“Ashton, take Rose home. She needs to change,” Grayson instructs.
“What? Why?” I ask, looking down at my school uniform.
“Because…” He laughs, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “When we walk into my father’s boardroom together, I want every old twat in that place to be distracted by their dicks hardening in their pants and not on me and the bomb I’m about to set off.”
“I’m still confused,” I mumble.
“This,” Grayson says, holding the file up. “This is more ammunition than I could have ever dreamed of.”
“So, my mom will be free?” Ashton asks.
“Oh yeah.” He grins cunningly. “And after he’s agreed to every demand we’ve already made, we’re going to take his company off him.”
“What?” Ash and I gasp together.
“You wanted to make him pay, right, Ash? Well, this won’t convict him, but it’s enough, along with the video footage, to finally turn his board against him and have them call a vote for his dismissal. Now, go take Rose home to change while I make a few phone calls. It seems my uncle is going to come in useful after all.”
***
“Do you think Gray knows what he’s doing?” I ask Ashton as we step into my bedroom and I pad over to my walk-in closet.
“I trust him,” Ashton answers, though from his tone, it’s as if he’s still surprised, he does.
“Okay,” I muse, flicking through the many clothes hanging in my closet. “What makes old farts horny?”
Ashton grumbles, and I giggle at the disgruntled pitch to his mouth.
“I was joking, babe. I’m not walking into a boardroom looking like a hooker. Why do you think he wants me there?”
With a shrug, Ashton holds the skirt I pass him. “You never can be quite sure with him, but there does seem to be method to his madness. I mean, most of Grayson’s schemes work because of his dramatic flair.”
“True,” I agree, pulling out a blouse and studying it. “I best dress the part then, if I’m there for dramatic flair.” I grin.
“You’re distracting whatever you wear, Rose,” he says.
“Only to you.” Passing him the blouse, I then proceed to strip out of my school uniform.
Eyes heating, Ashton watches my every move, but when I go to unfasten my bra, he turns around with a strangled groan. “Why are you getting naked, Rose?”
“Why are you looking away?” I chuckle. “I slept naked in your bed all last night. And I’m wearing a sheer blouse. I can’t wear this bra with it.”
“Yeah, and it took forever for my morning wood to go away. I don’t need another hard-on.”
“Poor baby,” I tease. But the fact I affect him so much thrills me, bringing out my inner bad girl. New underwear in place, I pick a pair of stockings in sheer black and saunter past him, swinging my hips just enough to drive him crazy. “Bring my clothes, please.”
“You’re killing me, Rose,” he rasps. “Wicked girl.”
Blowing him a kiss, I take a stocking and slide it up my leg, glancing up to find Ashton watching me with unchecked hunger. Then I follow suit with the other. Dressed in nude underwear and black stockings, I walk the few steps over to Ashton and hold out a hand. “Skirt, please.”
He gulps, doing as I’ve asked. “When we’ve finished with Gray, I’m taking you home and locking you in my bedroom,” he says, voice gruff. “I might never let you out.”
“Look forward to it,” I purr, wiggling into my tight pencil skirt. It hugs my hips and finishes high on my waist with a slit up the back. Next, I slip the blouse over my head and tuck it into my skirt waist, adjusting it so it sits neatly. “Right, will I do?”
“Well, I’m hard in my pants, so I guess the outfit works.” Ashton smirks.
Stepping into his arms, I wrap mine around his neck. “Let’s go see what the dark prince has cooked up then.”
Gazing into my eyes, he turns serious. “How are you feeling about your dad… the letter?”
Looking away, I rest my head on his chest and let out a deep breath. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Many things. It doesn’t really change anything for me. While he didn’t commit the first crime, he still did in the future and wound up in prison. I’m happy he trusted me with the information, and I can help you two, but mostly, I’m trying to ignore it all and concentrate on getting through this meeting.”
“Well, I’m here if you want to talk.”
“That’s the problem though, Ash. No amount of talking is going to make my father being in prison okay. And yes, this information clears him of his first crime, but that didn’t stop him from going down the same road, did it?”
