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2024-11-28 13:35:24“I understand you are prematurely judging me; however, I haven’t seen you up here once until Theo approached you.”
He grew bold, and I sat more erect in the chair I took across his desk. “That’s on me,” I said. “I’m just sad I’ve learned my lesson this late in your heartless game.”
“This is not a game,” he answered. “I assure you of that.”
“You’re right. Games are to be left back with me, getting buzzed and acting like a fool.”
His expression was unsettling. What the hell was going on, and why in the heck did I think I could pounce off in rebellion and leave my dad’s company at the mercy of this man?
I wasn’t handling this merge well at all. I was trying to bury myself by returning to the design room, but ignoring the hard work was more than reckless.
All I could hope now was that we landed Sphere, and it would be worth the negligence on my part. I turned to leave, knowing I needed to speak with Theo.
“I will admit…” Alex started, stopping me from leaving the room.
“Admit what, Mr. Grayson?”
His smooth and sexy voice pissed me off the more I thought about what Theo would tell me.
“I wasn’t lying when I mentioned you’d be a fine partner for me that evening at the gala. We need to start working together more. It will all be fine in the end. Trust me on that.”
“Good. Anything else?” I said, trying to keep it together.
“Now that you mention it, yes. I will also admit that you’re much more beautiful in person than online or in magazines. Also, your ex is a fool for letting you go.”
I narrowed my eyes at his playful tone, knowing I was on my way to find out why Theo was most likely getting axed by this man.
“Thank God you’re handsome,” I managed to return. “I think, because of that, I’ll never have to worry about my idiot of an ex ever again.”
“Indeed, fine looks and a dapper man was all you needed to rid yourself of that lunatic.”
“Dapper man?” I stared at him. “Interesting. I think even Satan’s real name was Lucifer, right?”
“I believe that is correct, Ms. Stone. How this analogy has anything...”
He paused when I arched an eyebrow at him. “Lucifer was beautiful, possibly even dapper, all while being evil as well. You’re nothing more than a devil in a suit to me, Mr. Grayson.”
He chuckled. “Well, then, at least you’ve formed some manner of opinion about me. Now, you and I can get to work, merging these companies as the devil and his mistress.”
I rolled my eyes. “Way to spin that into something that makes absolutely no sense at all.”
“Well, we are life-long partners, and you’ve associated me—your partner—as the devil. That makes you my lovely mistress.”
“We have more pressing issues than this nonsense of referring to each other as diabolical entities.”
“We do. Might I point out that I wasn’t the one to bring up the analogy of evil creatures and being associated with them; you were.”
“Then perhaps you should quit acting like an evil asshole, and those comparisons wouldn’t enter my mind,” I said. “I have to go. I need to speak with Theo and make preparations to meet with Sphere today.”
“Fantastic idea. We have quite a busy day ahead of us. I’ll have the car ready and waiting when we’re set to leave and meet with Sphere.”
I wanted to get out of here. Alexander Grayson was flirty, tricky, and I wasn’t about to get caught up in his handsome features as he used my lame references against me. What I’d seemed to fail to get across was that it felt like our firm had been possessed by some evil entity, bringing about the gloomy atmosphere all around us.
I had to speak with Theo. I needed to regroup, get my head straight, and move forward. Alexander was probably right; I needed more time with him to form a better opinion of him. I certainly didn’t want to continue to see him as a beautiful man who was nothing short of evil while he made cuts, handed out severances, and made life-changing decisions for both firms’ employees.
I had to get to know him and understand how the man ran a business on top of adding my opinions about who we laid off in this merge. I would take full responsibility for avoiding this part, knowing I might have been able to save jobs if I’d stayed at this man’s side while he made the hard decisions. I was blaming it all on him as if I weren’t supposed to be helping make all the cuts.
After I left Alexander’s office, I couldn’t shake the way he mentioned Theo’s name. That was what stuck with me. He was sincere, and I saw that in his eyes. I was too busy throwing insults around instead of appreciating that this man may have had a heart after all.
