Dizzie nodded like she was agreeing to something. “That’s good. You’re still his best friend too. He’s available if you want to talk or hang out or something.” Her cheeks flushed. “He asked me to pass on that message.”
“Thanks.” Portia spoke around the tears that threatened again. She cleared her throat. “Okay, now that’s out of the way, we need a game plan for facing the Solveigs. And to keep them from getting their hands on my, I mean, the company.”
“Can’t I just tell them that I have no interest in owning it?”
Portia shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll listen to you. Or care. From what I’ve been, ah, told, they’re really looking for revenge.”
Dizzie snorted. “Yeah, I remember how you were. You weren’t letting anything get in the way of getting your revenge on me.”
Portia flushed. Dizzie’s tone was bland, but neither of them had forgotten Portia’s dogged pursuit.
“It’s okay,” she said, when Portia remained silent. “I forgive you. If anything happened to Killian, I’d react the same way.”
Portia filed her comment about forgiveness away to think about later. Did she even want or need it? It was too much to contemplate now.
“Oh, and another thing,” Portia said. “I wouldn’t put it past them to try to kidnap you if you don’t agree.”
“Are you serious?” Dizzie squeaked.
Portia nodded. “You should probably let Killian know about that.” She raised her hand to stop any questions. “I’m not 100 percent certain, but it’s not zero either.”
“Shit,” Dizzie said. “That’s fucked up.”
Portia laughed. “Yeah, well, welcome to life at the corporate level.”
“Then Idefinitelydon’t want the job. Why would you even want it?”
Portia had asked herself that many times over the last several months. “I guess because it’s what I was born to do.”
Dizzie stared at her. “Nope, definitely don’t want your life.”
If only she knew that this meeting was only one of Portia’s current problems. She somehow needed to cement her claim to the company, avoid whatever bad shit the Solveigs planned to throw at her, and solve the Vyne problem.
“Let’s figure out how to give them a united front.”
Chapter25
Aleks heldthe door to the conference room open. Two Solveig Consortium security personnel entered first. They brushed by him in their stark black uniforms, reminders of what could have been. The jealousy wasn’t as strong as it usually was. He filed away that little tidbit, then focused on his job: the meeting with Portia and Dizzie.
“Clear.”
Aleks rolled his eyes. Of course, the room was clear. The hotel had been selected as neutral ground. Portia hadn’t even offered a room in Tremaine headquarters, smart enough to recognize that the Solveigs wouldn’t accept.
“After you, Mr. Solveig. Mrs. Solveig,” he said to the couple who stood just behind him. He stepped out of the way to let his employers pass into the room. Agnarr Solveig entered first, moving stiffly with age. His gray hair almost matched his gray suit. His wife, Iduna, followed. Gray hair perfectly styled, she wore a black dress and sensible black shoes.
She stopped just inside the doorway and sniffed haughtily. “It will do, I suppose.”
“Come, dear, let us take our seats,” her husband said.
Aleks waited until they had cleared the doorway, before entering the room. He was followed by four more security personnel. His gut twisted. A half-dozen guards seemed like overkill to him. Surely, the Solveigs weren’t concerned for their safety. His mind conjured up a dozen possibilities for that number of guards, ranging from assassination attempts to corporate espionage.
He turned to close the door and to hide his wince. If he showed any hint of weakness now, they would likely demand that he leave the meeting. And he couldn’t leave Portia alone with them.
That thought pinged around his head with all the others. Ruthlessly stuffing them all down, he faced his employers.
They’d seated themselves at the head of the table on the other side of the room. Security had taken up positions around them, fanning out to the halfway point of the table.
There was an energy to the Solveigs that he’d never seen before. The CEO and her husband rarely traveled together. She preferred to remain close to headquarters, managing the company with an iron fist.
