Page 83 of The Heiress

Ten years ago hearing Todd was displeased would have had an effect on Jace. His knee would start bouncing and he’d fidget a lot. But now? Serene. Complete calm. Honestly it was a little disturbing how little he reacted.

“We good?” he said to Striker.

“You know it.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

I watched the interaction and one thought came to mind.Jace is in charge.I saw it over and over with Teddy, Abel, Storm and the rest. I don’t know how it would be different if Todd appeared, but in his absence, at the very least, these guys absolutely viewed Jace as the man in charge.

Interesting.

“How do you like your new job?” I asked Striker, who I’d learned was a mechanic by day…normally.

He grinned. “I think I like working for you.” He waved at the private jet. “I’ve never been to New York City and the pay is real nice for me just being me.”

“You mean big and scary?” Striker was taller and wider than Jace. He had longer dark hair and the most brilliant blue eyes I’d ever seen. The overall effect was, indeed, striking.

“Thank you. I enjoy compliments.”

Teddy slid in next to me. “Who’s handing out compliments? I want one!”

“You’re funny?” I offered.

He frowned and pretended to pout. “This is a disappointing turn of events. You’re either funny or you’re not. Apparently I’m not.”

We set up in both penthouses of the Stroman New York. Georgia and her team based out of the east penthouse while I was based out of the west with my unconventional security team. They had two rooms a floor below. One for sleeping and one for equipment. One of them would be with me at all times and one would always be posted up in the lobby. They were fully briefed on the Feyereisens and a little hungry for a fight.

I spent the entire day meeting Stroman executives one on one. First the software division, then pharmaceuticals. Georgia had assembled a competent team focused on research and development. Half the team was women and the team was very diverse. They even ranged in ages from decades of experience to at least one woman who couldn’t be more than thirty. It was night and day from the documents I read up on for Roark Corp.

I sat across from Georgia for a late lunch. She sat back with a sigh. “So your friend arrives tomorrow afternoon?”

“Yes. Her name is Hazel.”

“And what will you and Hazel do?” She sounded curious and I wondered if she ever had wine weekends with a girl who was a friend.

“We’ll talk a lot. She’ll tell me all the latest stories from Excel Research and try on half my wardrobe while we drink a bottle of wine. She’s hilarious.” I bit back the urge to invite Georgia to join us.

Maybe another weekend.

“I’m sure it will help relieve the stress of these long days,” she said with a polite smile.

“And will you do something similar with your very good friend, Charles?” I teased.

She fought back a smile for nearly thirty seconds before giving in. “Yes. We will enjoy a bottle of wine and relax tomorrow night when all this is finally done and dusted.”

Which brought me to a question I’d been wanting to ask. “So how do you really feel seeing so much control of the company move from you to me?”

I dug into my salad so I wouldn’t get nervous waiting for her answer. It was one of those salads that seemed to have some of everything. Fruits, vegetables, lettuce, nuts, cheese, and some of the most delicate salmon I’d had in my life.

“Honestly?” Georgia set her fork aside and picked up the glass of white wine. “Relieved. It’s the one thing I’ve been able to control, to make it the company I envision for Roark. I know the company will thrive in your hands. Now I can focus all my energy on Roark.”

Instead of being split. “So I keep the home fires burning at Stroman and leave you to oust the troublemakers and remake the company in your vision?” I was totally fine with it, if that was the case.

“Precisely.” Her gaze drifted as she swirled her glass. “We always kept Stroman on the smaller side, retained full control over the company. Dad only got stars in his eyes when Bernard came along, allowing so many divisions to be absorbed by Roark or loped off and sold piece by piece. He wanted the payouts, the stock options, the prestige of having a publicly traded company. But it comes with strings. Lots of strings.”

“But you managed to keep these last two divisions private.”

Her gaze snapped back. “It’s something.”

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