Chapter 9

News of Chase and Alexandrea Stone’s inheritance made the airways late Thursday night when Melissa held a press conference.

The second Chase saw the sound bite for the evening news, he called Alex. “Are you watching this?”

“I’m taking a bath with my bottle of wine.”

“Well, put the bottle down, dry off, and turn on the news.”

“What is it now?”

Chase heard the sound of water splashing as, presumably, his sister was getting out of the tub.

“Melissa held a press conference.”

“What? Why?”

“From the sounds of the headline, to make us look bad.” Chase flipped to another newscast and saw a picture of him and Alex with the caption, Stone Enterprises falls to disgruntled children.

Melissa, perfectly polished and smiling for the snapping cameras, stood beside two men wearing suits. “It’s the shareholders that need to worry. Chase and Alexandrea are in no way competent to run this company. They hated their father and all things Stone Enterprises. That hasn’t changed. Their disapproval of my late husband crushed the man, and I’m sure that stress is what ultimately caused his heart attack.” The evening news cut the clip and spliced into another sound bite. A reporter asked if she’d been given any portion of Stone Enterprises. “No. I’m told the entirety of Aaron’s shares went to his children. A surprise to me, to be honest.”

“Will you contest?”

Melissa placed a hand on her chest. “I cannot so much as audit a copy of the will without voiding our prenuptial agreement.”

Alex spoke up on the phone. “What channel?”

“Five,” Chase told her.

“Mrs. Stone,” another reporter interrupted. “Do you think there’s a chance the will was altered?”

She smiled sweetly and made Chase’s stomach turn. “That sounds a bit much, but in a world where you can’t swipe a credit card at a gas pump without the risk of someone stealing your identity, you never can tell.”

The reporter broke away from the conference and spoke to the camera. “We learned that earlier this week, Alexandrea Stone resigned from her position with Regent Hotel Group to help run her father’s company. Chase Stone, Aaron Stone’s only son, who owns a successful shipping company, has been seen entering Stone Enterprises’ main headquarters here in Westwood all week. Clearly these newfound billionaires are quickly putting themselves in the shoes of their late father, even while the company is struggling to make up for a decreased revenue stream due to the economy. So far, Stone Enterprises has held the stance of ‘No comment.’”

“Fuck,” Alex cussed.

“This isn’t good.”

“No. She’s bitter and vindictive.”

“She can’t audit the will, but what is stopping the other shareholders from asking questions?”

“You think that’s why she did this?” Alex asked.

“What else can she do? You heard Cadry. If she files one piece of paper in any court, she’s out of the prenuptial money.” Chase flipped through the channels to see if there was any more coverage of Melissa’s press circus.

“She’s not trying to get any more money,” Alex pointed out. “She’s just playing her last bitch card to cause us havoc.”

“That’s what it looks like to me.”

Alex moaned. “And here I was, trying to figure out a way to give her the house.”

“Not after that. It will look like a payoff.”

“You’re right.”

Chase turned off his TV. “We need to keep that will closed up until we find this brother.”

“Cadry knows that.”

“Thankfully we have the board meeting tomorrow and can nip this before it grows bigger,” Alex said.

Chase sat on his sofa, switched his phone to his other ear. “It’s a little convenient that she came out today, before tomorrow’s meeting.”

“I’m sure she has friends at the office.”

“I don’t know what’s more important, figuring out how to run Stone Enterprises or finding our brother before the world learns about him.” Both were overwhelming.

“Look at it this way,” Alex started. “We have some time on our side, but eventually, the board is going to want a vote on something important. And the truth is . . . this unknown brother carries a twenty-one percent voice on those decisions. Things get sticky, are we committing corporate fraud if we vote on his behalf? And is there anything in the will about how this should be handled while we search for this guy?”

Chase ran a hand through his hair. Alex’s questions were way outside of his wheelhouse. “We need to sit down with Cadry again.”

“I agree.”

“We also need to get over to the estate and get into Dad’s computer.”

“I vote that you do it.”

He knew she was going to say that.

“Pick a day next week and have Piper meet you over there,” Alex suggested.

He’d already considered that. “Yeah.”

“Except for Monday. She’s off in the afternoon for a doctor appointment.”

Chase’s focus switched from computer hacking to his assistant . . . his sexy assistant. “Is she sick?”

“Normal stuff. She scheduled it before you hired her back.”

“Fair enough.”

He heard his sister sigh. “So much for my relaxing evening.”

“Don’t drink all the wine. We need you sharp tomorrow.”

“It’s a single-serving bottle, Chase.”

Chase laughed and wished his sister a good night.

He set his phone down, only to have it ring almost immediately.

He expected the media but saw Piper’s name.

Warmth grew in his stomach that he tried to ignore. “Hello, Piper.”

