Page 124 of Mine to Worship

“Exactly,” I confirm.

Gareth, another board member, shoots up and slams a palm down on the table, panting. “This is unheard of.”

“No, this is me having all control and making sure it never comes close to a similar situation. I want success and you want profits. We all win.”

“Is there anything else?” Alfred, the oldest of the group and the one with the most weight in the business, asks.

“Any action that might damage the reputation or image of the hotels and you’re out.” I sweep my eyes across every single one of them and add, “And you’ll have to pay for any damages, with your own money.”

“I don’t want to be a part of this extortion anymore,” Mark grumbles.

“There’s the fucking door.” I jerk my chin, and another one of them slumps back in the chair when no one backs him up.

“You haven’t earned my trust. Richard has made one disastrous decision after another and you still backed him for years because the books always looked clean, the money was coming in. While you fucking slept, he created one financial gap after another, and you didn’t look deeper. I doubt you have the best interests of this company in mind, and I don’t like it. I am not forcing any of you to follow me or my policy. But I reward loyalty and punish disloyalty. As long as you all remember that, we won’t have any future issues.”

Alfred opens his jacket, takes a pen out and signs the papers. The others follow his lead. Like the intel said, he’s the head of the group.

“Gentlemen, thank you for your time and cooperation. Let’s celebrate, shall we?”

Servers put champagne bottles on the table. I get a text on my phone. I open the image of Ellia and Brandon wearing Christmas sweatshirts, and I crack a smile.

“You are nothing like Richard,” Alfred says.

“That might be the greatest compliment I have ever received.”

“That makes you dangerous.”

“Why did you sign then?” I cock my head.

He steeples his fingers and says, “Because you’re right. We did nothing because our money was safe.”

We shake hands, and I excuse myself. I video call my wife and my brother, and when Ellia pouts, my heart skips a beat.

“What is it, angel?”

“I miss you. How was it?”

“It went as expected.”

“You are so sexy when you are in boss mode.”

I smirk and say, “I am, ain’t I?”

She giggles. “You are so full of yourself.”

Ellia snaps her head and yells, “Brandon, if you don’t give me my pillow back, I’ll stab you in your sleep. I mean it.”

“She means it,” I add and he pops into the screen, holding Ellia’s body pillow.

“How do you put up with that thing? It’s huge, like you’re in a threesome.”

“Gross, Brandon,” Ellia says, scrunching her nose.

She throws a pillow at his head and my heart swells up with love at their interaction, the innocent and genuine friendship between them. I have been such a damn moron.

“Kian likes the pillow,” she says, knowing full well I don’t.

She hugs that damn thing, it’s covering her from neck to ankles, and I shake my head stealthily at Brandon who tips his chin in acknowledgement. She can do and wear anything that makes her happy, I don’t care, I still want to fuck her. I shift in my seat, needing to adjust myself, and Brandon grins, eating up my misery. The asshole.

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