I lift a hand, flashing her four fingers. “Although mykingwill always trump yourknight, our last names are also chess pieces.”
“Good one.” She laughs. “Do you play?”
“Not well. And you?”
“I do. Mom taught me. Some people meditate. Others exercise. Mom played chess to cope with stress. She was such a good player. I could never beat her.”
“And that brings me to the fifth thing we share in common.” I take in a deep breath. “We both lost our moms to cancer.”
Her head jerks back, a shock-filled stare fixed on me.
“I didn’t read about that…” Her voice comes out faint.
“With enough money, anything is possible. Dad worked hard to keep it out of the press for privacy reasons. Any donation to cancer research is also kept quiet. And, there’s so much information about our company, Dad, and the four of us floating on the internet, any old articles about Mom are most likely buried deep in the search results.”
“How long ago did your mom die?”
“It’s been four years. My older brother died a year before she did, of a drug overdose.”
“Oh my God. I am so sorry, Phoenix.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not your fault.”
She offers a shy smile.
“Mom died within six months of being diagnosed for pancreatic cancer,” I say. “Had it not been for the diagnosis, we would have believed she died of sadness. Barron’s death of a massive drug overdose broke her, casting a permanent shadow of sadness and despair over a woman who was happiness personified.”
Michaela places both hands against her heart. “Oh, Phoenix, it was so sudden.”
“It was. Barron was seven years older. From the day he was born, he knew he’d step into our father’s shoes.”
While he was shadowing Dad and taking the company to new heights, my three younger brothers and I were following our dreams. After we laid our brother to rest, we gave up the limelight and joined the family business. Losing a family member shifts your priorities. Losing two, even more so.
She closes her eyes for a beat. “Seven years after losing Mom to breast cancer, it’s still so hard. The pain never seems to go away.”
I shake my head, a lump rising in my throat. “No, it doesn’t.”
For a few long seconds, we’re both silent.
“So, you see, Michaela, we have a lot more in common than you think.”
She considers me. “Phoenix, maybe I’m being naïve here, but is that enough to fool everyone?”
“My father and my brothers are one hundred percent behind me. The board bought my story… for now. My staff doesn’t know much more than what’s printed in the media. For the first time since my grandfather started this multinational company, a König might not be at the helm. That’s a risk I’m not willing to take. If we allow an outsider to wedge himself—or herself—in that position, we’ll have relinquished our power. As much as I hate it, the board has a strong say in the succession. They hold me by the balls.”
The transition from pop star to hotel magnate was brutal. But here I am, the default first born, vying for a position I never in my life expected to want with this much ardor. The board is dead set on appointing a new CEO to replace Dad. They’ve made it clear they don’t think I have the chops—or the model-citizen lifestyle—for the job. They’re determined to keep me in my current position of COO and hire someone above me.
Fuck that.
I’m not going down without a fight. No way am I going to let an outsider reign over what’s rightfully ours.
“I see,” she says.
“Do you have a boyfriend in New York?”
Her eyebrows hit her forehead. “I didn’t say yes.”
If she wasn’t interested, she would’ve decamped out of here, flipping me the bird like she did earlier. But I’m not going to point out the obvious.
