Andrea’s paralegal came into the floor to ceiling glass small meeting room and sat down next to her. Unfortunately, that left Gavriel and I sitting next to each other. Andrea proceeded to go over some of the documents that we were executing, and when she handed the first to me, I signed it and slid it over to Gavrielbut tilted my head to the side and gave him a concerned look. “You do know how to sign your name, right?”
Andrea was still as stone as Gavriel’s jaw twitched in aggravation.
Oh, this is too easy.
He signed it and then slid the documents over to her paralegal, who notarized them and put them in a pile.
“Great, now the partnership agreement. Please initial on page five and sign on page twelve.”
I’d read over the agreement between my father and the Azzaro family, and it had been fairly well written. This one though, this one was nothing like my fathers. There were provisions for my nonperformance, personal fines for misconduct, which would be determined by Gavriel Azzaro, a high-class dress code he expected me to follow, not to mention a slow turnover of ownership interest year after year. It was preposterous. By the time I was done, I glared at Andrea, who had the good sense to look ashamed. When I looked over at my new business partner, he lifted an eyebrow with a smirk.
You really think I’m a dumb bitch, don’t you?
Shaking my head, I looked at Gavriel, crossed my arms over my chest, leaned on the table, and glared at him. “Do you really think I amthisstupid? I won’t sign the document as drafted.”
“Oh, and why not?” His arrogance was astonishing.
Ignoring him, I directed my answer to the lawyer. “Mrs. Greene, as we have discussed, I recognize that you have a duty to the Azzaro family, and I agreed for you to represent both parties in this matter as long as you remained impartial. This is not impartial. I refuse to sign over anything that gives them more control overmyinheritance. It must be redrafted to be equal. Fifty-fifty. I’m not asking for anything more from them. They will get nothing from me. Any special provisions limiting my person are also to be removed.”
Gavriel’s eyes roamed over me, a disgusted look on his face. “You, woman, don’t know anything about how to run a club, or any business for that matter.”
“What does being a woman have to do with my business sense?”
He huffed as he leaned back in his chair. “Seriously? You have a degree in psychology. Feelings have nothing to do with making a business succeed.”
“Oh, if you only knew. You are bringing so much small-man energy right now. Keep it up and I’ll start outwardly suggesting options for penile enlargement therapy.”
“One of these days, someone is going to put you in your place.”
I laughed. Genuinely laughed. If he only knew how much I made putting others in theirs. “And that’s going to be you, I assume?”
“You wish.”
Rolling my eyes, I looked back at Andrea. “Make the corrections for fifty-fifty, just as my father and Mr. Azzaro here had it.”
Gavriel leaned forward and growled. “You are going to give me a controlling interest.”
Lifting my eyebrows, I insisted, “No.” He continued to glower at me, but now I looked at him like he was crazy. “Seriously, is your birth certificate an apology from the condom factory? Because youcannotbesostupid as to think I would give up a portion of my father’s investment to you, just because you are male and I am female.”
When I looked back at Mrs. Greene, her cheeks reddened and there was shame in her eyes as she pulled the document up on her laptop to make the corrections. I had to wonder what they’d threatened her with to draft the original document. However, this was exactly why I read through everything. Her firm was loyal to the Azzaro family. I had to look out for myself. This couldhave gotten her sanctioned by the State Bar, but I’d signed a release for this matter only.
While Mrs. Greene worked on correcting the agreement, I pulled out my phone and worked on emails and adjusted my schedule over at the Lounge so that I could be at the Paradise Club on Thursday to go over things. I needed to get over there and start overseeing things before I had a larger fight on my hands. I’d been avoiding going, knowing I’d be taking over Dad’s office. The same one he’d worked in for decades, where the Azzaros, and specifically the man across the table from me, had killed him. The same office I would use to reap my revenge upon them.
Thirty minutes later, I was reading over the revised agreement, and when I found it acceptable, I signed it. I was going to start on equal footing. This was imperative in being able to take them down. They were going to pay for my father’s death, and it would start with me gaining control of the club. Then I would find another way to wiggle into all his dealings and take out both Gavriel and his father. Rhea could take over the family business. She was smart as hell but dismissed simply because of her genetics. As I looked back at my business partner, I wondered if he had done anything to protect her.
Once we were done with the rest of the paperwork, I gathered my copies and a set of last quarter's financials. Standing tall, I faced Gavriel, who was barely holding onto his anger with me.
Wonder why he’s holding back?
I tried to be cordial, but even I heard the dismissiveness in my tone as I said, “I’ll meet you at the club in two days.”
“Why wait until Thursday? Why not just come by tonight?”
I let out a long breath through my nose as I made my way to the door. “Because unlike you, I have a job and clients who depend on me to be at my appointments so we can conduct business.”
“Which iswhat, exactly?” The entitlement in his stance, arms crossed over his chest, and the glare he gave, that I was sure had gotten him lots of answers before, almost had me laughing.
I let a little of my wicked dominatrix shine through my stare and lifted my chin. “Oh, I thought you knew everything, Mr. Azzaro. Are your informants keeping things from you?”
