Page 3 of Priceless

We reached the ballroom, and there was barely anyone in it. Maybe two people. Our guests. Most people wouldn’t arrive for at least an hour. Joy to me.

“At least the dress isn’t lumpy,” Laura muttered, brushing past me into the room and heading for my uncle.

I sighed. The flowers looked beautiful. One small bright spot. There was a negative percent chance I would be thanked for that, despite giving them the deal of a lifetime on the flowers themselves. But we were family, and family did things for each other.

Funny how that only worked when I was the one giving things to them.

Was it too early to start drinking? Because I could use one, and if I was going to make it through this party, I was going to need it.

2

PETUNIA

MEANING: ANGER; RESENTMENT; DISDAIN

MICAH

________

“You have to be fucking kidding me.” Everett’s voice was colder than ice.

The man at the end of the table spread his hands apologetically. What a lie that was. He didn’t care, nor was he sorry. I’d bet every dollar in our bank accounts that inside he was giddy. “Unfortunately, I’m not. We’re not.”

Even Cameron, sitting across from me, had a frown on his normally easygoing face. “It seems a bit antiquated. Surely we can find something a little more modern to help with our image.”

Joseph cleared his throat. “I’m offended you think we didn’t go through all the possibilities before we came to you.”

“All the possibilities without speaking to us,” Everett snarled. I didn’t pull him back. These assholes deserved it. Seven men sat across from us, and they were currently handing us our asses on a platter. It wasn’t a common sensation, nor one I liked.

Still, I kept my mouth shut and watched them.

For the moment.

“For fuck’s sake,” Bill shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “You can’t expand into a family market without appealing to families. And forgive me, but the three of you aren’t fools. You’re probably the least family friendly pack in the country.”

I stifled my smirk and saw Cameron do the same. But my packmate cleared his throat. Again, it wasn’t remotely true, but outright denials would only make them more insistent. “That’s why we have an excellent marketing team. When was the last time the owners of a company mattered for marketing?”

“I’m not even going to dignify that,” Joseph said. “The minute we announce that Zenith Inc. is purchasing Firefly Clothing and all of its subsidiaries is the minute we have people protesting that the kings of lingerie and sex are taking over children’s clothing. You think it’s not a big deal, but it is.”

This time it was my turn to roll my eyes. Sure, our company was known for our lingerie and sex toy brands, but that wasn’t all we did. It was just the only thing people paid attention to, because the old saying was true. Sex sells. And it did. Very, very well.

“A few well-timed press releases and a quick showing of the plans for the lines will put those protests to bed,” Cameron said mildly. “Getting married is an extreme solution to a mid-level problem.”

I glanced at Everett, who was still as a statue, and strung so tightly I wondered if his spine might snap. It wasn’t the idea of getting married that pissed him off. No, it was our board of directors coming to us and trying to tell us what to do with our personal lives.

A few heads turned toward Joseph, and I narrowed my eyes. It seemed like we’d let the board have too much autonomy, if they were suddenly banding together and looking to him for guidance. But that was a problem for a different day. Any action on that front would only be seen as a defensive attack and not a move of strategy.

I should have been paying more attention. The way we divided things—me with design, Cameron with public relations and marketing, and Everett with the nuts and bolts of the business itself—it was easy for me to set those things aside. But I still owned this company, and this was just as much on me as it was the others, even if Everett might not agree.

Joseph’s mouth hardened into a line as he stared at us. “We won’t approve the acquisition.”

A dark chuckle came from Cameron. He might be the one who was always smiling, but he was just as ruthless as Everett. “We’re the majority shareholders, Joe. You really think that’s going to stop us?”

“If we all resign and publicly declare why we’re doing it, it will.”

My eyebrows rose into my hairline. “You feel that strongly about it?”

The acquisition on the table wasn’t nearly as dire as they were making it out to be. But the entire board resigning and openly admitting they didn’t have confidence in the three of us? That was a problem. Even I knew that.

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