Page 30 of Inevitable Inheritance

Taylor shot him a wild look. “Todd,” she said softly, too softly, like I’m-about-to-go-crazy-on-your-ass softly. “I will not be spoken to like a spoiled child. I also will tell you one more time that I am in charge.”

“No, what I mean is—” Todd started backpedaling.

Charlie cut in soothingly, “What he is saying, Taylor, is that we have other pressing mergers and acquisitions on the table that we need to see through before we can update—”

Taylor held up her hand, the left one with the big-ass diamond on it. It distracted her momentarily.Holy fuck, I am engaged, the thought ran through her mind. But then she realized the two advisers were staring at her. Why were the staring at her? Oh, right, because she had cut them off.

“Preston Corp. is not buying anything or merging with anyone until we fix what we have.”

The men were silent for a moment, regarding her hesitantly. “Taylor,” Charlie started in, “we have some pending arrangements from your unc—uh, from Cedric’s time as CEO that …”

“Did you not come to me saying that he had overspent and overrun and overruled? I am here to straighten this out. I believe Cedric has very nearly killed this company, and I intend to bring it back to what it was, to the place where it should have stayed. Preston Crop. has always stood for quality and for the fact that we could be counted on as a company. How do we look if we just keep buying stuff and not taking care of what we already possess?”

Todd and Charlie look at her like she had just explained the theory for time travel, shock and awe all over their faces.

“That’s good,” Todd said.

“It could be the next campaign,” Charlie quipped. “Taking care of our own is top priority,” he murmured with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Taylor had no idea what they were talking about, but she moved on. “We have designers on staff, right?”

“Uh …”

“Are you kidding? Well, get them,” Taylor snapped. “I want design ideas on my desk by Monday for every hotel that is over ten years old, and I want that report about costs and repairs by the morning.”

“Taylor, that is …”

“We can’t possibly …”

Taylor held up her hands. “Look, it can be done, and it will be done. I don’t care what we were buying, investing in, or collaborating on. You put the brakes on all of those things. Now,” Taylor instructed. “This company is on the brink. I will not let this company die.”

The two men nodded.

“Now, get me pictures, designers, and tell them I want redesign plans. And I want figures. I won’t be screwed on this deal. If they want the job, they better make it the best job they can, and they need to use the resources that are already within Preston Corp. I want them using Preston brand everything, so all those resources better be up to snuff too.”

Both men rapidly typed her commands into their smart phones.

“And Cedric needs to be found, like soon.”

The typing stopped, and both men looked up at Taylor.

“Well, see—”

Taylor slammed a palm down onto the stone countertop. “I do not care about opinions on this one. I am here to work with a company, not weave lies. As it is, I lied to one of my oldest friends about being engaged to Derrick for two days and not two minutes. I am done with lies. I will not lie about where Cedric is. He is dead. He is the past. I am moving on from the past. I need to work with facts.”

“He’s been found.”

Taylor felt her eyes bulge and then she forced them closed. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “And when was this little gem of information going to come up from you guys?”

“Well—”

“How did that happen?” Derrick asked, chiming in for the first time.

“We placed him at a location that wasn’t supposed to have anyone there for another few days. But the housekeeper went back to get something she had left and found him,” Todd explained to Taylor.

“When?”

“About a hour ago, we got the call and came over here. Kill two birds with one stone,” Todd said.

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