“Hi, uh, sorry to call you so late. But did you, by chance, see the news tonight?”

“We did.”

“Oh, good. I thought if you hadn’t that maybe you should before tomorrow.”

“I just spoke with Alex. We’ll draft a public statement after the board meeting. If you can get an entire copy of the press conference, that would be ideal.”

“I’ll get on it first thing in the morning.”

Chase smiled. “I didn’t expect you to do it tonight.”

Piper laughed. “Good, because it’s my bedtime.”

Chase heard her dog bark. “Does that dog sleep with you?”

“Yes, and he’s a bed hog. Aren’t you, Kit?”

He imagined the dog cocking his head as she spoke to him. And that thought put a smile on Chase’s face.

“Thank you for making sure I knew what was going on.”

“I am your assistant.”

He was sure this was the first time an employee called him to watch the evening news. “I’ll do everything I can to keep that from eight to five.”

“This is an unexpected situation. So long as you don’t make me send flowers to your girlfriend, we’re good.”

Chase ran a hand along the stubble on his chin. “You have to have a girlfriend to send her flowers.”

“Oh, ah . . . I wasn’t really asking. It’s none of my business.”

Funny, he had a desire to know if someone was in her life. Only he held his tongue. He did not need her thinking he was coming on to her. Even though the thought had entered his mind more than once since they’d met.

“Get some sleep, Piper. See you tomorrow.”

“Right . . . okay,” she stuttered. “Good night.”

Chase smiled and hung up the phone.

Chase and Alex filed into the meeting room, with Piper trailing behind them, exactly one minute before the meeting was due to start.

The board members were already seated, some that Chase remembered from his father’s funeral, some he didn’t know at all. Most were dressed in suits, with ties and tight smiles. All but three of them were men.

Sitting in chairs behind the board members were secretaries and assistants, much more female dominated and culturally diverse. It did make Chase take notice and question what the ratio of men to women in the top positions within Stone Enterprises was.

The moment the three of them entered the room, everyone quieted.

There were two empty chairs at the head of the stark white table.

Chase moved in front of his sister and pulled out the chair at the very head for her to sit in.

She looked him in the eye, said nothing, and sat.

Piper took a seat behind her, and Chase settled on Alex’s left.

“Thank you all for taking the time to get here on such short notice,” Alex started off.

The two of them had rehearsed how they were going to run this first meeting, with each of them pausing long enough for the other to chime in. A show that they were both in charge and expected that they would be treated equally.

“We’ve invited Stuart Cadry to join us”—Chase indicated Stuart, who sat at his side—“our late father’s private attorney, to assure you and answer any legal questions about this change on the board.”

A few members glanced at each other but stayed silent.

“Our goal was to have this meeting before the media exposed our father’s last wishes,” Alex said.

Someone at the far end of the table chuckled. “That didn’t work.”

Chase met the older man’s gaze. “No. It didn’t.”

“We’re here now,” someone else said.

“The purpose today is to set your minds at ease,” Alex told them. “And answer any questions that we can.”

Piper leaned forward at that moment and set a piece of paper between Alex and Chase with a seating map of those at the table. Starting with them, the name of each individual person was labeled, along with a share percentage under their name. All of which she’d managed in the short time they had been in the room.

Chase offered a brief nod to Piper before she sat back in her seat.

“The agenda in front of you has a brief description of my skill set as well as Chase’s. It is true that I have worked with Regent in their Mergers and Acquisitions Department and have been in the corporate end of the hotel business since college.” Alex went on to tell the board what Chase’s background was, boasting on his behalf.

She’d barely finished her introduction when the man who’d spoken up earlier did so again. “What are your intentions? From the sounds of this”—he picked up the agenda and dropped it on the table—“you plan on running this company.”

Chase glanced at the seating map and put a name with the face. Mr. Yarros.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Alex told him.

Across from Chase sat Gatlin. And while he attempted to hold a poker face, the way he shifted his body in his seat and glanced down the row of the board members signaled his unease.

“We’re not selling anything,” Chase explained. At least not now.

The man on Gatlin’s right looked at Stuart. “Aaron left everything to them?”

The attorney cleared his throat. “Aaron revisited his trust every year. His estate and business ventures were always slated for his children.”

“Yet neither of you have ever been in this boardroom.”

“True,” Chase said. “Regardless, we’re here now. Alex and I will be dividing up the responsibilities as we navigate this new challenge.” Once the man looked away, Chase glanced at the paper, put a name to the face.

“Then who is in charge?”

Alex pointed at Chase. “We’re partners. Equal say. It’s that simple.”

“Who are your advisers?”

