“You’re in the clear, Phoenix.”
He’s over simplifying things, but then again, Slate always does.
“For now, I am,” I say. “Niels Knight jumped the gun. We agreed neither of us would breathe a word of the moredelicatedetails of the contract until he spoke to his daughter. She was supposed to agree to this merger-marriage before it was made public.”
“Niels is desperate to save his first wife’s hotel from the claws of his crooked second wife.” Slate sums it up perfectly.
My brother is abreast of my dealings surrounding the Villiers Grand Hotel. I made sure to brief him on my verbal sparring with Michaela right before we walked into the emergency meeting the board called.
“I know what’s at stake here,” I say. “Granted, his wife is a conniving two-faced bitch, but a heads up would’ve been appreciated.”
“After your eloquent explanation, the board of directors bought the‘it was love at first sight’fairytale between you and Michaela. At least now they’ll back off and stop scolding you for the media circus,” Slate says.
Our board of directors is composed of nine men and women who have little faith in my abilities to run this company. I had to bite my tongue to remain silent during the meeting while they grilled me. Once they were done lecturing me—and busting my balls—I was able to plead my case. Sure, I occasionally land on the front page of the celebrity pages and it’s too often linked to a woman, but I wash my hands of this morning’s media fiasco. Still, I had to think on my feet because I was flying blind.
Convincing a board of directors composed of logicians who only care about the bottom line that a certified playboy like myself would fall madly in love with a woman at first sight and I’d want to marry her as soon as humanly possible because I can’t imagine living one more minute without her by my side, wasn’t easy.
In business and life, I move at warp speed, which means it was no surprise I’d ‘fall in love’ in a New York minute. I might not have an Ivy League college degree or an MBA––by choice––but my keen ability to smell a fucking amazing deal a mile awayand before our rivals, has earned me the respect of most of the board members. They can’t bitch when I’m lining their pockets with money.
That’s why I didn’t hesitate when Michaela’s father approached me a month and a half ago. He was dealing with an unbelievable situation. His terms were outrageous. And time wasn’t playing in my favor. The coveted address of his Manhattan hotel made it impossible for me to walk away from the deal. It pays to be on the list of the Top 10 Richest Hotel Moguls in the country.
“Before the board becomes too suspicious and starts poking holes in my fake-whirlwind-romance to my soulmate, I have to get my fake-fiancée on board, and right now Michaela Knight wants nothing to do with me.”
“You’ll have to woo her,” Slate says.
Thank you for your wisdom, dating coach.“Like you fucking know what that means.”
“I don’t,” he says, “but then again, I’m not the one campaigning for the position of CEO. You are, and you need her.”
I rake my hand through my hair. “I hate being in this position.”
“It’s for the greater good.” It’s Slate’s favorite go-to line since I told my father and brothers about my meeting with Niels Knight. “Back to you charming Michaela––”
“If I can get her to stop spitting fire at me like a goddamn infuriated dragon for longer than a second.”
We both laugh.
“She’s in LA,” Slate picks up where he left off. “Find out where she’s staying. Upgrade her accommodation to one of our luxury addresses. Take her out. Wine and dine her. Charm the hell out of her. Then lock that shit down, big brother.”
“I don’t have a lot of time to make our pretend union believable. Unfortunately for me, Michaela Knight is worse than a prickly porcupine. I can’t imagine her warming up to me.” I reckon wrestling a famished alligator might be easier than convincing Michaela to marry me after this morning’s confrontation. “There’s a lot at stake here. We can’t lose our footing in this company.”
“I agree,” Slate says. “Dad is a hundred percent behind you. You have my vote. Wilder thinks you walk on water. Although physically incapacitated and stuck in a bed, Roman believesyou’ll kick ass. We all want you to have the position of CEO as much as you do.”
“Replacing Dad is my ultimate goal. Niels threw a curve ball that could’ve derailed?—”
“But it didn’t. It’s a minor shake up.”
“It’s a big fucking one.”
“Nothing you can’t handle.”
I slam my hand against my desk. “It pisses me off I even have to jump through hoops like a circus seal to convince those tight ass stodgy old farts of my worth.”
Until three months ago, my father, Soren König, was CEO of König Imperial Holdings, which includes the King Regency and the Pompadour 5-star hotels and luxury residencies. His recent heart attack changed everything. Thank God he’s alive, but he can no longer keep the same hectic pace he thrives on. The onus is on me to preserve our legacy. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. My older brother was the one groomed to replace Dad.
Since my great-grandfather started the company, a König has always sat at the helm. Even though he’s in convalescence, Dad has a seat on the board. So do I. Slate, Wilder, and Roman also have a seat each. Thanks to our great-grandfather, who lost the controlling percentage to the public, the Königs are now in the minority—five against nine. The board never misses a chance to remind us. They always liked my father and my older brother.
They never warmed up to Slate, Wilder, or me. Since they consider Roman, the wild child who lands on the front of the celebrity pages a bit too often for their liking, they don’t even bother to pretend to tolerate him. They might not say it, but it washes off them—having one less König to deal with at board meetings for the time being is a relief. Some days, it’s like they expect us to kowtow to them before agreeing to some of our ideas. Assholes. To this day, they have the audacity to question our real intentions in working in the family business. They seeus as four spoiled princes about to inherit the kingdom—with me being the most entitled one.
