Page 62 of The Cowboy and the Bombshell
I had never wished her ill, not really. Sure, I laughed that time she fell in the mud, but come on, that was what siblings did. But I had never actively interfered in her life. But she had crossed a line when she messed with Penelope, and I was about to show her what that meant in the way that would hurt her the most.
Her pocketbook.
The haughty look on her face fell for a moment when she saw me standing there, but she was quick to replace it again, moving towards our father and pressing an air kiss to his cheek before turning her narrowed eyes on me. We just stared at each other, neither giving anything away, until Toddrick slumped into the room, his red-rimmed eyes staring down at his phone.
“Thank you for coming, Constance,” Harold started, completely ignoring Toddrick as he flopped down into the nearest chair. I watched as Constance’s nostrils flared as she saw him rubbing at his nose, but she kept her perfect socialite face in place and took a seat closest to the action.
“Of course, Daddy,” she simpered. Shit, she was really laying it on thick. “You said it was important. I knew you wouldn’t have pulled Toddrick from the Atlantic City project for the day for nothing.”
“You’re right. It is important.” Harold cleared his throat, his eyes going to me. I knew this was hard for him. Having just gained a relationship with me, he was now risking what he had with Constance, because there was no way she was going to take this lying down. I didn’t push him, just sat quietly and let him come to terms with what he was about to say.
“As you know, I have been thinking about the future of Pennington Hotels for a long time. It was always important to me that the company be kept in the family. I built this empire for my children, and I wanted to be able to pass it down to them when the time was right.” He paused, and I could see Constance’s pupils dilate as he talked. I knew the woman liked money, but she was actually turned on at the idea of taking over. As if dad would pass the reins to either her or Toddrick. Constance had never done anything in her life more difficult than choosing a plastic surgeon, and Toddrick, well, he’d never really done anything. If it weren’t for the fact that his own family was absolutely rolling in money, Constance would never had looked twice at the lazy lout. But Constance being what she was, she didn’t choose her husband for his shining personality, she chose him because he was in line to inherit a significant fortune from his father, who ran some sort of investment company.
“With this in mind, and with the unanimous approval of the board, I would like to announce that the new Chief Executive Officer of Pennington Hotels will be my son, Stone Pennington,” Harold finished with a smile and a gesture to me. The board members gave a light round of applause, and I nodded my politely.
I could have done without that, to be honest.
But the whole time I never took my eyes off of Constance. Her face, usually so bland and expressionless, was now morphing into a look of pure rage. Her lips curled back, showing her overly bleached teeth, and her cheeks burned an angry red under her expensive foundation.
“What?” she shrieked, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Except, Toddrick, of course, who appeared for all the world as if she hadn’t spoken. “Father! This is preposterous. Stone can’t be CEO. He’s not even a real Pennington!” she growled the last part as if the fact that we shared any blood at all was fundamentally offensive to her.
I guess, in a way, it always had been.
“Constance, he is every bit as much my child as you are. And, as the board agreed, his education and experience with Pennington Hotels makes him an excellent choice to be my successor.” The words caused those strange warm feelings to flow through me again. I bit my cheek to keep from smiling, which was just not something I was used to.
Constance swung her angry gaze to me, her polite society façade now completely gone. “I won’t stand for this, Stone,” she snarled, rising from her chair and pointing a long manicured finger at me. “There is no way I am going to let you just waltz in here and take what should rightfully be mine.” She paused, her eyes widening as much as her Botox would allow. “This is about that little tramp, isn’t it?” Constance's eyes were wild, glazed in her fury. “That piece of trash thinks she can come in here and-”
“Enough!” I cut her off, speaking for the first time. I had anticipated her rage, but for myself. I wouldn’t listen to her talk shit about Penelope like that.
Constance froze, then cackled like the witch she was. “You think you’re in love with her, don’t you?” She threw her head back and howled like a loon. I was afraid she might be losing it completely. “You think that feelings and hearts and flowers are gonna make everything okay for you, Stone? That coming in here and taking the position that should be mine will prove that you are more than just a bastard? That you aren’t just some fucking mistake?”
