Page 23 of Brutal Kingdom

TEN

LOGAN

Ileft Bella stewing over my refusal to help transfer Jordanna to that hell hole they call a dorm. It was a small push back in retaliation for her putting me in the crucible and tossing Jordanna at me like a virgin sacrifice.

It’s bad enough enduring the pitying looks of people that used to respect me, but now they’re treating my relationship as a punch line. I pretend to not care but I’m taking notes. Every one of the traitorous bastards will get there’s as soon as I’m back on top.

Lunch at the club with my dad has a new dynamic to it. He’s limited the number of business associates he’s invited, because he’s not sure who’ll be supporting uncle Alex’s bid to put Aiden in charge. Our board of directors is made up of investors and some of my grandfather’s oldest friends. They’re opposed to change and less than supportive of the plans I have for pushing the company into the digital future. I’m talking about an increase in our online content, blogging and limiting access to print copies, which will drive our readers to monthly or yearly subscriptions. I also want to expand our entertainment news department and create a podcast, showcasing controversial guests, engaging in difficult topics and digging deeper into the interview. We’re so used to condensing what’s discussed to specific questions that the most entertaining parts, like the purity of the free flowing conversations which I often think are the most entertaining and natural, are often left on the editorial floor.

Then there’s my idea about forging a partnership with movie studios to create a streaming service with exclusive content. They’re not sold on what they call my lofty ideas and have voted to give a very small segment of resources and money to me for establishing a digital media department. After graduation, I’m supposed to spearhead and run the project. Earning increasingly more responsibility over time and eventually I’ll take over McKay Media from my dad and can go full out on my ideas.

Aiden doesn’t have the vision, passion, or intelligence needed to do the job, but his last name makes him the next in line. And since he’s so gullible, he’s more likely to cave to the board’s pressure to only make the changes they want, which undoubtedly will only benefit them and their friends.

Dad stands, pulling me into a hug when I reach the table. “Son, I know we’re supposed to talk, but Johnathan is joining us for lunch.”

“I know. I spotted him over by the buffet as soon as I entered the club. I can go eat with someone else or practice my swing, while the two of you catch up.”

“Logan, you know it’s more than that. We’re trying to hash out this contract and I thought it would go faster if you were around to hear his terms and give your inputs as well.”

“Dad, you agreed to give me time to fix things.”

“You still have time, but you know your uncle isn’t backing down. He sees an opening, and he’s trying to push through it. I need to be able to tell the board they have nothing to worry about. That you’re fully focused on taking your place at McKay Media and willing to do whatever it takes to make them comfortable with you overseeing our expansion and running our new digital media department. This arrangement with the Lance’s shows them you understand business, and can make the smart choice.”

“I didn’t make this choice, dad. You did.”

“I know. Your mom lectured me from one end of the house to the other, but in the end, you and I both know McKay Media comes first, and you’ll go along with it. Bella’s head of VDU, which means she’s the rising star in Kingsley Hollow. She’s the one who’s going to get inducted into the society of alumni who ran the school. It doesn’t matter that you’ve had it for three years. It’sthisyear, that matters the most.”

“Nobody kicked Noel out when I unseated him.”

“His family ran VDU for two generations and he’s still relevant on the grad school side. You don’t have that leverage and right now you’re known as the guy who lost it all because you were blinded by your feelings for a woman.”

“Dad, you know what happened.”

“I know what you think happened, but you haven’t shown me any proof that Jordanna was working with Noel, and the PI hasn’t found anything either.”

“If it was that easy to find proof, they never would’ve been able to fool me. I just need more time.”

“You can keep looking, but I need to protect the line of succession at McKay Media, and this is how I’m doing it.” He places his hand on my shoulder. “I’m not saying it’s set in stone. These are still preliminary negotiations.”

The descendants of three of the founding families have all lived in Kingsley Hollow, since its inception. Kenneth Ruttledge, Edward McKay and George Hansen would have known what Elijah did. None of them spoke out against it, or made a move to help, because Imogen was a woman. What I can’t figure out is why Kenneth would keep quiet. Wouldn’t he want to get back at Elijah for marrying off the woman he loved? Maybe his feelings had nothing to do with emotions and everything to do with dollar signs. As the second son, he was going to be left with nothing too, right?

I set the town charter to the side. The other paper on my desk is the legal basis I think Bella is using to claim Bartholemew’s inheritance. He gave a hundred years for the inheritance to be withheld. I doubt he thought it would take this long for someone to come forward, but Imogen’s line was so far buried, that by the time dad and his aunt Georgianne started researching it, it was too late for him to stake a claim. At first, I didn’t see the correlation between the age and the inheritance, but now it seems like turning twenty-one was a big deal in that family. Imogen was a few months shy of that milestone year when she was cast out. No big old birthday party. No one at her wedding.

Bella’s family line didn’t do so bad for themselves. They were out west and did well with the gold rush. Her father’s private equity firm raises money for commercial real estate companies and residential home builders. They like to infuse money into small companies and watch them rapidly expand. Then they push for IPOs or restructuring to recoup their investments. Once they pull out, the companies struggle and turn to Johnathan for another influx of cash and the cycle repeats itself.

I’m nowhere near ready to buy real estate, so my knowledge of whether or not it’s a buyer or seller’s market comes from news clippings, overheard conversations on the bus, and sound bites. But I can read trends and bar graphs, and the one I’m creating from the firm’s earning reports certainly suggest that their investment strategy heavily influences the rise and fall of the housing market.

I see something else too. They look completely solvent on paper but have been redistributing assets a lot more frequently over the last eight quarters. What’s really going on with your company, Mr. Lance?

The chair across from me scrapes across the floor as it pulls away from the table. I glance up to look at the stoic face of the guy from the bookstore. Ryker “Rocco” Fiore. I did a little search on him because he sort of creeped me out the way he watched me so intently at the bonfire. I sort of wish I was still ignorant about who he is.

He swivels the chair around and sits on it backwards, his arms resting across the backrest. His guards are hovering close by. Those dudes make me nervous and not just because I know they’re packing heat.

“Graham says he invited you to dinner.”

Graham Holt is the hotel and casino owner I met hanging out with Frankie. He has a problem with being turned down. Like someone else I know. “Did Graham also tell you I declined his offer?”

“He did. My question is why? You don’t like manicotti?”

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