Chapter 2

Lawson

“You fucked up, Lawson, but you’ve come this far. Now’s not the time to lose your temper,” I mumble under my breath and straighten my tie, inhaling deeply.

The instant I open the boardroom door, all eyes are on me. Beads of sweat form on the back of my neck, trickling down as I fight the urge to clench my fists. My grandfather glares at me with a mixture of disappointment and concern, his gaze holding mine until I slip into the seat across from him at the table.

I try to appear calm, reclining slightly, and linking my hands to rest on my stomach. I make sure to lock eyes with all four men before speaking. “I take full blame.”

“Tell us what happened?” Rob, my uncle, as well as our Vice President of Architecture, asks.

“Bad planning, not enough research, and poor investment choice,” I answer as briefly and honestly as possible. “It won’t happen again.”

“Dammit, Joshua! I trusted you on this. I was sure you were ready.” He slams his fist so hard on the table water ripples in the glasses. I swallow down the irritation at not only the use of my first name, but also the insinuation he’s made.

He knows I prefer to be called Lawson and that I’ve worked my ass off forever for this company. There’s no way in hell I’m going to be reprimanded like an amateur.

“I take great offense to your implication that I’m not ready to step into my rightful place in this organization,” I argue, sitting up and glaring at him. “I’ve been working at Morris Construction and Development since I was fifteen years old. No one in this room or outside of these walls is more knowledgeable or insightful about how to run this division. My blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this company as much as anyone.”

“That may be true, but there’s more to running a division than having knowledge of hammers, nails, and roofs. This is a different world.”

“That’s a major fucking insult to my intelligence. Last year, I closed one of our largest deals since this company’s existence. I’ve graduated ten-fold from hammers, nails, and goddamn roofs.” My blood boils as my dad shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

It occurs to me that I may have offended him, but this is no time for weakness. My fucking career is on the line. It was his choice to stay in the field, never wanting to move up into the business. He enjoys the early mornings, the back-breaking work, and the smell of sweat and filth when he comes home at night from working a construction site.

I, on the other hand, started as a construction bitch and worked my way up. My degree in architecture was the slam-dunk into solidifying my place in the executive wing. I had to bide my time. And now is my time. Uncle Rob plans to retire, and I want his job.

Scratch that… I don’t want it. It’s mine. I deserve the position and the title. For seventeen years, I’ve been vying for this opportunity, and I’m not losing out without a fight. By the looks on the faces in front of me, there’s a good chance my error in judgment has crushed my credibility. My anger burns, my temper hanging by a thread, but I know what I need to do. Swallowing my pride is the only option to get what I want. Show them humbleness and humility.

“As I mentioned, I take full blame. But I’m ready to put this behind us. We’ve got the projects to cover our asses for the year. I’ve reviewed our financials and upcoming bids. It won’t happen again.”

My grandpa clears his throat, and I brace as he leans into the table, clasping his hands before he speaks. “You’ve made a mistake, Lawson, and we all know about mistakes. But this close to my retirement from the board, and Rob’s retirement from the company, we can’t handle any more. We have responsibilities to a lot of people, including our employees who are scared shitless. This is a family company, and I want to keep it that way. Nepotism is a thing of the past. I can’t watch Morris Construction and Development go down because of carelessness. Bad decisions are one thing, and like I said, we’ve all made them. However, your mistake costs us millions of dollars.”

His stare bores into me, and I battle the urge to squirm in my seat. His pause sends a chill down my spine. It’s one thing to be arrogant and rebellious, but I need to show him the respect he expects.

“We’ve got an opportunity to make it right. There’s a new project hitting the bidding pool, and we are going to put our name in the mix. You have a chance to set this straight and, in turn, bring in the largest endeavor this company has ever seen.”

The chill in my body turns into excitement. I can remedy my disastrous choice and prove my excellence.

“Consider it done.” There’s no hesitation in my answer.