“The entire executive floor has been generous with their time while we onboard. With the death of the CEO, we have a grace period to extend any changes that were pending, as well as any voting on new items. Any negotiations our father was dealing with in private are suspended until we have definitive information. Operations within Stone Enterprises will continue exactly as they were the day our father died,” Chase said.

“What private negotiations?” Mr. Fergese asked.

“That’s unclear,” Chase replied. “According to our father’s schedule, there were several trips to various locations and businesses that are not completely accounted for. We’re unsure why he was going there. These could have been as simple as keeping in contact with valued customers, trades . . . or any number of new business line items. Anyone could come forward claiming unsigned promises.”

“Has that happened?” someone new asked.

“No. But we’re prepared if anyone should.”

“If you have any concerns, now is the time to voice them,” Alex told them.

A low hum came over the room as several people turned to each other and muttered.

Chase sat back in his chair and waited.

Alex did much the same, her lips sealed.

Gatlin captured the attention of the room. “Aaron’s passing was a surprise to all of us. I think we should be thankful he didn’t give this company to Melissa.”

There were nods of approval with that observation.

“She could have sold her shares to us,” Mr. Yarros said.

“Oh, please, Paul . . . You don’t have the funds.”

Yarros started to argue with the man across the table.

A debate on who at the table was in a position to buy additional shares ensued. And while that conversation went back and forth, Chase kept one eye on the people talking and the other on the seat map Piper had put in front of them.

He glanced over at Piper, who was typing into a laptop as fast as she could move her fingers. What was more impressive was the fact that she never once looked at the keyboard. Her eyes scanned those talking and her fingers clicked away.

With everyone talking at once, and no one addressing either of them, Chase glanced at Alex and shrugged.

They sat quietly listening.

While the constant stream of individual conversations continued, Chase couldn’t help but think that the information about the unknown Stone son would result in complete anarchy.

Alex leaned forward, her lips close to his ear. “Should we put a stop to this?”

He lifted an index finger in her direction and cleared his throat.

“I hate to . . .” His voice trailed off as the room slowly pulled their attention his way. “I hate to disappoint any of you, but the debate on who would buy what is a complete waste of this board’s time since Alex and I are not selling. We opened the opportunity for you to ask us questions, not argue points that are irrelevant.”

His words appeared to have sobered up the group and quieted them down.

One of the three women at the table raised her voice. “I have a question.”

“Go ahead,” Alex said.

“Is it true that Melissa Stone is not in a position to challenge Aaron’s will?”

Chase gestured toward Stuart. “Go ahead.”

“It would be highly unlikely that Mrs. Stone would file any grievance. We were extremely careful in how we constructed the verbiage in Aaron’s trust to protect this company and his personal assets upon his death. While I can’t speak for Mrs. Stone, I attest that any action she might attempt would be a complete waste of her time. Of anyone’s time, to be fair,” the attorney said.

Another murmur went through the board members, but they quickly settled.

It was then that Gatlin was given the floor, as previously planned, and briefly went over a few pending issues.

“When should we expect to vote on the acquisition of the Starfield hotels?” Yarros asked.

Chase looked to Alex, his pulse quickened. The one thing they had to push off was anything as big as buying or selling something without the vote of the missing brother.

“Starfield is a bad gamble,” a voice at the end of the table spoke out.

“Aaron said it was solid,” Yarros replied.

A debate ensued.

Alex raised a hand in an effort to silence the room. “Please . . . can I . . .”

Someone shushed the room.

Alex offered a thin smile. “This board, or any board, for that matter, cannot expect, nor want, the majority shareholders to vote on anything without thorough investigation.”

“There are reports—” Yarros jumped in.

“That may be. But until we can digest the scope of what we’re taking on, those reports can’t be thoroughly understood. I’m sure you comprehend that,” Alex said directly to the biggest voice in the room.

“How long until you catch up?”

“Dammit, Paul. They just lost their father,” a woman at the end of the table spoke up.

Chase glanced at the seating map. Much as it hurt to say what he needed to say, Chase choked it out anyway. “Thank you for understanding that, Mrs. Monroe.”

“Of course. I’m sure there are some kind of standards in place for the death of a CEO.”

“Turmoil and uncertainty,” Yarros muttered.

Alex placed a hand on the table and sat forward. “There will be no turmoil or uncertainty. Only thoughtful, educated, and intelligent decisions. The best thing now is no action. I think you would all agree with that.”

Several people at the table nodded.

“Our office door is open to all of you,” Chase told them. “We will do everything we can to be as transparent as possible without jeopardizing what our father has built.” He didn’t want this meeting to go down as the first place Alex and Chase lied to the board. Telling them about the missing brother would absolutely jeopardize Stone Enterprises. And based on what had gone down, it was ever apparent that they needed to find this man before anyone else or lose control of everything.