“Ah, our deal liaison. Finally we meet—”
And there it went, the end of his patience. “Enough!” Rafe barked, loud enough to silence everyone. He pressed his thumb to the space between his eyes, where a headache drummed. “Barrington, you’re fired.”
“What? You can’t be serious.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” He spared the man a glower, and then turned to Chelsea. “We’d like to offer you the job of general manager of Las Ventanas.”
“Her answer is no—”
“Shut up, Paul.” He and Chelsea said the words at the same time. Barrington frowned and snapped his mouth closed.
“We’ll double your current salary,” Luc tossed in.
“It’s a very attractive offer, but—”
“Before you answer, you should know there’s one string attached, and it’s non-negotiable.”
“Merde,” his father cursed and shook his head. “This is no strategy.”
&
nbsp; He didn’t give a fuck. “The string is me. I won’t keep this thing between us in the closet anymore. I want—”
“Not what you want,” Arden whispered. “How you feel.”
“I feel like I want everybody out of here. You”—he pointed at Barrington—“empty your office. Now.”
Barrington sputtered for a moment, then turned and stormed out of the closet.
“Arden, Dad, please go get the board call started.”
Arden stood her ground. “The call won’t take long. There are only two agenda items.”
“Two? I count one—authorize the Tradewinds deal.”
“Two,” his father confirmed. “Approve the purchase and appoint my successor as chairman. You’re recused from the second vote, as you’re the nominee.”
“Our agreement was three acquisitions, closed and integrated.”
Luc’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “Are you trying to talk me out of my decision? What is the problem? Are you not ready?”
Hell, no. “I’m ready.”
“Yes. I believe you are, which is why I scheduled the vote for today.”
What timing. His father was handing him the goal he’d been jumping through hoops for, but he could barely focus on the triumph. “I’m honored, Dad. Let me know how the vote turns out. Now, if you don’t mind…” He ushered Luc and Arden out of the closet. “I have other business to resolve.”
“Clearly, yes. I advise you to—”
“Private business,” he said firmly, and slammed the door in his father’s face.
“Rafe, you need to join your call,” Chelsea said softly from behind him. “You’re in the middle of important matters. We can talk later.”
“No.” He took her arms and pulled her close, until he could feel her breath against his lips. “You are my most urgent priority. We talk now. The rest is going to barrel on without me anyway.”
“But…it’s everything you worked for. Everything you want.”
“Not everything. It just so happens the thing I want most is in this closet.”