“You are going to live, breathe, and sleep this project for the near future. Everything will be under a microscope. No more self-made decisions. You will pass each thing through Rob and the complete finance team.”

Impatience spikes in my bloodstream. The anger is back and welling to the point of explosion. How fucking dare them treat me like an inexperienced grunt? I’m the reason we are doing as well as we are with multi-millions in profits—even with the fallout from my recent mistake. Because of my design style and in-depth expertise with new age and environmental resources, we are kicking our competitors’ asses.

“I’m not going to be micromanaged.” I bite my tongue not to remind the room that Rob’s retiring at the age of fifty-nine a very wealthy man because of me.

Grandpa’s eyes flare with disapproval.

I have a reputation for being hot-headed and arrogant, a reputation I rightly earned. Rarely do I give a fuck about what people think, but today, I was prepared to show remorse.

Wrong fucking decision.

It seems my strategy today to admit my mistake was a waste. They had their minds made and planned to knock me down a notch. This was a chance for them to once again show who’s the boss.

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, knowing they are intentionally testing my control. Then I think about the gratification of proving them wrong when I win this bid and they have no choice but to apologize for doubting me. My reward will be the title and promotion. The big picture becomes clear in my head, and I raise my eyes back to my grandpa.

“I’ll amend that statement. All initial plans will be presented directly to Rob until he’s satisfied I’m on the right track. Then I do the spatial layout, the internal design, and scale model on my own. As always, I’ll work closely with construction, materials, finance, and every other department to ensure complete unity.”

Grandpa looks to Rob, who gives a curt nod of approval, and they both return their eyes back to me.

“One more thing, Lawson. We are implementing a new policy, starting this minute. Fraternization is no longer allowed.”

My stomach plummets, and I can no longer keep eye contact. My dad’s audible grumble sends shame pulsing through me.

Fuck! I was sure no one would find out. It was a mistake to sleep with Kyra, and I thought me sneaking away without a goodbye would clue her in. Apparently not.

“Fraternization will not be a problem,” I reply somberly.

“You have twenty-four hours to close out your current projects and hand off everything to your team. We will be meeting this afternoon with details of the bid.” Rob stands, signaling the meeting is over.

I leave the conference room without another word, going straight to my office. After a few minutes of gaining my composure, I force their looks of disappointment out of my mind. I have a job to do. My future depends on it.

•∞•∞•

Without knocking, my brother Clay breezes into my office and lets out a low whistle. Annoyance claws at my skin, and I raise my eyes to him in warning.

“Did you spend the night here?” His eyes roam the mounds of papers littering my desk.

“Yes.”

“Have you slept?”

“A few hours on my couch. Grabbed a shower in Grandpa’s office this morning,” I quip.

“What’s with the attitude?”

I lay down my pen and push the contract across my desk, grabbing my now cold coffee. “Weren’t you sitting in the same meeting yesterday afternoon?”

“You know I was.”

“There’s no way you could miss the sneers and jabs at my competency. Rob took the passive aggressive approach a little too far. It’s no secret that we lost our ass when Ringer Corporation filed for bankruptcy mid-project, leaving us responsible for millions in construction costs. It’s also no secret I was the lead on that build and approved all the upgrades without going through the right channels for approval. He enjoyed telling everyone I’d be running everything through him after my latest incident. It was a fucking joke.”

“I think you’re being a little dramatic. You’ll bounce back. You always do.”

“Bouncing back is the least of my worries. I’ve poured everything into this business, and sitting in that room yesterday, I felt my career slipping through my fingers. They were openly questioning my capabilities.”

“This is a family company, Lawson. There’s no way they will throw you out on your ass.”

“No, but they’ll start a search for some hotshot architect to come in and take over my division. I’m not too keen on reporting to someone else when I should be in the top seat.”

“Pompous.”

Irritation stirs in my gut. Clay has always been more laid back and carefree. Nothing riles him up, unless you fuck with his numbers and then he’s a beast. Luckily for him, no one dares to poke their nose in his side of the business. Even when he delivered the blow about my colossal fuck-up, resulting in losing fifty percent of our second quarter profits, he was calm.

