Chapter 19

Grant

I’d been thinking about our little restaurant encounter for the past few days. I knew making her wait to come until I could get to her would make her orgasm that much stronger, but I was struggling to follow my own rules. I’d gotten used to taking cold showers to try to abate my raging cock. Every time I thought about how beautifully she obeyed me, even with that sinister stare, was almost enough to make me explode in my pants. On more than one occasion, I’d dreamed of her, fearing that I’d wake up with a wet spot at my dick like some horny, teenaged boy. The things this woman was screwing up inside me had my mind boggled, and I had enough lustful sense about me to order her into my office just so I could fuck her.

I’d tell her to pull up that skirt and pull down her panties just so I could take what was mine. My cock was hardening as Crissy’s lips continued to move, talking to me about something the junior executives had put on her desk this morning. My eyes grazed down her body, thinking about those beautiful barbells and how perfectly they’d fit on the tip of my tongue. But just as I was about to order her to go close the door, a familiar voice wafted around into my office.

“Hey, sweetheart. Grant, could I get a second?”

I willed my erection to go away, and I dismissed Crissy as Alex walked in. He shut the door behind him, cutting off my line of sight to his daughter, and I took a few deeps breaths as he sat in the chair facing my desk. I needed my dick to get under control because I knew my right-hand man was bringing me information on this new acquisition, especially since a few things had changed about the deal.

“So, first off,” he said, “how are you feeling with the changes?”

“I’m not so sure it’s a smart move with them not wanting to actually sell,” I said. “If they were willing to turn everything over to me so we could absorb them, that’s one thing. But what these junior executives are proposing makes me nervous.”

“Which is why I came to talk with you,” Alex said. “I’ve already done the preliminary legwork after Tike turned down our offer to completely buy them out, and it’s actually not a bad investment. Their reputation isn’t as tarnished since there was such swift work by the board to kick the CEO out, but now they’re running rudderless.”

“Which was why I was going to buy the company in the first place,” I said.

“Yes, but here’s what the junior executives are proposing: a hostile takeover.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah. Think about it. If you take the money you were going to spend purchasing and reinventing the place and simply buy up all their stocks while they are at their lowest price in the history of the company, that opens up doors for you to own another business. Not expand this one, but actually have a running resume of businesses you own, operate, coordinate, and profit from. That opens doors to things like creating your own holding company, which will pull in more investors. They’re always more willing to get onboard when a holding company is at stake, and if you play your cards right, you could actually rival Warren Buffett himself.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said, chuckling. “But I see what you’re getting at.”

“Plus, the transition will be much easier,” he said. “Many people are bailing on the stock, and board members are thinking about simply cashing in theirs and running for the hills. You’d be able to create your own board members for this company without having to go through the hassle of replacing names on buildings and hiring new people.”

I hadn’t had a chance to look over all the specs yet, so that had me a bit concerned. This was a far cry from what I was wanting to do, but I trusted Alex, as well as his team. They could be airheaded dogs at times, but when it came to making money and pushing this company forward, they all had great decisions with little risk involved. So, I decided to entertain the idea.

“All right,” I said. “Assuming I’m on board with this, what’s our next step?”

“My suggestion is to head straight for their headquarters. A hostile takeover is only hostile if no one knows what’s going on. Everyone is very well aware of the fact that they need someone to either swoop in and govern, or pick them apart and make them better.”

“Their headquarters is in New Orleans, right?” I asked.

“Yep. I figured I’d go down with Anderson in order to talk with people and see how onboard they would be for that type of plan. We’d meet with the guys and the members of the board who haven’t bailed yet. We’d put together a solid proposal, along with a baseline price for you to purchase their majority stock. Then, I’d bring it back to you, and we could discuss it.”

“Anderson, huh?” I asked.

“Yep,” he said. “Dylan’s been all over this thing since the words ‘hostile takeover’ left my mouth.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t seem too reassuring,” I said.

“He’s a good kid. Money hungry and ready to impress you, but a good kid.”

I looked up and saw Crissy watching us from her desk. She was chewing on the edge of her pen, probably trying to figure out what it was we were talking about. I ripped my eyes from her, thinking about the business trip Alex was proposing, and suddenly, I was hit with an idea.

“How about this?” I asked. “I’ll go on down to New Orleans and deal with all that stuff. You stay here and man the forts, and I’ll take Crissy along with me for the experience.”

“Crissy?” he asked. “Why would she need the experience? And why don’t you just want me to go down with you?”

