CHAPTER FOURTEEN
REBECCA TAPPED HER fingers impatiently on her desk. A nervous, angry energy ran through her. She tried focusing on work but to no avail. The words and numbers on the computer screen in front of her blurred. She was mad. Mad at Brett, mad at herself.
She hadn’t seen Brett in several days, not since he’d found out she was RMD. She knew that his ego had prevented him from reaching out to her. To be honest, her ego had caused the same. He was a proud man, and the fact that she’d bested him had made him angry. But that didn’t dull the ache, the hollow, in her chest. The short time that Brett had been in her life had affected her more than she’d ever imagined it could. It hurt to think about, so every time she’d thought about him, she’d doubled her efforts into saving Daniels International.
But there was something about Brett. He did something to her. And Rebecca wondered if another man had ever made her feel the way Brett did. She’d never been in love. Was that what she was feeling? Was it possible that she was actually in love with Brett Collins?
“No!” she told herself, her voice firm and strong in her empty office.
But are you sure?
No! Brett was everything she hated—privilege, arrogance, stubbornness. But goddammit, he was sexy, fun, adventurous, and they were able to relate on a level that she’d never experienced with another man. She clenched her fists. It was lust, not love. He was gorgeous and incredible in bed, but that didn’t mean anything. There were millions of good-looking guys in the world. She’d never met one as good in bed as Brett was, but that didn’t mean anything. He was just one man among millions.
But Rebecca couldn’t ignore the way her heartbeat increased speed, how her breath became shallow. Maybe it was love. She shook herself free of it. She couldn’t be in love with Brett. They were similar in nature, sexually compatible, but they were also enemies. She had no future with him.
She frowned and checked her watch. The shareholders’ meeting would start in ten minutes, and she would face down Brett, Alex and the other few shareholders who remained. She stood and tried to mentally psyche herself up for what would probably be an epic showdown. She’d worked hard, but there was one more step, and that would be appealing to the last few remaining holdouts—then she would own more than enough to secure sole ownership of the business. It was time, so she gathered her things and headed upstairs.
When she got to the conference room, she saw that she was the first one there, except for the catering team who were busy putting together a coffee station and trays of fruit and pastries. They offered her a cup of coffee, which she gratefully accepted, and she took a seat at the head of the table.
Slowly, each seat of the table became occupied by the holdouts, the older men who had known her father, and as the meeting start time drew closer, there were still two unoccupied seats—Brett’s and Alex’s.
She checked her watch again. It was ten on the dot. Time to start. If Brett didn’t want to show, she would just go ahead and start without him. Standing, she smiled at those in attendance. Between the push for shares by Brett and herself, the number of shareholders in the room had dwindled greatly.
“Gentlemen,” she addressed them. “Thank you for coming today. Now, looking around the room, there are far fewer of us than there was the last time we all met.”
The door opened, interrupting her. She looked and saw Brett and Alex enter the room. They walked to the table and sat as if they owned the place. Hell, they probably thought that they did. But it wasn’t over yet.
“Sorry we’re late,” Brett said, sitting back comfortably in his chair.
“The meeting started at ten,” she reminded him.
“Yes, forgive us for our tardiness,” Brett said, extending his hand. “Please continue.”
Rebecca then turned back to the rest of the men. “Gentlemen, I thank you for your patience, but I’ve gathered you here today because I know you all. I know that you were all close to my father. And out of that loyalty to him, you were reluctant to sell your shares to the two companies that approached you to sell. I want to thank you for that.” She tried to catch the eye of each man in the room, to let them know her thanks was heartfelt.
“This is my first shareholders’ meeting since I became CEO, and I know if my father were here at this meeting, he would start by talking about Daniels International’s profits and future plans, but I need to address the elephant in the room.” Rebecca cast a glance at Brett. “When Collins/Fischer sent a tender offer on our company, many people sold their shares for the premium they were paying. You didn’t. And to secure the rest of the company, RMD stepped up to stop them from taking over. And you still held on. But I want to tell you that RMD is me, and to my father’s memory, I am standing up to the cannibalization of real estate development in Las Vegas. Collins/Fischer’s goal is to be the only name in real estate in this town. But we can’t let that happen. A monopoly would be good for no one.”
“If I may interrupt for a second.” Brett’s deep voice rang out in the room. Rebecca looked up and saw that Brett was now standing, a grim smile turning his lips upward. “Sorry, gentlemen, ma’am.” He acknowledged her, the only woman in the room, with a brief nod. Her eyes locked on his for a brief moment. At that moment, he wasn’t her larger-than-life lover. He was cold, methodical. This was Brett Collins in business mode.
“What do you want?” she asked.
He seemed amused that she was the only one to speak up, and one corner of his mouth ticked upward. “Well, we wanted to take advantage of all of the remaining shareholders in the room. By now, we know you’ve all received our letters and know our intent.” Brett glanced around the room. “We’re shareholders in Daniels International. We have just as much reason to be here as anyone else does.”
“Nobody else in this room is in the middle of a hostile takeover of the company,” Rebecca told him.
He ignored her and turned to the rest of the men in the room. “Gentlemen, what we’re doing here today is to talk to you about selling your shares in DI. You’ve seen our offer, and you’ve seen Ms. Daniels’s offer. But let’s be blunt. Daniels International has seen a steady decline in profits in the past decade, and the value of your shares is going down. We’re now offering an even higher premium for your shares. If you’re interested in selling, we’re now offering more than fifty percent above the market value.” Eyes widened as they named their new price, including Rebecca’s, and she seethed at the gall of the man. To come into her meeting and begin complete destruction of the business that she was trying to protect...
Putting her palms on the table, Rebecca looked around the room. “Gentlemen, please,” she started. “I know what Mr. Collins and Mr. Fischer are offering is very generous, but it’s foolhardy. Daniels International is on the way back up, I promise. We have big plans for the future, which I will gladly detail once Mr. Collins sits down. Have profits been declining? Sure. There’s no question of that. But we’re going to make a big comeback, and you don’t want this to be the way you give up your stake in this great company. You all knew my father and saw this company in its heyday,” she said. “We’re going to bring this company back to where it was, and we’ll be better than ever. You have my word.”
She felt Brett’s glare on her, but she ignored him, basking in the agreement of several of the men in the room, all old friends of her father’s. They’d held on to her every word, nodding in alliance as she detailed Daniels International’s plans for the future. She cast a defiant look at Brett, still standing on the other side of the table, his mouth open, poised to speak over her, but she looked at him in challenge and was surprised to see him back down.
She raised an eyebrow and then addressed the room. “I think that’s everything today, gentlemen. Meeting adjourned.” Without another look at Brett, Rebecca gathered her belongings and was the first to leave the room.