he already was.

I drummed my fingers on the table in anxiety and anticipation. My heart thumped and I was becoming flustered. “Leg up–what do you mean by that?”

“Opportunities. Connections. Cash flow,” Caldwell replied. “What it takes to be the one percent of the one percent is what she had, and he provided her every resource to do so. She was wonderfully poised, a classy woman with a great mind for business. That’s what drew Mr. Vaughn to offer such a deal to her, which is no easy feat to get noticed by the man who holds a monopoly on a lot of the world. He knew she could handle matters with a feminine smile on her face while remaining ever discreet about it all.”

But she was a kind, loving woman... There was no way my mother was the type of person everyone was describing. Then again, I didn’t know her before I was born. She was thirty-seven when she had me. Thirty-seven long years as a woman without a child and a vision for the future.

She just lived a double life with me.

“All of this,” I breathed in, “was before she had me?”

“She started kicking up dust in the business world the day she turned twenty-one.”

Just like she willed me to do as her dying wish. Was she emulating her own life in mine with her plans? It felt weird to put that on your own daughter, but it seemed I might not have known her as well as I thought.

I resigned from learning any more until a later date. My head was spinning and throwing up again was not in my plans. Getting caught up with current events in the company was more imperative but felt more normal than talks about criminal enterprises and deals with the devil.

The suits flowed back into the room, getting comfortable in their seats again. Adjusting ties, sitting back in chairs, and getting ready for important matters.

“We are at a pivotal moment in the company,” Evans said from the projector screen at the opposite side of the room. “Our top priority is easing Miss Montgomery into her leadership position and continuing on with our company mission: connecting discerning clients with unique properties and exceeding expectations–every time.”

A manila envelope was handed to me ceremoniously. “A write up for you, Miss Montgomery. This outlines our most current events, important relationships held, market trend research, and other key details I felt were important for you to browse at your convenience.”

I swallowed the uncertainty in my throat. “Thank you, Mr...”

“Jones. Executive director at your service.”

I nodded and tucked the envelope into my lap while feeling eyes on me. What secrets I could find inside this envelope had me in no rush to find out. James would take me over it later.

Evans ran the meeting. We covered current and future marketing trends among luxury real estate and what we’ve been experiencing with consumers, key demographic shifts in certain countries for opportunities, government regulations and changes coming in the next year, how the company will continue to move forward with these in mind, and political situations in certain countries to be aware of.

I took explicit notes like I was in school.

What the hell was my mom doing at twenty-one where she could have handled all this?