“What’s this?” I swallow the bite of soft hoagie bread and open the folder. A couple seconds later, I jerk my gaze to his.
“I want you to take some time to think about it, Sebastian.”
I glance back down at the succession plan he’s outlined. It shows me taking over as President and CEO of Blake Industries when he retires in three years time. Gavin is listed as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Damien is listed as Senior Vice President and head of Sales and Business Development. All four of the Blake siblings will have equal shares in the company.
Adam’s expression is hopeful. “Damien is happiest in a role where he can get out there and schmooze. Mina has mentioned wanting to go back to work once Josi is ready for preschool. When she’s ready to come back she’ll work in tandem with the marketing director and move up as she learns the business. She has a great eye for ways to expand our social media presence and other ad opportunities. I’d like you to start working with me as soon as possible consulting on projects for now, Sebastian. Then you can transition over time.”
I close the folder and set it back on his desk, then take another bite of the chicken. I chew slowly, then finally speak. “It looks like you’ve got it all worked out, but as I’ve told you, I have my own business to run.”
Adam steeples his fingers and tilts his head. “I think BLACK Security would make a fantastic addition to the company’s portfolio. We need to beef up our own internal security anyway. It’s way overdue. You’ll get top dollar for your company. That’s how much I want you in this role, Sebastian.”
“Why me?” I rub my chin and hold his gaze. “Gavin has worked with the company since he graduated college. He has always assumed he would succeed you. Why change the players?”
My father’s blue gaze sharpens. “You think I didn’t know you were behind the purchase of our Hamptons home? I knew, Sebastian. I also know what’s going on with your company. I’ve kept tabs on you since you left the Navy. I watched you start your business from nothing, and not only did you make it work, but you expanded it and managed to significantly increase your bottom line. Very impressive.”
He picks his sandwich back up but doesn’t take a bite of the hoagie. “Your employees’ loyalty is the best I’ve ever seen. Yes, I’m sure some of that has to do with serving together, but there’s so much more to leading people than just having past ties. Being a good leader can’t be learned. It’s ingrained. You have all the qualities I want in a CEO for Blake Industries. I’m damned lucky you also happen to be my son.”
It hits me why he’s doing this now. My father knew Isabel would flip out if he made this announcement while she was alive. The document in that folder was drafted by his finance and legal teams months ago, yet he didn’t tell anyone. Until now. Isabel’s death didn’t cause him to decide on this, but it definitely accelerated his plan to disclose it now.
“You need to give Gavin a chance to prove himself.” When my father frowns at my suggestion, I hold my hand up. “For all you know, Gavin’s been reining in his leadership skills because you were at the helm. I recommend that you start including him in more top-level aspects of the business. Promote him to Chief Operating Officer now. Not only will he feel recognized for the contributions he has made to the company, but the new job will also expose him to how you run a business on all levels. You might be surprised at his ideas if you give him a role with the authority to affect changes he thinks will benefit the company. If you do it while you’re still around and very active in day-to-day business, you can guide him and help make sure his decisions are in the company’s overall best interest for the short and long term.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to be part of Blake Industries?”
I know my answer matters to Adam for reasons he’ll never share. “I’m saying that Gavin deserves a shot at it. If he flounders, I’ll be there to help, but he needs a chance to prove he can be just as successful if not more so than you were.”
“And BLACK Security?”
“Remains mine,” I say, finishing the last bit of my sandwich. “But if you need my help in any aspect of your business, from background checks, to security breeches either financial or IT related, to extra security for an event or a special guest you’re hosting, you only have to ask.”
“You just outlined a contract with BLACK Security I could get my head around,” my father says, a brief smile curving his lips. “Get me a write up and we’ll talk numbers.”
I’m not sure how I feel about working with my father, but he wants me here, then it may as well be on my terms. “Sounds like a plan.”
The room grows quiet and Adam’s mood turns somber. “She had her frustrating moments, but I miss Isabel.”
“I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
Adam nods his appreciation, then looks contemplative. “How’s Talia doing with the wedding being postponed?”
“You know Talia…right now she’s helping me with the investigation.”
“Hold on tight to that woman, son. She’s the quiet storm our family needs.”
“Quiet storm?”
He nods. “Quiet storms enter on a whisper. They’re not harsh or violent, but their winds can be powerfully strong, turning the biggest of boats around and putting them back on course.”
I smile at his accurate assessment. Talia really won over Adam. I wish I could’ve overheard their conversation about me. A text comes through from Calder just as I nod my agreement with my father.
Waiting for you outside. Thanks to Talia we have a serial number to run down.
I look at my father, but don’t want to share the development in case it doesn’t pan out. “Thanks for lunch and the discussion.”
We stand together and my father puts out his hand. “I’m looking forward to working with you, son.”
I clasp his hand and shake it, nodding. “I’ll work up the contract and get you a copy to review.”
“What’s the serial number from? That igniter was toast,” I say to Calder as I approach.
“But the other one wasn’t.” He pushes off from leaning against my car and uncurls his hand, revealing a device that looks just like the rendering I glanced at before we left.
“What other one?” My stomach tenses. How did Talia get a hold of another device?
Calder lifts up his phone and Talia’s voice comes through the speaker. “Remember when I fussed at you and said, “Even in redundancy mode?”
My body tenses and I grab the device from Calder’s hand. “You meant that literally?” I pull open the igniter’s casing and look for the serial number, while my brain seizes on the fact that it was on her car.
“Knowing your need to have a backup plan, I found the second device that I thought you had put there and tossed it into a water fountain outside the restaurant.”
“How did you retrieve this from the fountain?” I instantly frown, then grate out, “Did you leave the office by yourself?”