“I guess so,” he agrees sadly.
“Come on. I don’t want to think about my dad. Let’s go get rid of your stepfather instead.”
After kissing me gently, Ashton pulls back, takes my hand and we head out of my apartment together. Nerves bounce through my veins, anticipation and fear about facing Arthur Bishop crashing together, but I know with Ashton by my side, whatever happens next, we’ll get through it together.
Chapter 41
Grayson
A dark vengeful energy builds up inside me as I make phone call after phone call, weaving my plan, sowing seeds of doubt into people’s minds and pulling them into my web of deceit. An absent part of my brain registers how much like my father I am at this moment. I’ve watched him do just what I am now. Twisting and manipulating a situation to his own benefit, making information fit the outcome he wants. He’s bullied his way to the top and at last, he’s going to feel a shred of the anguish he’s caused others. And if I have to become like him to destroy him, then so be it. At least I’m using my skills to protect my family. To avenge my mother. All he’s ever done is use them for his own selfish gain.
“All right, I’m here. What’s this all about?” Graham calls as he strolls into the penthouse as if he owes the place.
I’ve already prewarned Summer of his expected arrival and the recent turn of events, and she’s keeping out of the way in her bedroom. It seems the thought of taking my father head-on doesn’t appeal to her and she’s decided to bow out of this round. That she trusts me to protect her family means more to me than she will probably ever know. It has been so long since I’ve had a family, since I mattered to someone other than myself or had people to care for. It’s strange, surreal, and wonderful, and there are no steps I won’t take to protect it. Summer will not end up meeting the same horrible fate as my mother, and Ashton and Josh will never have to know what it feels like to lose their mother.
“Some interesting information has fallen into my hands.” I smile, knowing damn well I look rather sinister.
“What type of information?” my uncle asks, coming to stop at the table I’ve spread the various documents and money trails out over. His eyes widen as he hesitantly reaches out to a pick a piece of paper up. “Hell… who did you get this from, Gray?”
“Me,” Rose says, entering the room, Ashton not far behind her. My eyes dart up, taking her in, and it takes all my effort not to groan like a horny idiot. Fuck! My flippant comment of her dressing to distract the board had been a joke, but my God, I’ve never been so jealous of another guy before. Her skirt is skintight, stopping at a reasonable length below her knees and her blouse sedate enough, if not for the fact the fabric is just slightly see-through. She’s dressed for a board room meeting and yet the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“And who might you be?” my uncle asks, his gaze roaming Rose with open appreciation.
“Keep looking at her like that and I might forget you’re Gray’s uncle and punch you,” Ashton snarls.
“Jeez, kid, can’t blame a man for looking at such a fine p—”
Elbowing my uncle in the side, I cut him off. “Show some respect, Graham, or I’ll be cutting you out of this deal. This is Rose.”
“Rose Keeley,” she adds, smiling tightly.
“Keeley? As in Richard Keeley’s daughter?”
“That
’s me,” Rose answers. There’s an edge to her tone that tells me she’s uncomfortable and I don’t blame her. I love my uncle, but when it comes to women, he’s a disrespectful prick. I’m a player, but I love women and I treat them with the appreciation they deserve.
“So, what’s the plan, Gray?” Ashton asks, breaking the awkwardness.
“I’ve been in touch with Bart and a few of the others on the board who aren’t the biggest fans of my father. Bart’s called an emergency meeting, which will take place in just under an hour. We’ll need a majority vote to have him dismissed. My father has two members who are diehard loyalists, leaving Bart, David, and Graham against…. It’s Preston who has been on the fence and this should push him in our favor.”
Graham grins, rubbing his hands together before clapping. “Leaving the CEO position ripe for the taking.”
It takes me a second to understand my uncle’s words, the greedy gleam to his eyes. He wants CEO and he clearly thinks I’m a naïve child because my father had been right about one thing—Graham is a wildcard and people like that have no business being CEOs of multibillion dollar companies.