“Because then our own company would be floating rudderless. Look, I’m ready to move forward with this deal. I’ve got a few questions I want to ask myself, but if they’re ready to do this deal, then I’m ready to close on it. I want to be expanding our influence somehow into the Midwest within the month, and if this hostile takeover gets me what I want, then I want it enacted before I leave. As far as Crissy is concerned, after the last board meeting we had, she expressed an interest in one day running her own company.”

“She what?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “And she’s incredibly bright, too. If she’s serious about that idea, then this would be a wonderful opportunity for her. It’s not every day a P.A. with business dreams gets to witness a hostile takeover. She’d be learning lessons she’d never learn in a classroom, or even trying to build her own business.”

“And you think she’d be up for something like that?” he asked.

“I do. She’s beginning to show a great deal of interest in the work we do around here, and she’s really put her nose to the grindstone. I told her I’d mentor her so long as she took her job seriously, and she has ever since. She’s a good kid. This’ll be a wonderful learning opportunity for her. Plus, this would help her learn how the negotiating process works, and we both know they don’t teach that kind of shit in college.”

“No joke,” he said. “The first time I tried to negotiate something after I’d graduated college, I ended up losing two-hundred thousand dollars because of a line in the contract I didn’t read.”

“Yikes,” I said. “That’s rough. I remember mine, too. The deal was so bad because of all the things I forgot to consider that I almost lost the first house I ever purchased for Donna.”

The room fell silent as I sat back in my chair. That was the first time I’d ever said her name aloud in a conversation that didn’t have anything to do with her death. Images of Donna in her wedding dress flooded my mind. She had looked so angelic on our wedding day. Her light blond hair had cascaded down her shoulders while her slender little fingers had curved around her bouquet. I could still remember the way she moaned into my skin that night, her thin legs locking around my broad hips.

“I miss her, too, Grant,” Alex said.

“Anyway,” I said, clearing my throat. “It’ll be good for Crissy, if you’re on board for it.”

“Whatever you feel will help her get closer to her passions, I’m all for it,” he said.

“Good,” I said. “Hold down the fort while I’m gone, all right? I’ll probably rent us a car and have us on the road by tomorrow. So, expect me to keep Crissy through at least the weekend. I’ll keep in touch with how negotiations are going.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“If there’s nothing else?” I asked.

Alex got up and walked out of the room, but not before he took a second to look at his daughter. I watched a smile slowly spread across his cheeks before she looked up at him, their eyes holding one another’s in a very intimate moment. For the first time, I saw Alex be a father, praising his daughter silently while she looked at him with a strange sort of curiosity. That told me she wasn’t used to her father looking at her the way he currently was, and something inside me dropped at that notion. She deserved all the praise in the world for the type of woman she was growing into, and just as quickly as the moment had happened, it was gone.

“Miss Marks, could you come in here please?” I called out.

“Yes, Mr. Jacobs?”

“I need you to do something for me. Get online and rent us a Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, please. It’s an SUV. Then, look up balcony suites in the heart of New Orleans. With two bedrooms please, and get it booked.”

“Might I ask what it’s all for, Mr. Jacobs? And why you’re saying ‘we’?”

“Because there’s a very important business trip I’m taking this weekend to New Orleans, and you’re accompanying me,” I said.

Her eyes hooked onto mine as I raised my gaze to hers. I saw the excitement bubbling behind them, and for a split second, I wanted to wrap my arms around her. She looked so happy about the journey ahead, and I knew then and there that work would simply get in the way of what I really wanted to do, what I really wanted to focus on. But this acquisition was important, and I didn’t want anyone else negotiating it but me.

This will be good for her. Deep breaths, Grant.

“Make sure the suite you book has a balcony overlooking the heart of New Orleans and has two bedrooms,” I said.

“You already said that, Mr. Jacobs.”

“Then why are you still standing here?” I asked.

“Because you haven’t dismissed me yet.”

I nodded. “Well, get out of here, and go make those plans. Forward me the confirmation emails, then be here at your normal time tomorrow with a bag packed. You can park your car at the edge of the lot. No one will bother it.”

“Anything else?” she asked.

“No. You’re dismissed,” I said.

“Just one question, sir, before I go.”

“Yes?”

“Will we be fucking in one or both of the beds at our disposal?”

The smirk on her face as she turned toward the door ripped a chuckle from my throat. Her cheeky side always came out to play when she wanted to have the last word, and I took pride in being able to give that to her. It gave her the illusion that she was in control sometimes, that she could turn my head in the same ways I could turn hers. My cock began to throb again as I watched her ass sashay out my door, and suddenly, my thoughts were flooded with her statement.

I wouldn’t just fuck her on the beds. I’d fuck her on that balcony, too.

If I could.