Page 1 of Fake Married to the Grumps

Chapter 1

Nelly

Our argument thunders through the air, intensifying the throbbing ache in my head. “This company is my life. It’s what our parents worked for,” I counter while staring at my brother, Tom Sinclair, with a heated gaze that doesn’t seem to faze him.

Tom is the only family I have left after our parents died in a car crash one year ago, and I know he’s here because he’s just as worried as I am about whether our parents’ aerospace company will survive.

“But there are other ways we can stay in the game besides merging with some other company, Tom. We could take out a loan and … What about …” I can’t think of any solution to resolve the problem, and Tom’s slightly arched brow proves he knows that I’m stuck.

I have been running the company for two years. Our parents groomed me to take over after Tom decided to pursue a career in law, and I assumed full duties as the CEO of the company after their death.

Tom has been working in Manhattan ever since he graduated from law school and married his sweetheart, Detective Robyn, and I began to work closely with Dad to gain work experience after graduating from Harvard Business School.

Tom has never been interested in business, but with the recent tide of events, we both have to work together to keep the company from crashing.

A few months ago, an airplane using Sunny Aerospace’s engines crashed because of an engine failure. The devastating accident has left the company on shaky grounds, and the impending settlements are crushing us.

I think Tom’s idea of merging is dangerous.We could lose all control of the company.

“What can we do, Nelly? When I first talked about a merger, you said we could stay afloat and handle our own business. That was two months ago. Now, we’re neck-deep in debt and lawsuits. We haven’t even compensated the victims’ families, and there’s very little funding left to keep the company running, even if we sell everything we own.”

I let out a frustrated sigh and rub the back of my neck to get rid of the kinks there before averting my eyes from my brother.

“I’m trying to do what works, Nelly,” my brother says to me as he runs his fingers through his black hair, then pins his auburn eyes on me again.

Tom has aged a lot, and he’s now a bit sterner than I recall. His jaw hardens as he looks at me with those brown eyes that remind me of our dad. There’s an aura of seriousness that clings to him now.

“Merging Sunny Aerospace with a company strong enough to hold the weight of our fallout is the only way we stay alive. We sell some shares and take on a new name. It's that simple.”

My hands flail in the air as I voice my disagreement. “It is not that simple, Tom. We can’t just cut our losses and sell out because things are rough. This is Dad and Mom’s company. It’s their legacy we’re talking about here, and we’ll be giving our control to someone else. Forgive me if I’m not eager to see that happen.”

“That’s the thing, Nelly. We’ve exhausted our options here.”

I know we have.

I resist the urge to sigh again, and I push my glossy blonde curls off my face. That is what makes this even more difficult. “Who would we merge with? The company is crumbling under the massive settlement that we have to pay out. Who would take on all of that?”

I sashay around the table to where he’s seated, my four—inch stilettos clicking on the ground with every step. “You said it yourself—we’re neck-deep in debt. Anyone merging with us should be willing to take on that burden. Our reputation plummeted when the plane crashed, and the investigation pinned the fault on our engine.”

I place my hands on the table, leaning forward. “We’ve lost other potential clients, and the ones who still work with us have taken serious actions to make sure our engines are foolproof. They don’t trust us, and neither will any company looking to merge.”

“Then we merge with someone who trusts us. Someone who believes we do due diligence on our engines and that this crash wasn’t a result of negligence on our part. We merge with a company strong enough to turn the tides.” Tom clears his throat before he rises to his feet. “Ethan,” he answers, and I whip my head up to meet his serious gaze. “Hart Holdings is our savior.”

My expression crumbles into a frown. “Ethan? Your best friend, Ethan?”

Even the mention of that name leaves a tight knot in the pit of my stomach. I haven’t let myself think about him in five years, and the mere mention of his name leaves an unsettling stir of nerves in me. I shove it down and shake my head.

“Why would Ethan Everhart want to merge with us?”

“He cares because he’s my friend. He is family, Nelly, and Hart Holdings is an entire business conglomerate with a vehiclemanufacturer division that’s hundreds of millions of dollars richer than ours. His company can withstand the pressure, and he’s looking to expand his reach right now, so why not?”

My head spins as Tom explains his plan. Ethan Everhart is definitely not in the position to handle a business deal on this scale.

“That won’t work, Tom. Last I checked, Ethan is just the manager at Hart Holdings’ vehicle manufacturer division, and his grandfather is the chairman of the board and CEO of the conglomerate. He’s yet to take over that position from his grandfather, and any merger between us will need his grandfather’s approval.”

Tom smirks. “That is about to change.”

A soft knock rasps on my office door. “His grandfather is ready to announce his retirement. Ethan tells me he’ll be the new CEO of Hart Holdings in about a few weeks. His grandfather thinks he is ready.”

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