“Let me just be clear on one thing, Graham. The CEO position is going to Bart.” He’s the man I trust, the only one out of all the people in my father’s company who cared about my mother and bothered to check on me over the years.
“What?” he snaps, nostrils flaring. “I’m your damn uncle, kid.”
“I’m not a kid, Graham. And I’m ruining my father. Why would you think I’d give you the CEO position just because you’re my uncle? I want to take my father’s most prized possession from him and then I want him to watch as it thrives without him and eventually becomes mine. Mine because I took it from him, not because it was given. And for that to happen, I need Bart. He’s the most experienced and logical man for the job.”
“You’re as coldhearted as your fucking father, you know that?” he spits.
“No, I’m not. I just have the ability to think above my emotions. My father doesn’t have any at all.”
“So…” Rose cuts in meekly, “what exactly do you need me for?”
I shrug. “We wouldn’t be doing this without your father, Rose. It’s only right you’re there. Plus, a party isn’t all that much fun on your own.” But the truth is, I want her there. She’s become my family along with Ashton, and when I walk into that room, I want them by my side. I want my father to see I’ve chosen them over my own blood. That they’re more important than he’ll ever be.
“This isn’t exactly a party, bro,” Ashton mutters, smiling reluctantly.
“No, it’s a takedown that’s well past due. Now suit up, children. It’s time we had a little fun. And, Graham, you need to be at that meeting before us, since you’re a member of the board.”
***
I’ve dreamed of this, but it was a dream that I could never quite believe would happen. It was fanciful, a far-fetched notion that often kept me going on my darkest of days. As I grew older, my imaginings became more in depth. I’d analyze possible ways of making him pay, play out scenarios in my head, but never had I been delivering karma’s blow with friends by my side.
I was a lone wolf on a one-man crusade for vengeance, but I see now that being alone would have made my revenge hollow. The euphoria of victory would have been short-lived, empty even. What is the point in achieving the impossible without anyone there to bask in your glory with you?
But today… today I finally get to watch my father’s façade crumble, and Rose and Ashton are right by my side, helping wield the blade that will slice through his devious lies.
Walking through the double glass doors of his lower Manhattan high-rise, I cast a smile at the receptionist, striding past and towards the room the company board hold meetings in. I’m not a stranger in this building. In fact, I’d often wandered the floors as a child with nothing better to do, but today my feet step with purpose, today an air of anticipation races through my blood, amped up by the nervous excitement radiating off Rose and Ashton.
Pausing before the mahogany boardroom doors, my gaze swivels to my stepbrother and then to Rose.
“Ready?” I ask, grinning.
“How do you do that?” Rose whispers, studying my face.
“Do what?”
“Smile like you’re having the time of your life… like we aren’t about to step into that room and face the devil himself.”
“I guess after you’ve looked evil in the face for so long, you begin to see it for what it really is: a mask to cover the weak, lonely person beneath.”
Returning my attention to the room, a smirk tugs up my lips, then I push open the doors, arms going wide as I saunter in. I savor every second of his shock, mirth dancing in my eyes as I take in the room, but the surprise in his dark eyes doesn’t last long, and soon I’m facing the man who raised me. The arrogant, untouchable CEO. Only, he’s not so invincible anymore.
“What is the meaning of this?” my father snaps, shooting to his feet enraged. “This is my place of business, Grayson, not a playground for you to galivant in.”
“But, Father, the boardroom is where the best of games are played,” I answer, a singsong-like quality to my words. Ashton and Rose stand slightly to the side and behind me, silent but right along with me.
“Enough,” he barks, eyes taking on a slight edge of hysteria. “We’ve a meeting to get to and children aren’t welcome.”
A dark chuckle bubbles up my throat as I take two steps, leaning forward, arms braced on the large polished oak table the men are seated at, and give him my sole attention. “I was the one who called for a meeting, Father.”
Dismissing me with a wave of his hand, his smile never wavers. “What business does a sixteen-year-old boy have with a multibillion-dollar company?”
