Page 61 of Ruthless Wars

I suck in a deep breath before huffing it all out through my mouth. “The same place we were when you stepped into my office, I suppose. I’ll be kicking a small part of your empire’s ass in the transaction, waging a semi-public war with Long Multinational, and keeping enemy number one as close as I can possibly get her,” I say, waggling my brows.

His eye roll is purely parental.

“And if the stars align,” I add, “I might just become the son you always thought I was.”

Fired up with the renewed energy of someone truly inebriated, Everett shoots up out of the chair, and his height still comes as a surprise to me as his large hand lands on my shoulder. The man towers over me, amused, as he seems to be sizing me up for some unspoken challenge.

“Good,” he says proudly. “Then it worked out after all. Here.”

From the inside breast pocket of what has to be a ten-thousand-dollar suit, he fishes out a sheet of paper folded in thirds. I open it, not really sure what to make of it until his laughter erupts. It’s evident the son of a bitch has his own twisted sense of humor.

I can’t help but smirk, scanning the fine print. “According to this, I’ve been a co-owner of Steele Holdings the whole time. Me, Aiden, and Avery.”

“That’s right. When I bought it, I held it in a sort of escrow, like setting up a bank account for someone else. It always looked like the company belonged to Long Multinational, but the whole time, I was shielding it. Keeping it at arm’s length and off the radar. Jaclyn and Margot always knew it was off-limits, but never knew why. I almost shit a brick when I heard Margot went and leveraged it—until I found out who would control it.”

At this point, he’s laughing so hard, he’s wheezing. It’s hard to make out his words until he coughs the last few out.

“See, my boy? You just paid millions of dollars to control your own goddamn company.”

Now I’m the one about to have a heart attack, pinching the bridge of my nose and trying to breathe through it. “Um, Everett.”

“Yes, son,” he sings with a shit-eating grin.

“Steele Holdings. Is it really mine? No bullshit?”

“No bullshit. It belongs to you and your siblings, free and clear. You’ll have to battle it out to see who calls the shots, though. My money’s on Avery.”

“Mine too. But all kidding aside, how do I get my money back from buying a company I already own?”

With a callous shrug, Everett heads for the door. “I don’t know,” he calls back, not bothering to meet my glare. “But how about you be my driver, and I pay you with a big fat fucking check?”

Slowly, he turns, grabbing my attention with a long, narrow piece of paper he’s waving through the air.

Even from here, I can see it’s a certified check, and a smile fills my face when I see a whole hell of a lot of zeros on it.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Margot

I’m not entirely sure why I’m surprised when Evie bursts through my office door. Any barriers between us were bulldozed down during the Big Sur trip. But the panic on her face does surprise me. Jean’s on her heels, and her demeanor isn’t better.

“Look,” Evie says, letting that Texan accent she’s always so desperate to hide come out with blazing insistence. “You have to be honest with us. It’s the only way we can help you.”

Ceremoniously, I close my laptop, clasping my hands over it. “Perhaps I could if you gave me a friggin’ clue what the hell you’re talking about.”

Jean hands me her phone and points at the screen. “I’ve already called a press conference for first thing in the morning.”

Reading the headline that’s about to go public, I swallow my disbelief.

long multinational leverage a sham—s.e.c. to investigate

Wait. What?

I read further.

Sources have revealed that Margot Long, acting CEO of Long Multinational, and Liam Cooper Byrne, mystery mogul representing the Alliance, have been in an intimate personal relationship since the beginning of the so-called leverage of twelve companies. Video footage is reported to show ...

“This is all speculation.”

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