Aleks bit back his response. Arguing with them never went well. “I met with Killian St. John today. He informed me that the other shareholders wouldn’t sell because they fear the Tremaine family.”
“This man, this coward—he’s the one who is squiring our granddaughter around?” Mr. Solveig asked.
Aleks nodded.
“He’s afraid of the Tremaine family?”
Aleks paused, considering everything St. John had told him. “No, he’s not afraid of the Tremaines. I believe he’s loyal to them. To Portia, at least.”
“Portia?” Mrs. Solveig asked.
Fuck.He’d slipped up. “Loyal to Portia Tremaine, not Phillip Tremaine,” he corrected quickly.
“Phillip Tremaine is dead.”
It would solve a great many problems if that was true, but no one had been able to prove it. “Presumed dead, according to the people I’ve spoken to.”
Mr. Solveig waved his caution away. “That bastard must be dead. His daughter is the only thing standing between Dizzie and her rightful place at the head of the company.”
He and his wife shared a long look, communicating without words the way some longtime couples could. There was a gleam in their eyes that made the hackles on Aleks’s neck stand up.
“All we have to do,” they said in unison, “is eliminate Portia Tremaine.”
His blood froze. They couldn’t have just... Aleks stared at the Solveigs. “What?”
“Removing Portia Tremaine from the picture will destabilize the Tremaine Corporation. No company can survive the loss of two CEOs in such quick succession. With her out of the way, our granddaughter will be able to step into the CEO position.”
There were so many layers to their plan that he could barely process them all. His brain latched onto the most obvious question. “Have you heard something to indicate that Dizzie wants to be CEO?”
Mrs. Solveig pinned him with a sharp gaze. “Does it matter?”
Aleks shook his head. “When you say eliminate P—, Ms. Tremaine, what do you mean?”
“Remove her from the CEO position by whatever means necessary.”
His gut churned. Sure, he solved problems for them, but they usually didn’t outright ask him to murder people.
Snuffing out the light that was Portia Tremaine? He didn’t think he could do it, but there was no way he could admit that.
His brain started to buzz.Fuck. Not now.He raised his hand to his head.
“Is there a problem, Aleks?”
He winced and rubbed his temple. “No, no problem. My head is spinning with options.” All of them bad.
They both stared at him for a long moment. “We trust you’ll choose the right one.”
“Of course.” Surely among all the options, there was one that didn’t involve killing Portia.
“Excellent. Once that is accomplished and Dizzie is at the head the company, we’ll begin the process of assimilating Tremaine into Solveig Consortium. Within the year, there should be no trace of the Tremaine Corporation—or family—left.”
Holy. Shit.
The Solveigs could hold their own in the backstabbing world of the multinational corporations, something they’d managed for decades, but this was unexpected. Honestly, he hadn’t thought they had it in them.
If only he’d been right.
Aleks swallowed hard. He couldn’t show any doubt. If he did, they could easily pull him off this task and replace him with someone who would have no compunctions about taking care of Portia.