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C H A P T E R T H R E EBREEAs soon as I walked out of Alex’s office and Theo’s phone went to voicemail, I was abruptly pulled aside by one of my architect designers on Sphere. Shelly insisted on talking to me, but I held a finger up when my phone rang in from Theo, and I answered the call.“Hey, are you in your office? I just spoke with Mr. Grayson, and he’s tightlipped about your future with Stone Company. We need to talk about what’s going on and what he said to you.”“In my office, but you need to talk to Shelly. She’s looking for you,” Theo responded.“She’s right here, and I will, but I need to talk to you first, Theo.”“Our conversation must wait,” he said. “Sphere just called me, and they’re pushing up the meeting to noon.”“Why wouldn’t they have called me?” I answered in confusion.“No idea. Something’s up. Are you taking Mr. Grayson with you to meet with them? You all need to leave right now if you want to make the noon appointment.”“Noon? You’re right. Something isn’t s
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“Good luck finding parking in Malibu during lunch hours. If you don’t make the meeting, I will make sure it will be the last one you miss.” “Are you threatening to fire me?” Danny snapped.“After learning you moved up the appointment with our clients, and now, Ms. Stone is the one having to fix your errors—possibly resulting in losing this deal altogether—what would you suggest I do?” Alex asked as I was logging into my account to pull up the drawings. “You’re coming with us, and you will sell this client.”“Wait, what did you just say?” I seethed from the backseat, watching their exchange. “What did you do, Danny?”“Danny has plenty of time to think about what he did in his own car.” Alex sat in the car next to me. “We need your pretty little eyes on thisproject and making it shine before we get to our clients.”I watched as Danny stomped to the little car behind us and crawled inside, and then our car took off, the microcar following behind.“What did he do that I don’t know about?
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I rested my head against the seat. “What is going through my mind right now?”“Yes,” he answered.“Titanic.”“Titanic? As in that’s how monumental you see this mistake is?”“No, the ship that sank. You’re a numbers man, correct?”“Yes,” he said in a curious voice. “I’m now struggling to figure out if we’re building a ship and heading to a shipyard?” He chuckled.“Do you find this funny, Mr. Grayson?”“I find the creative mind intriguing, and now, you have my full attention. Please explain why you’ve questioned me being a numbers man while bringing up the Titanic. I must know what that has to do with a superlative ocean liner.”“Well, that’s what this entire project and everything in my vision will turn out to be if it’s built,” I said. “There’s no last-minute fix to these flaws in the design. It will look grand and beautiful yet flawed and built so damn cheap that it won’t ever be what it was intended to be. So, this reminds me of Titanic, of all the things I could compare it to. Tita
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“So, you’ll walk away from this multi-million-dollar deal?”“No,” he answered resolutely. “I’ll inform Sphere that we have their best interest in mind and that we have noted that such a highly acclaimed company would want nothing but the best for their newest hotel chain. Then, if I feel like we’re losing them, I’ll bring up the Titanic sinking. I’ll have the number of the lost souls, and after I relate their hotel’s future to that, they’ll be writing us another check and keeping our design.”“Really?” I said dryly as I eyed his handsome and dazzling smile. “Do you even comprehend why I even brought the Titanic into this?”“Not really, but I will accept you’ve seen the comparison. I’m not questioning your upset with this—well, perhaps I’m humoring you a little bit.”“I don’t need humoring, Mr. Grayson,” I said. “I need you to understand that we’re acting like desperate fools. We’re rushing the finish date. We’re delivering on a project that will fall apart within a year. It’s a joke.”
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“He sunk your luxurious ship, of course. I have to admit, in watching you speak and study the errors in that project, I don’t believe I ever wish to see you this upset over your vision being destroyed by an ass that youtrusted again. That’s straight-up, fucking bullshit.”“I’m shocked you’re not firing both of us.”“See, I’m not the devil after all, am I?”“No, but you’re not to be trusted, either.”“That I can agree with you on, Ms. Stone.” He grinned. “Perhaps at a later date, you’ll learn you can trust me. I would hope my undivided attention during history class today would be good enough to gain your trust after I deceived you at the gala. I certainly did not think I’d wake up this morning, go out to this project, and become educated on the Titanic asit relates to signing papers on a multi-million-dollar deal.”“God, stop.” I smiled. “You sound like my dad. Funny story about me? I always brought up that ship when I saw design flaws in any of our projects.” I laughed at how I dro
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“Excuse me? Danny is merely a contracted architect. He’s hardly in charge, sir,” I said while Breanne’s face was black with anger after she ended her phone call.“Then that is yet another lie that your company has communicated to us, Mr. Grayson.”“Another lie?” My voice became firm. “Allow me to explain something, Mr. Nazari,” I said, hoping I’d keep this upset client on the phone. “We understand your grievance with Danny, and God only knows what else that man has said to you. Allow me a chance to rectify all of this. I assure you that you will not only approve of our alterations to your astounding project, but you will also accept our deepest apologies for any issues that may have forced you to believe that we have lied to you.” I rolled my eyes at the garbage coming out of my mouth.Lied to them? What the fuck did that asshole do?“What do you plan on doing to help restore our faith in your company?”“I’m changing the meeting location.” I instantly went into another gear —time to b