“If you came in here to insult me, you can take your ass back to your office. I’m pretty busy.”

“Actually, insulting you is only a part of my visit. I wanted to offer my support. Have you had time to look over the Request for Proposal yet?”

“For eight hours last night. I read every line, demand, and expectation until it is carved into my brain. This is the toughest RFP I’ve ever come across.”

“Palmer Enterprises doesn’t mess around.”

“What bothers me the most is the submission process. I think we could gain ground on our name and reputation. But sending in blind bids in increments? Seems obscure.”

“Yeah, that’s a killer I can’t understand. But you’re one of the best architects in the city.” He points to the framed articles and awards on the wall the company has received over the last few years. “Environmental efficiency, sustainability, and quality construction is your gig.”

I pick up the thick folder at the edge of my desk and thumb through until I find the section on financial delivery. “Have you read through this?”

“Not as in depth as you, but I caught the major points yesterday.”

“Would you like me to run it down deeper?”

“Sure.” He sips his coffee and relaxes in his chair, plopping his feet on my desk. “Give it to me.”

“This is so much more than a Research, Development, and Testing facility. Palmer Enterprises is partnering with all the major hospitals in the country. The purchase of the land was fifty-million, and that was with bottom barrel prices given for the cause.”

“Sounds like it’s going to bring tons of enrichment to Long Island.”

“It’s going to be huge. The timeline is tough. Our construction side is going to have their hands full. Providing this type of manpower will require hiring workers and contractors from all over. They want this complete and functional in two years. With New York winters, we’ll have to be resourceful on how to keep on schedule.”

“You have a group of people to help with all that. Your job is the building. Have you thought of anything?”

“I have a few ideas. I’ll hand off my last project this afternoon, which will allow me to start with the foundation.”

“Do you want to have a beer with Dad after work? It sounds like you may need it.”

I hesitate a second too long, not wanting to explain why seeing my dad might be a bad idea.

“Are you worried about him being mad you banged the girl in Logistics?

I groan and drop my head. “How did you know about that?”

“Everyone knows. She’s got a big mouth. She also has dollar signs in her eyes. If I were you, I’d make sure to stay away. HR is watching closely to see how this plays out.”

“I have no intentions of being around Kyra any more than is required. All of my logistics requests will go through channels. It was a mistake.”

“Dad’s not mad. He’s disappointed but not angry.”

“Disappointment is worse.” Dad has always told Clay and me not to mix business with pleasure. And, until my misstep with Kyra, I’ve always followed that advice.

“Best way to get him over it is to buy us a beer.”

“Set it up and text me a time.”

He takes the last gulp of his coffee and tosses the empty cup in the trash as he gets up to leave. “Good luck, Lawson. You can do this.” He flicks his fingers at me before closing the door.

An email alert sounds on my computer, and I open the attachment in anticipation.

Clay is right; I’m going to need luck to land this deal. But I can’t take any chances. I’m going to have to dig deep and uncover what makes Kevin Palmer tick. The billionaire businessman is a private soul, never revealing too much about himself to the public. All my research has produced nothing but business transactions, philanthropic organizations, and endless articles on his pathway to success.

My screen fills with more business articles highlighting Palmer Enterprises. I scan so fast, I almost miss it, but a photo catches my eye.

Kevin Palmer is pictured with a cute blonde on his arm. She’s smiling for the camera, but his eyes are on her, staring proudly. The caption is brief.

‘Business tycoon, Kevin Palmer, and his daughter, Greer Palmer, attend charity event honoring fallen heroes. In this rare sighting, Mr. Palmer praised our military and thanked everyone for their sacrifices and honor.’

The picture was taken a year ago, and there is no other photo in the file.

My heart races. It’s going to take a lot more than skill and brains to win this proposal. I’m going to have to play dirty.

Greer Palmer is the key…