“Constance, that’s enough!” Harold was fuming now, finished with this whole scene. “Let’s not speak of mistakes unless you are willing to face your own.”
This had her regaining some of her composure. She settled back into her chair, smoothing her sleek black bob around her face. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, father,” she stated smoothly.
“Unfortunately, you do.” Harold sighed, then opened the file before him. “I have here proof, Constance. Proof that you used illegal Trojan software to infiltrate a Pennington Hotels computer, after which, you proceeded to access company documents-”
“I am a Pennington, those documents are just as much mine as they are yours,” she insisted.
“You may be a Pennington, Constance,” Harold said, his voice tinged with sadness. “But you are not an official employee of the company. That makes what you did a crime.”
“And,” interjected Walter Castenberg, the chairman of the board for the company. “That’s before we even get to your little blackmail scheme.” Constance’s face paled at the mention of the biggest of her crimes. “You’ll be expected to hand over all the materials you obtained illegally, including the photos and videos.” This earned him another scowl. “You’re lucky your father talked us out of pressing charges, little girl. I doubt you’d survive long in prison,” he sneered, clearly disgusted that she was going to get away with it. But Harold had advocated hard for her to stay out of jail, and I agreed with him. I would do anything to keep the pictures and video of Penelope out of the public eye.
Constance was quiet, her eyes darting back and forth between Harold and me as she tried to keep her anger in check. Toddrick still hadn’t said a word, but at least he was paying attention now.
“Fine,” Constance stood, her posture every bit the American Royalty she saw herself as. “I guess if there is nothing further to say, then we will be leaving. Toddrick,” she actually snapped her fingers at him, like she would a dog. Poor fucker went to stand, too.
“Not so fast,” Walter pipped up again. “Toddrick Grover,” Walter waited while Toddrick swung his head to look at him, mouth open, blinking like a dazed cow. “It has come to our attention that, while acting as an employee and representative of Pennington Hotels, you have been seen engaging in illegal activities, including, but not limited to, solicitation and the use of cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, though I’m sure you knew that already.”
I watched as Toddrick swallowed heavily, his fleshy throat dancing above his too-tight collar. Constance was glowering at her husband. Then she whipped her eyes back to scowl at Walter. “You have no proof, and I won’t stand here and allow you to hurl unfounded accusations at my husband.”
I had to give her credit; she was quick on her feet. Unfortunately for Constance, Hack was better.
In a matter of a day and a half, he had provided Harold with enough ammunition to make sure that Toddrick went down for trafficking, not just possession. Ammunition, in the form of photographs, that Walter now casually threw across the table toward Constance. I watched her grit her teeth as the folder of photographs spilled out the conference table, pictures of Toddrick with his face buried in a mountain of cocaine, or another, with him and a few other guys, snorting lines of some woman’s naked backside. I learned, through Harold, that both sets of photos had been taken from the security system at the Atlantic City hotel he was supposed to be marketing. I guess good old Todd figured that if the hotel wasn’t open, the cameras wouldn’t be on. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.
“Nothing to say about that, Mr. Grover?” Walter questioned dryly. Toddrick merely shrugged. Knowing how things generally worked in this type of situation, even if the company did press charges, Toddrick’s rich daddy would have him bailed out and his name cleared in no time. It wouldn’t even be a blip in the Society Pages. “Well, if that is all, then consider this your notice of termination. You will have your things cleared out by the end of the day. Security will escort you out. And going forward, you arebothbanned from any Pennington Hotel property world wide.” And with that, Walter motioned for the huge man in a suit who had entered without anyone noticing to come forward. He placed one hand on Toddrick’s arm, the other he used to grasp Constance, who jerked out of his hold.
“Don’t touch me, you filthy animal!” she shrieked. Taking a step toward me, her teeth bared and her breath sawing out of her like she’d run a marathon. “This isn’t over, Stone. You and that little bitch will pay for this. You are nothing! You aren’t even a Pennington!”