As I straighten, my gaze lands on the six other board members seated around the table before answering, “The kind that calls for the dismissal of the company’s current CEO.”
His haughty laughter makes me bristle, and it takes all my effort not to grit my teeth and scowl.
“Okay, I’ll play along. Please tell me, son, on what grounds are you calling for this fanciful dismissal of yours?”
“On the fact that you’re a danger to Bishop Enterprises’ public image. With recent details of your sordid affair with a minor an—”
He cuts me off. “Alleged affair.”
“—and,” I carry on, ignoring his interruption, “your involvement in the collapse of my uncle’s and Richard Keeley’s financial company. I think it’s safe to say your behavior is dangerous and untrustworthy.”
“What utter nonsense,” he answers, voice raising. “We all know it was Keeley who emptied that company of all its profits before it collapsed.”
“Are you sure, brother?” my uncle asks, rising to his feet to join me at the head of the table. “Because from what I saw, it was you that sought to undermine and ruin me from the very beginning.”
My gaze flicks to Rose. As I nod and with a seductive smile, she prowls the room, hips swaying as she drops the photocopies I’ve had made of the evidence around the table. As she reaches my father, she slaps a copy down directly under his nose, her voice a hypnotic purr, “Take a look for yourself, gents. I think you’ll find everything Grayson says is true.”
“And imagine,” Ashton continues as Rose’s voice fades, “what he’d do to you if he’s willing to stab his own flesh and blood in the back.”
“For a while now, there have been concerns over my father’s abuse of power. Now is your time, gentlemen. You have the evidence; all that’s left is for you to use the gift I’ve given you.”
My father snaps to his feet, his fists ball and as he glares at me, I see the first signs of his perfect exterior begin to crack. “This is madness. I built this company from the ground up. I am Bishop Enterprises. You cannot dismiss me.”
Hushed murmurs travel the room, tension and excitement rolling like ominous thunder. I can sense it in my gut, feel victo
ry within my grasp. He’s shattering before my eyes. Understanding dawning on his arrogant face… he’s going to lose.
“When Grayson called me earlier with this troubling news, I felt it was prudent to call for this vote,” Bart begins, speaking up for the first time. “Your behavior is concerning, Arthur, and your public image is troubling at best. You’re feared, Arthur, seen to be above the law, and we have to ask ourselves here today, whether that is what we want for the face of our company going forward.”
“Have you heard yourself, Bart? I made you. I made all of you!” my father growls.
“I vote for dismissal,” my uncle pipes up.
“Well, I stand with, Arthur. This information isn’t relevant. It’s from years ago, and we’ve already made the affair debacle disappear,” Nathaniel says.
“It is relevant, the boy’s right. If Arthur was willing to do this to his own brother, what other things is he hiding that could potentially destroy what we’ve worked for?” David argues. “I vote dismissal.”
My heart pounds loudly through my head, and I struggle to concentrate on the debate going back and forth around the room. Votes are cast, my father’s fate closer and closer to deliverance.
“I’m with Arthur,” Jack votes.
It’s okay. It’s okay, I knew that would happen. Even as I remind myself over and over, my palms grow sweaty with nerves; this has to go in our favor. I don’t see how I walk away from this room without being the victor. This isn’t just about the company. It’s about every time he put himself above me, for all the manipulation and taunts. For every horrible, inexcusable thing he did to my mom. I want… I need him to pay. To lose, just once in his life. For him to feel, if even for a second, a fraction of the agony I have endured.
“I vote dismissal. Preston, it’s down to you,” Bart says as all eyes in the room fall on him.
I can’t breathe, my heart’s in my throat, mind nothing but white noise. I’ve no idea which way this is going to go. Preston was always the one person I was never sure about. He’s never really spent the time to speak to me or even acknowledge me, and as the seconds tick by, my vison begins to fade as my lungs scream for air, and then his vote is cast and reality hits fast-forward, everything becomes loud and chaotic.
The Resurrection of Us: A High School Bully Romance (Albany Nightingale Duet Book 2) Page 22
