Page 34 of Once Upon a Royal Billionaire

“Isn’t he under court order to stay away?”

“Yes, but we saw a picture of him at the school, talking to her. I think he’s trying to get back into her life, my life.” She fought a rising panic, fought hard, but her hands started shaking.

“Hey now. Come here.” Rhett pulled her closer and wrapped her in a hug so delicious she wished to escape inside forever. “Does he have any recourse?”

“I don’t know. He sure acted like he did. He was trying to make it sound like I was unstable, that I was being unreasonable. His responses didn’t make sense—it was as if he were putting on a show for someone.” She could almost feel the men looking at each other over her head. “I’m scared.”

“Dad’s not gonna let him get away with anything.”

“Dad doesn’t have much legal sway in decisions made on her behalf. That’s all me. And I’m out of the country.” She wiped her eyes. “All of a sudden I feel like I’m the bad guy here.”

“He’s doing this on purpose. You know how he is, Em.” Carlson had always been her biggest supporter.

“Thank you. I hope it’s nothing more than him trying to make me miserable.”

“That would be my bet.”

The other guys looked on with caring concern. “Thanks guys. I got lucky when each of you became a part of my life.” She rested a hand on Rhett’s knee. “You too. Thank you for being here.”

“I’m happy to help with whatever you need.”

Her phone rang again. “Oh goodness. Just wait a bit more. I have to take this too.” She put the phone up to her ear. “Hello.”

Her heads of staff and finance were both on the call. “It’s not good.”

“Oh, wow, not even a hello?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your romance with the king, but this could not wait.”

“Not sure I love your tone, but talk to me, what’s going on?”

“Even with all your efforts, the projections have us failing.”

‘What? Why wouldn’t the new push be successful?”

“Well, we’ve had to use a large portion of our resources to cut back on some debt and limit those payments, and what’s left is just not enough to keep us solvent. Even with the new investments for new projects, our new sponsorships. It’s just not enough.”

“Solvent? Are we going down?” Her voice caught as she realized who was sitting next to her. “Okay, give me the lowdown, and I’ll call you back to discuss it in greater detail later.”

As he explained in the most succinct manner her company’s downfall, it was as if her life passed before her eyes. Is this what happened when her father handed over a perfectly successful international company? In a matter of a few years, she had floundered her way into bankruptcy? She couldn’t accept that. There was always a way to turn things around.

She hung up and felt all eyes on her. “We ready?” she asked.

Carlson looked between her and Rhett. “You got it.”

Then Rhett shook his head. “Talk to us, Em. What’s going on?”

Emily needed to tell her brothers anyway—needed to talk to her father. What did it matter If Rhett heard? She had to stop him from investing in her company. So she told them all about how the three new ventures were still not making money, that their debt was so large that even with the new investors pouring money in for new projects, the projections said they wouldn’t be able to make it. It hurt her to speak through the lump in her throat, but she was relieved her brothers could hear what was going on.

As the boat took off across the water, Rhett leaned closer. “I’ll give you whatever you need. I haven’t made my investment yet.”

She swallowed down her hope. She couldn’t let him take this hit. “You cannot do that. The press would eat you alive. I don’t think anything can save us now.”

“You underestimate the power of my portfolio.”

While that may be true, she couldn’t let Rhett use his capital to save her sinking ship.

She shook her head. “Well it’s not going to help things if Mountain Blue loses the water ski cup for the first time ever. Let’s see what we can do, shall we?”

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