Page 6 of The Revenge Plan

“Enough to give you their own daughter it seems.” His eyebrows peaked. Ax had said it as a statement, but I knew it was a question. He wanted to know why I would agree to their deal. He of all people should have some idea, but Ax could be obtuse sometimes.

“I need to get into their stifling little club, if we want to get anywhere in this business. You know how they are.”

Axel’s face brightened in comprehension and then fell a little, “What about me! I have connections!”

“The luxury goods business is too insular, you know this. It’s such an old boys club. Look at how they’re protecting Lyndell even when they refuse to help him financially. Your father’s tech connections can only get us so far. I need to be in the club.”

“I get it. But marriage Caiden? Specifically, with her? Especially after what she did to your brother. I mean, she’s hot and all but still.”

There were many, many other reasons I shouldn’t. He was right; she was hot. I hadn’t expected to feel anything more than an appreciation of her looks when I saw her for the first time in what was a long time. The skip of the heartbeat, the quickening of the pulse and the tightness of the groin when she looked at me, had all taken me by surprise.

She was still beautiful. God, she was beautiful. Although, it seemed like the hard partying she was known for was taking its toll. There were bags under her eyes, but they did nothing to detract from their arresting gaze. She was entrancing, and it had taken shear willpower to look away from her.

Now and then throughout the entire meeting, I would feel her pull. I was in a room full of her relatives and all I could think of was expelling everyone, laying her on the table and having my way with her. She had an ability to make men weak. She also had an ability to use them and dump them after she was done.

I shouldn’t even be here trying to save their failing business. I was offering them a life jacket even though I knew very well that had I been in the same position, they wouldn’t do the same. But that didn’t matter. I knew what I was doing. I had a plan so diabolical that even if I told Ax, I’m sure he would balk at it.

We launched into a back and forth over why and how I should and shouldn’t do it. I didn’t care. I had been planning this for a while; I would let nothing else hold me back.

We were in the middle of talking when we heard a noise outside. I peaked at the door and thought I saw a flash of pale pink scurrying away, the same color Hailey was wearing, it wasn’t. It was only a cat. Greyson came soon after, telling us to go back to the boardroom.

“Have you made your decision?” I asked them as soon as we all settled down. The old man was grinning. His two sons had smirks plastered on their face and the other cronies looked pleased with themselves, if not a little bewildered. Hailey was the only one who didn’t have a smug look of satisfaction. She was the one who responded to me.

“Yes. I’ll marry you.”

I suppressed an odd sense of elation growing in me. “Good.” I knew she wouldn’t say no. Their livelihood depended on the deal going through.

“Under one condition,” she said. I wasn’t expecting this.

I lifted an eyebrow, “Oh.” All the others turned to her in surprise as well.

“If we get married, I get a share of your company, as part of the contract.”

That caught me off guard, “May I remind you you’re in no position to bargain.”

She shrugged. And just like that, she called my bluff. The little princess was a slimy gold digger like the rest of her family after all. I should have guessed. She must have caught on that I needed this as much as they needed it too.

She wasn’t asking much. One percent was certainly a lot of money, but I could part with it. “Deal.”

3

The weeks leading up to the wedding were the most excruciating, hectic, and inane period I had ever experienced.

The rush was all because Caiden wanted the wedding to happen as soon as possible. So did my father. I didn’t care either way. The date was set a month to the day of the deal. We hired a wedding planner, or rather, Caiden hired a wedding planner, I simply agreed to it. And she was the most efficient person I had ever come across. In the short time she gave her; she had managed to get almost everything in order.

One thing that surprised me about this was Caiden’s involvement. The control freak was knee deep in everything wedding related from day one.

“Why can’t the planner handle it?” I asked him when he called, insisting we meet at the venue.

“I assume you want this wedding to be in all the fashion spreads? Let’s give them the wedding of the century.”

Splashy weddings weren’t my thing. I was more of a beach-wedding-with-a-few-of-my-closest-friends kind of girl. My father, who was just as eager to see it go through, was also heavily into the high society wedding. That meant that everyone who was anyone was invited. The guest list was extensive and constantly expanding. And Caiden, who was footing the bill, didn’t even bat an eye at most of the expenses.

“I’m all for a court wedding. You’re the one who’s all about the splash.”

“Sure, Hailey,” he said and cut off the call. Idiot, I thought to myself. Half an hour later, I was at what I would consider as the best hotel in New York. It was the fifth option in terms of venues. Caiden had bristled when the wedding planner had told him she couldn’t get other venues because it was wedding season and all the best places were booked. When she announced the hotel was the best she could do, he had said, “I’m the head of a Fortune five hundred company, she’s an heiress. Not some tacky reality show celebrity.”

The wedding planner had looked like she would go into shock with embarrassment. The thought that he couldn’t get what he wanted, even when the second best would be a dream to other people, was too delicious not to recall from time to time.

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