Page 170 of One Wealthy Wedding

“Do I look nervous?” I try to smile, but it gets stuck in a grimace.

His eyes go wide, but he quickly wipes his expression. “Little bit. Just remember, you’re doing the right thing.”

I take a deep breath and knock on the door. I don’t wait for a response before I open it. Show ownership, Theo said when we practiced. Don’t let them control the space. Celia Drake is sitting at the table, flicking through her phone, notebook at her side.

“Ms. Drake,” I say. Her blond head pops up, and she stands, sleek bob swinging above her tasteful gray blouse.

“Catherine Peterson,” I say as we shake hands. “Thank you for joining me today.”

“This is highly unusual,” she says with a faint frown. Her face doesn’t move, which signals a fair amount of Botox. “But I have to admit that your proposition was intriguing. I want to hear you out, even if several of the members of my board do not.”

My board, I think. I keep the snarl off my face. Ladies don’t snarl.

Theo’s told me a hundred times—charm them up front and then stab them in the back, baby.

“Yes,” I say with a calm I don’t feel. “Let’s talk about the proposition I have for you.”

She waits for me to continue. I don’t rush into it, remembering how Theo told me that patience and deliberation show confidence.

“I want to take control of Peterson International,” I say.

I don’t miss the barely perceptible jerk of her head.

“I’m aware of what my father has been saying about me in the press, but I assure you, none of it is true. I’ve been preparing for the last year to take over this company. My father wants to prevent that.”

“Your father has been at the helm of Peterson International for over a decade,” she responds with an arch of her brow.

“With all due respect, my father has been running my family’s company into the ground for the past decade, and his name isn’t even really Peterson.” Another thing he stole from my mother to make himself appear legitimate.

Theo coached me through this part.

The challenges to my authority, my identity. The support for the old way in the face of change.

“Go on,” she says.

I don’t like how she’s trying to run this meeting, but I need to remember that I need her vote. “I have a plan,” I say. I pull the presentation from my purse. “Benefits have been slashed dramatically, retention is down, and you’re the only woman on the board, Ms. Drake. I want to change that. Profit has been sinking for each of the last five years. My father has been successfully hiding it from you with some deft accounting, but if you look here, you’ll see that free cash flow is steadily declining. That’s not the sign of a healthy company. We have very little capital for new projects or acquisitions. If I take over the company, we will receive an immediate cash infusion and will begin to deploy that capital immediately. I have a number of projects detailed here that should significantly increase profits per share, with an eye toward taking the company public in the next five years.”

Avarice gleams in her eyes.

I sit back in my chair. “Please, take your time. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, but I do need to know how you intend to vote at the next board meeting, or our potential investor is going to walk away.”

Theo will walk, and with him, the millions of dollars Jonah and Miles have agreed to invest in Peterson International.

“I’ll need some time to review the materials,” Celia says slowly.

“I need to know your vote now, Ms. Drake. I’m sorry.” I’m not sorry. These board members have rested on their laurels for far too long.

She purses her lips.

I begin cleaning up my papers.

“You’ll have it,” she says.

I want to crack a smile, but I can’t. Instead, I nod, nerves firing in my stomach, and shake her hand. Then I walk out. Theo is waiting, pacing, looking more nervous than I am. I give him a small nod and a smile, and he waits until we’re in the elevator to crush me to him.

“She said yes?” he asks.

“She said yes.”

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