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It wasn’t that they fought harder; it was that they played dirtier.
We weren’t innocent. We got tips; we made unethical offers. We did what we needed to do to secure what we had.
But they went after land, knowing we wanted it.
That was why Rowan had been in Lake Louise—I was sure of it. Somehow, they’d been alerted that we wanted that property, and they attempted to lock it down.
The seller wasn’t on holiday. He had been contemplating both offers or waiting for theirs to come in before he made a decision.
From the start, it was a piece of land that should have been ours.
And now, it was … all of ours.
This was fucked.
And what made it even worse was that I’d spent the entire holiday with our enemy.
I knew all about her brothers, the day Rhett had joined the business, along with Ridge. But Rowan was a name I hadn’theard before. Of course, I had known Ray had a daughter, but my family had always been under the impression that she had nothing to do with their company. I remembered her telling me that she was recently employed by her family business, which explained why hearing her name in Canada hadn’t raised any red flags.
Now, she sat on the other side of the table. Her expression aloof. Her posture stiff. With an entirely different look in her eyes than she’d had in Lake Louise.
A look that told me one thing.
She had zero regrets.
Fuck that.
And fuck her.
“In regard to this merger,” Jenner said, his voice breaking my concentration and capturing my attention for the first time since Rowan had walked in, “I’d like to reiterate that once the papers are signed, Walter and Ray are going to relinquish their CEO roles, and the seven of you are going to become equal partners. Spade Hotels and Cole International will now be Cole and Spade Hotels. As for your corporate offices, Walter and Ray have decided that it’s only fair to purchase a new space and sell your existing buildings.” Jenner mashed his lips together, knowing that extra bit of information was going to send all of us over the edge. “There are many, many logistics to work out, but I want to address your immediate questions if you have any.”
Silence spread throughout the room.
There weren’t immediate questions, just a lot of fucking opinions and I could see them on everyone’s face.
And none, on either side, were positive.
“We understand there are some strong feelings between both parties,” the Coles’ attorney said, “but we’re determined to find a way for everyone to work together.”
This wasn’t kindergarten. We weren’t in the sandbox, taking turns with the shovel.
We were grown-ass men and women.
Who fucking hated each other.
And Brady, who I knew agreed, couldn’t contain his sarcasm, chuckling loud enough for all to hear. “That’s a big ask.”
“But a necessary one if this merger is going to be successful,” Jenner countered, adjusting his navy tie. “And success is what we’re all after. The last thing anyone wants is an in-house implosion that’ll take down a company the size that Cole and Spade Hotels is about to be.”
“A merger that still doesn’t make any sense to me,” Rhett said. He crossed his arms, stretching the top of his suit jacket, like he was flexing. “The two of us becoming one? I think it’s bullshit. What’s the point?”
His muscles, his opinion, meant nothing to me.
But I had to agree with him, so I said, “I second that.”
“The point,” Ray started, “is that Walter and I are tired of fighting for the same thing. Growth, profitability, stability in a market that’s constantly changing and, more often than not, volatile—that’s what we should be focused on. And in the recent years, those sights have been lost in a sea of competition that’s unneeded and unnecessary. There’s strength in numbers, and when you combine our strategies, we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
“In addition, if we keep up the current trend,” Walter voiced, swinging his chair toward Ray to look at him while he spoke, “the competition between our families will only worsen. We don’t need to spend another day in a war that doesn’t need to be fought. Not when we all want the same thing. So, we come together, and we own the hospitality industry.”