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“Yes, who’s this?”“Mr. Grayson, the superior of the man you’re currently driving.”“Oh, yes,” he answered. “Would you like to speak with him?”“I’d rather not,” I said. “I’d like to let you know that we lost you driving behind us, and your passenger is unaware of our new destination.” I inhaled. “Listen, it’s the poor man’s birthday, and we’ve got a surprise for him. So, whatever or wherever he’s told you to take him, go ahead and cancel that. We’ll be at Esprit in Marina del Rey awaiting you. I’ll ensure your tip is healthy for the last-minute change of plans.”“Not a problem, sir. So, not a word?”“Not a word. I’m sure he won’t even ask, but if he does, inform him that Mr. Grayson has quite the surprise for him. If he becomes obnoxious, please call me back, and then I will speak with him.”“He’s staring at a computer and a phone, sir.” The driver’s voice lowered.“Good, he won’t have a clue, then. Thank you and see you there.”I hung up and opened my texts. “Can you keep Danny on t
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I SMILED at her changed tone and swiftly accepted my phone’s prompt to add her name to my contacts. Funny how money made magic happen with moods and loyalty. I hated seeing shit this way, but in my line of work and with the people I dealt with, it was money and luxuries that kept the large and small fish taking my bait.Alex: Give me a second to think. Shit. What do people name yachts?Falcon: You can always use the first name Jake used for his yacht. Sex Sea?I SMIRKED at the picture that came through with this chick’s contact info, showing a young, hot blonde. It was a pity that I was on a mission for business, not pleasure. I could use a drink and a lady in bed after this day. Think, Alex.I looked over at Breanne. Her Titanic history lesson made my mind jump to using the luxurious yacht to keep these men as clients in the first place. She studied the drawings, and her auburn hair hid her face from me. Just as well. I had no business going there with my new partner. I couldn’t even
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I walked out to the comfortable waiting area, and Jim was the first to stand when he saw my approach. “We heard mommy and babies are healthy?”“A new and very handsome dad didn’t pass out?” I heard Jane as she walked up to me, smiles worn all around the room while the children were occupied in the learning and games corner of the room.“Jane, I’m happy as hell that you’re here,” I said as she stepped back and smiled up at me.“Well,” she patted my cheek, “I’ve heard you’re doing well from my sister-in-law. I texted Bree and congratulated her on your nuptials since your response was some BS thumbs-up emoji.”“I am.” I grinned at how well my sister appeared. Her blonde, curly hair was loose around her shoulders, and she was dressed casually. She didn’thave her usual stiff military look. “I’m happy you’re here.”She jabbed me in my side. “You better be. Now, let’s go,” she said.“Give us a second,” I smiled at the group as Jane walked in to meet Breanne and our children for the first ti
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WITH ALL OF Breanne’s hard work, she safely delivered our sons. Both boys were instantly rushed to their warmers after I cut their umbilical cords, and just as Dr. Allen suggested, Bree’s thirty-eight-week pregnancy could likely deliver two healthy baby boys. He was right.Both babies passing the APGAR score made me exhale in relief at our two beautiful sons, who were now crying loudly for their mother. The group had all texted that they’d wait outside when Bree’s contractions were more brutal, and it was only Cameron who had the balls to peek around the curtain to check on her before heading into surgery.The nurses quickly wrapped both sets of dark-haired boys in their burrito-style blanket and handed them to Breanne after I walked to my wife. I kissed her on her forehead, her tired eyes peering up at me and her beautiful, dimpled smile lighting up the entire room.“You did so well, baby,” I kissed her forehead. “Our sons are healthy and on their way to you.”I watched, mesmerized,
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 133
“Yes. Fuck me hard.” She walked over to a wall in the living room, sighed in annoyance, and spread her legs.“I have to admit, everything you just demanded of me can be a man’s dream come true. However, this isn’t exactly romantic.”“Fuck romance, Alex,” she snapped into that gear again. “The romance is dead right now, and you’re going to be dead if you don’t get over here and help me get this going.”“Well, the doc said it was the sperm that triggered the pregnancy, so why don’t we do this where it’s a tiny bit more comfortable for you?” “For me?” she turned back, and evil-Bree was in full swing. “Comfortable? I can’t sleep—I don’t even remember the last time I slept. I’m hotter than hell all of the fucking time, I fart when I least expect it to happen, my indigestion is killing me from all those tacos I can’t stop eating, and as if all of that isn’t bad enough, I pee myself when I laugh, cough, or sneeze. So, I ask you,” she flashed her most challenging expression, “why would I give
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 132
