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Saying nothing, I followed her back downstairs.
Seventeen
Vicious
Duchene International was in the heart of Manhattan. Several stories high, the building was the epitome of the luxury it sold, from the state-of-the-art building to the sparkling marble floors that glimmered under the lights. The building oozed money and from pricey chandeliers hanging in the lobby to the priceless works of art hanging on the walls. The building was pretentious.
I should have known I wasn’t welcomed.
“My name is Linsey Duchene. I am the owner of this building and he is my guest. Now step aside.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am but they gave me strict instructions. There is a board meeting tonight and they don’t want any interference.”
“What part of I own this building didn’t you understand? Now, step aside before I fire you.”
“Once again, Ms. Duchene, I’m sorry, but I don’t work for you. I work for the board. The gentlemen must leave immediately or I will call the police.”
Moving Linsey to the side, I stepped in front of the security guard and snarled. “My name is Gregory Van Otto, owner and CEO of Van Otto Lapidary and as of four hours ago, I own fifty-one percent of this company. Now get the fuck out of my way before I move you myself.”
The man gulped and moved back, letting us pass.
Taking Linsey’s hand, I pulled her behind me towards the elevators, muttering. “Incompetent ass. I swear to God Linsey, if you don’t fire that asshole, I will.”
“What did you mean you own fifty-one percent of my company?”
“I’ll explain later, babe, but right now, I need you to go along with everything I’m about to say. No matter what comes out of my mouth, please agree with me. When we get home, I will explain everything. I promise.”
She didn’t have the chance to respond because the second I finished my spiel, the elevator doors opened and in walked Montana, Mercy and Fury.
“Good evening, folks,” Montana smiled, rubbing his hands together. “Are we ready to do this?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I muttered.
“Glad to hear it. Linsey, you look ravishing.”
My woman narrowed her eyes at the men who just entered, then turned her skeptical stare on me. Yeah, I knew that look. It was the ‘your ass is grass and I’m the lawnmower’look. I have seen it plenty of times. Though it was never worrisome until now. Still, she kept what she wanted to say to herself, and I was grateful for that. Shit was about to go down and I didn’t want to stop and explain myself. That would come later and I expected lots of groveling would occur on my part.
When the elevator doors opened, I stepped out and headed directly for the boardroom. Mercy got the schematics of the building, so I knew exactly which room I was looking for. I didn’t bother knocking as I threw open the double doors to the boardroom, seeing every single board member deep in discussion. A man at the table who I recognized as Brian Summit immediately stood and demanded. “What’s the meaning of this? Who the hell are you? This is a closed meeting of the Duchene Board. You are not welcome here.”
“As a matter of fact, I have every right to be here. My name is Gregory Van Otto.”
“Never heard of you. Now get out!” The pompous fat man huffed before waving me away as if I was a speck of dirt. Brian Summit was as I remembered. Still the ever-postulating fucker I knew him to be. The man always believed his stature was better than anyone else.
“What about me, Mr. Summit? Have you heard of me?” Montana stepped forward and grinned as Mr. Summit paled. “Good. I see you, remember? Listen up, folks. Duchene International is now under new management. Ms. Linsey Duchene and Mr. Gregory Van Otto are engaged to be married. They’ve already filed the paperwork with city hall. As for your trifling attempt to take away Ms. Duchene’s nieces away from her, I’m here to tell you that shit isn’t happening.”
A woman I never met before leaned forward and shook her head. Grinning suspiciously, she clearly stated. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stone, your friend may own the company, but the girls are another matter. The fifth circuit court granted the board custody of the girls hours ago. We have custody of the heir and the spares. NYC Police Officers and CPS are on their way to collect the girls now. In fact, you should receive a phone call soon, Linsey. You should have played by the rules, spare. Aligning yourself with thugs cost you your nieces.”
Reaching for Linsey’s hand, I lightly squeezed, stopping her from saying anything as the bitch continued. “And you, Mr. Montana Stone. You think you are something because you are the Vice President of Stone Corporation. Trust me, you are nothing like your father. You never will be. You think you can come in here and throw your weight around like it means something. Let me tell you something little boy, I eat men like you for breakfast. Now, take your friends and leave. I adjourn this meeting.”
For the first time since I’ve known Montana, he was speechless. In fact, we all were. No one’s ever handed me my ass so damn nicely before it felt unclean. Something wasn’t right there. Seeing their grinning faces, I realized they expected us. We just got played. Big time. Linsey was gripping my shirt tightly as I turned to look at Montana. “What the fuck just happened?”
“That fat bitch just signed her death warrant. Who the fuck is she?”
“Margo White. The owner and CEO of White Gems. Her company is the current lapidary Duchene International uses for our stones. Davina hated the woman. Before she died, Davina was in the process of finding another lapidary.” Linsey sniffed as her phone rang. Pulling it out of her purse, she answered, putting the phone on speaker. “Hello?”
“You fucking bitch!” a woman cackled. “I told you I’d get those girls.”
“Mrs. Blackwell?”
