Scandalizing the CEO

Steven had always believed it was because of the publicity that had surrounded the enrollment of two of the Devonshire bastards. That had been the first time that he had become aware of how many people were interested in the circumstances of his birth.

It had been a bit overwhelming—he’d almost asked his mother to withdraw him, but she’d been called to a meeting in Switzerland and he’d had no choice but to go to school as scheduled.

He shook his head. He had forgotten what it had been like to be that boy. He’d been scared and had felt out of place there. He wasn’t a boy with the family background of the other boys who attended Eton. And he had quickly learned to fend for himself. He’d used his wits to survive and that had been his first lesson in how to succeed in this life.

Geoff was waiting at the club when he got there. It didn’t surprise him. Geoff had struck him as someone who didn’t like to keep others waiting.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet me.”

“No problem. What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk to you about the interviews that you agreed we’d do with Fashion Quarterly.”

“Of course. What’s the problem?”

“My mum doesn’t really like publicity and the editor-in-chief has called her a couple of times. She has never talked about her affair with Malcolm and she moved on when she married my stepfather…she just doesn’t want to discuss the past.”

“I understand that. I have no idea if my mum will agree to the interviews or not. I do know that Tiffany Malone agreed to do it. So she will be sharing her perspective on what happened.”

Geoff took a long swallow of his drink. “I don’t know what to do. I think that having just Tiffany’s story will be a bit odd. Will they still do the interview with us?”

Steven had no idea. He suspected that Ainsley would. She wanted to talk to them. “Probably. She wants to talk to Malcolm, too.”

“I wish her success with that, but he wasn’t much for agreeing to things when he was healthy. I can’t see him doing it now.”

Steven would have concurred, except he’d seen Ainsley in action and he was willing to bet that if she got in to see Malcolm, she’d find a way to convince him to do it. She’d find an angle that he wouldn’t be able to say no to.

“I’m going to try to convince my mum to do the interview. I want to hear her side of the entire affair,” Steven said.

Geoff shrugged. “My mum will be harder to convince, but I’ll bet if she hears that Tiffany and Lynn are doing it she’ll agree as well. Of course, she’ll have to coordinate with the royal family’s PR department.”

“I hope so. Ainsley is really hot to do this interview and I’ve been working the business angle. I know she wants to talk about the past, but I want each of us to talk about the new things happening in each business unit.”

“Henry and I are collaborating by painting the album covers of his new artists on the side of several of our planes.”

“I love that idea,” Steven said. “I think we’ll produce some T-shirts picturing the album covers to sell in the store. And maybe we can run a promo the first week the CD comes out to bundle the shirts with the CD.”

“Yes, that’ll work. I’m sure Henry will agree to it,” Geoff said.

They talked more about the business and it wasn’t lost on Steven that the father he’d never known had given him brothers that he had a lot in common with. As a man who’d always been on his own, it was unnerving to realize that he finally had a family.

More than his mum and Aunt Lucy anyway. He wasn’t sure he liked it. But he did know that Henry and Geoff were men he’d have hired to work for him. They were driven and innovative and together the three of them were going to take the Everest Group to heights that Malcolm had only dreamed of.

Ainsley’s office overlooked the Basilica at St. Peter’s Cathedral. She stood at the window as dusk fell over the city and thought about the coming evening. New York had been exhausting and she’d spent too much time in the offices there. She was glad to be back home.

She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point in the last three years London had become home. She’d gotten used to the sights and sounds of this city and made it her own.

Her assistant, Cathy, stood in the doorway when Ainsley turned around. “I thought you’d left.”

“Not yet. I had something that I wanted to talk to you about. Geoff Devonshire wants to meet with you before he will agree to be a part of the interviews.”

Ainsley thought that Steven had already gotten the approval of his half brothers so this was news to her. “Fine. When is he available?”