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“Cancel my attendance at the Richardson meeting,” I cut in. “Have someone else handle it.”

“Yes, sir,” Nancy replied. “I’ll notify them immediately. And what about your meeting with Ms. Prescott today? It’s still showing as pending confirmation.”

“That meeting is happening. Non-negotiable. Things need to get finalized regarding her future employment as soon as possible.” The fact that I’d given her three days to think it over was nothing short of a miracle. Normally, I would have demanded an answer right then and there, no questions asked, but I thought a different approach here was required. At least for now.

“Of course, sir,” Nancy said. “One last thing—your mother called again about the charity gala tomorrow. She’s requesting confirmation of your attendance.”

I suppressed a groan. Shit. I’d forgotten about it. “Tell her I’ll be there.” I couldn’t not show up now that I’d waited this long to let her know whether I’d be there or not. “And would you like me to RSVP for a plus one?” Nancy asked.

I considered this for a moment. The thought of bringing someone to suffer through another of my mother’s charity functions almost made me smile. Almost.

“Sure. Just in case,” I replied. “Is there anything else?”

“That’s all for now, Mr. Ashcroft. The car will arrive at Prescott Vantage in approximately seven minutes.” She paused before she continued. “Well, actually, I just wanted to say that you’ve been spending a lot of time in D.C. around this acquisition. This is more than you usually do around any company you acquire.”

I’d wondered if she’d call me out about this. Nancy usually kept things professional, but ever so often she tended to add her opinion about my activities. I called it her sixth sense, if you will. I could practically hear her smirking on the other end of the line, but her tone didn’t give anything away.

“I’m well aware. Is there a problem with that?”

“No, sir. It’s just unusual, that’s all.”

“Nothing about Prescott Vantage is usual,” I replied. And I meant that. “I’ll call if I need anything else.”

I hung up before she could respond because I wasn’t about to admit to her that she was right. Without a doubt, I had spent more time on this acquisition than any in recent memory and while it wouldn’t raise any red flags for most of my team, it still was something I didn’t want to talk about with anyone.

I loosened my tie slightly as my driver came to a stop outside of the building that housed Prescott Vantage. The fact that I was here in person once again instead of sending one of my executives spoke volumes. I could have easily handled this remotely, but I needed to be here to finish this deal in person.

More so the offer that I gave to Sutton needed to be finished in person. She’d had her time to consider my offer, and now it was time for her decision. I stepped out of the car, buttoned my jacket, and made my way into the building. It took a few minutes, but soon I was on the fourteenth floor, walking through the doors leading into Prescott Vantage’s main office. Nothing seemed out of place until I heard raised voices coming from down the hall.

I walked down the hallway and paused outside of the door where the voices were coming from and quickly noted it was Conference Room A. Thankfully there was a glass panel, I could see Sutton standing at the head of the table, her face slightly flushed from what I assumed was anger, staring down Bradley Sumpter, a member of my transition team. His back was to me, but his body language was aggressive, leaning forward with hands planted firmly on the table.

“That’s not how we do things at Ashcroft Group,” Bradley said, his voice carrying through the door. “Your processes are outdated and inefficient. We need to implement our systems immediately.”

Sutton’s face remained composed, though I noticed her knuckles whitening because of how hard she was gripping the edge of the table. “We’ve refined these processes over a decade to serve our specific client needs. Dismantling them without proper analysis would be careless.”

“Careless is continuing to operate like it’s 2010,” Bradley shot back. “Mr. Ashcroft expects immediate integration, not resistance from legacy management.”

I watched Sutton’s expression shift and for a split second she looked downright murderous. I knew that look because I’d seen it on other people’s faces when they were about to take a life. Hell, I’d felt it cross my features several times as well. My attention was drawn back to Sutton as she straightened to her full height, which even in those impressive heels put her several inches below Bradley.

“Mr. Sumpter,” she said. I made a mental note to myself that hearing her voice drop an octave was intoxicating. “I understand your enthusiasm for Ashcroft Group’s methods. However, until I receive direct instructions otherwise, we will proceed with careful evaluation of which systems best serve our clients’ needs.”

Bradley scoffed. “Your position here is ceremonial at best. Once the dust settles⁠—”

I’d heard enough and I was about to step in when Sutton cut him off.

“My position is secured by a decade of results that speaks for itself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have actual work to do rather than engaging in a fucking pissing contest.”

Even I had to stand there and smirk at that line. Her handling of him was impressive and I was pleased by what I saw and heard. Bradley’s body grew more tense as if he was prepared to go another round with her, but I decided this had gone far enough. I pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

“Mr. Sumpter,” I said. I didn’t react when both he and Sutton froze in response. “That’s enough.”

Bradley spun around, his face draining of any sort of color as he realized I’d witnessed what just happened. “Mr. Ashcroft, I was just explaining our integration protocols to Ms. Prescott.”

“So I heard,” I replied, moving further into the room. I glanced at Sutton, whose expression remained unchanged despite the flush still on her cheeks. “Though I don’t recall authorizing you to speak on my behalf regarding management decisions.”

“Sir, I was simply⁠—”

I held up my hand, cutting him off. “We’ll discuss this later. Give Ms. Prescott and me the room.”