“There is an upside for Alex in all of this,” Nat said as the girls all grabbed their slender bouquets of lilies. “There shall be no periods throughout the entire honeymoon, and of course, I hear that as time goes on, you get hornier, so the first six months of your marriage should be fantastic. All thanks to you getting knocked up right before your wedding.”I exhaled, feeling the nerves now. “Let’s worry about getting through this day. My aunt has been faithfully attending that wedding book, and I’m going to dodge her. I can’t cry.”“Ha,” Elena chuckled. “Good luck with that. In addition to what Nat said, your hormones can kick in at random intervals, and you could be the blubbering bride up there with Alex today.”I eyed all of my bridesmaids as they chuckled. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be my support crew or whatever it is that bridesmaids do on the wedding day?”“We support you telling Alex when you’re standing in front of that priest,” Cass teased.“All right,” the door flung o
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 131
I was not the bridezilla Nat was sure I’d be. Instead, I was going with the flow, filled with gratitude that I was about to become Alex’s wife officially. After the wedding, he and I were set to travel on the yacht he and Jim jointly owned—Maiden Stone, the one he’d named after me. He was incredibly proud of himself for naming the ship now because he said it represented our relationship—Made in Stone. The only thing we needed to do now was get to the boat after the wedding, which was anchored in the Sea of Cortez.Alex still held an iron fist at work and with our employees, but this softer side of him led him down some silly romantic roads, so much so that I teased him that if our marriage was made in stone, he should probably take my last name and not the other way around.“You look so goddamn beautiful,” Nat said, walking into the room where I was dressed and fully prepared to walk down that aisle and become Alex’s wife. “You’re never going to believe what that gorgeous young doctor
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 130
“It counts for something, right?” he asked. “But I can watch our movie with you a hundred times, Dorothy, with my new heart you’ve insisted the wizard give me. I will gladly watch that movie with you.” He kissed my ring finger. “But only if you put my outward expression of love on your finger.”I sniffed as I started to cry, officially caught up in the moment with the man I loved more than anything, and I felt more solid about marrying him than I felt about anything else in this world.Alex returned to bended knee in front of me. “I humbly ask you to marry me or at least start over and date me until the day comes that you feel confident enough to become my wife.”“What if I told you that I felt confident enough that I would marry you now if I could?” I knelt in front of him.“Well, that would put us all back on the plane and off to Vegas as your birthday evening stop, doing that Titanic experience,” he looked back atAvery’s grin, as she leaned into Jim’s side, “and Elvis handling our
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 129
“What the hell are you two doing?” Alex said when he turned, and I laughed softly with the rest of the women who’d found the two men’s humor just as entertaining.“Well, I’m humming the tune for Coll to sing on key,” Jake said, acting extremely serious. “Trust me. It takes a lot to keep Collin at that angelic level. And of all the songs he has to sing, it’s got to be Celine Dion’s song —the one we had to hear when we were forced to sit through the movie so we could learn more about the ship.”“I never told you idiots to watch a movie about this ship,” Alex answered in confusion. “What movie?” He glanced between the two men.“Titanic. Kate Winslet?” Collin stopped singing and answered. “Elena told me that you insisted we watch that three-hour movie.” He looked around Alex and at me. “Speaking of which, I now will add my expert opinion. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character was an absolute idiot, and that’s why he didn’t make it.”“Really? We’re doing this?” Alex said. I could hear him trying t
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 128
“Whether she knew they were stealing from her or not,” Alex said.I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard his voice as he finished speaking for Cass. I turned back and stared at his brilliant smile and his lighter expression, looking more handsome than I remembered.“You’re here?” I said, confused and in utter shock that Alex was here and joined by his closest friends.“Well,” he held up a boarding pass and pulled his sunglasses off to read the pass, “according to this, I’m not.”Did he go through this attraction too? Wait, this was Alex’s idea. All of it, and my girlfriends did well in acting like it was theirs.I smiled. “Third class passenger and didn’t get a boat?” I tried to guess.His eyes locked with mine. “No boat and my passenger gave up his life jacket. He was reported to be preaching to the ones who were going down with the ship.” He read the information with a broad grin.“Preaching?” I cocked my head to the side. “What passenger were you who selflessly gave up your li
Mr. Grayson: Billionaires' Club Book 4 127
“We’ll be sure to do that,” Cass said. “Go lay down and sleep this off because when we land, we’re going directly to the attraction we set up for Bree. The rules were to drink, but don’t get drunk, and now look at you?”“God,” Nat rubbed her forehead and meandered through the leather seating where we were in, “you owe me for this, Bree.” She turned back to me. “Trust me, flying to an attraction in Missouri was not my idea of a thirty-something birthday party.”“No,” I smiled, “I know exactly what your plans would’ve been. I’m glad we’re going to Missouri instead.”“Wake me when the wheels are safely on the ground, please,” Nat said.WE’D CONSUMED plenty of food and water to soak up the cocktails we’d enjoyed on our luxurious flight, and after the plane landed in Springfield, Missouri, we loaded up into a party limo that was waiting for us. I should have been drawn to the party lights of this massive SUV, but instead, seeing the lime green grass and how beautiful the countryside was in