“Well, I had to—”
“Never mind.” The tightness in my chest grows tighter. “Where are you right now?”
“At the office.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Calm down, Bash. Den is with her,” Calder says.
“No, he’s not,” I snap. “He’s meeting with my father right now.”
“Actually, my MI6 colleague is interviewing with Adam as we speak,” Den’s British accent floats from Calder’s speaker phone. “Due to the high threat level on Talia, I just informed your father before I called you that I’m taking over as her personal bodyguard, effective immediately.”
I’m both relieved and pissed. “You’re not a member of my team.”
“Then fix that, Mr. Blake,” Den says in a formal tone.
I look at Calder, my expression saying, Can you believe the balls on this guy? “Mr. Blake is my father,” I say curtly, frustrated that I’m not already by my wife’s side.
“Then fix that, sir.”
Calder smirks and I s
hake my head. “Sebastian will do.”
“Talia is my priority,” Den says. “Her car has been dusted for prints and there weren’t any others than hers. Go find the bastard who’s trying to hurt her.”
“We’ll discuss salary and boundaries later.”
“Boundaries mean nothing. Only people matter.”
I blink at the dead line. That fucker hung up on me.
“Congratulations, looks like he’s decided to hire you as his boss.” Calder chuckles as he puts his phone away and walks around to stand beside the passenger door.
“Did you know about this?” My hand tightens around my keys.
He shrugs. “You know that Den’s presence is the only way you’ll go with me to follow this lead.”
I don’t like the idea of not going straight back to the office. Talia fully trusts Den and if I can’t be there personally, his extensive skill set is exactly the kind of guard I want watching my wife’s back.
Beeping the car to unlock it, I open my door and grumble, “Get in. It’s getting late.”
We drive for a while, then enter a sketchier area of the Lower East Side. “Keep on this road and we’ll be there in less than ten minutes,” Calder says
“Good thing we left when we did.” I glance at my watch. “The store you say the electronic part came from will close soon. Other than convenience stores, no one in this area sticks around late if they don’t have to, and I’m sure Vinny’s Electronics won’t be any different.”
Rolling his head from one shoulder to the other, Calder glances my way. “Even when I was going through all my shit and I’d stayed away from family for months, I still managed to make it to Josi’s christening. You know I support you regardless, but what could possibly be so bad that would make you risk alienating everyone else?”
I thrum my fingers on the dashboard, knowing that Calder won’t let this go. In about five seconds he’ll say something else. Five, four, three, two—
“Seriously, Bash. You’re my brother! Fucking talk to—”
“Isabel paid a hit man to take me out when I was a teen,” I snap. “My mom was his victim instead.”
“Holy shit!” Calder shoves his hands through his hair and stares for a beat. “That’s so fucked up, I can’t even wrap my head around it. There’s no way you’ve known about this the whole time or sneering at Isabel is the least you would’ve done to her.”
I nod. “The man Isabel hired back then was that Hayes guy from Talia’s past. The day Hayes attacked Talia in her apartment, he told me how Isabel hired him all those years ago. It’s a good thing he tried to kill me again after that sick confession, because that bastard was going down either way. How’s that for twisted fuckery?”
Calder folds his arms, angry lines bracketing his mouth. “Isabel deserved jail, not a memorial honoring her memory. Why didn’t you say anythi—”
“You can’t repeat any of this.” I stop for a car waiting to turn left in front of me and meet his gaze, my expression resolute. “It would devastate our family.”
“You don’t deserve the shit you’ll get for this,” he mutters, then looks down the street as I push on the gas. “The store’s sign is up ahead.”
“Adam accepts my decision. The others…” I shrug “I guess I’m not surprised. Once a bastard, always a bastard.”
He starts to say something, but I pull in front of Vinny’s Electronics. Cutting the engine, I peer through Calder’s window at the storefront. The Open sign is turned off, but lights are still on in the store.
The store’s door doesn’t give when I push on it. Instead the lights inside go completely out. “Well, shit.”
Calder folds his hand tight around the igniter. “Damn. Looks like we’re coming back.”
I hear an approaching car slowing down behind us and having seen enough drive-bys in my youth, I instantly reach for Calder’s arm, my voice low. “Down, Cald!”
“What?” As Calder ducks slightly and follows my line of sight, the car revs and zooms away. I stare after it, narrowing my gaze at the car’s familiar shape and the shadow of a bob hairstyle on the driver.
I straighten and grumble, “I didn’t get to see if it had a unicorn hood ornament.”
“You think it’s the same car that cut us off?” Calder asks, standing to his full height.
“I might not be able to see the color of the paint, but it’s bright and the same body style. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“It’s a pale yellow.”
I try to use the dim taillights to make out the license plate, but the car is too far away and the street too poorly lit. I lift my gaze to the rundown building with a fancy marquee off in the distance. “My old neighborhood isn’t far from that old theater. Most likely Banks runs this commercial section too. We’ll be back first thing in the morning.”
Chapter 13
Talia
I’m anxious when Sebastian and I wake up. I’m not concerned for myself. I’ve never felt safer. Den’s decision to become my guard shocked me, but I didn’t question it. Instead, I felt honored. I respect him and trust his instincts. Even though I fell asleep early, I didn’t sleep well since Sebastian told me he was going back to that store in the morning. Of course the store is close to his old neighborhood. Is Banks behind all this? Talking about it will only make me more tense, so I decide to focus on other things.
“I crashed before you could tell me about your meeting with your father,” I call from the closet once the shower shuts off, then button my lightweight linen jacket over a white blouse. Running my hands over the matching pants, I start to step into my favorite pair of flats when Sebastian pops into the closet with nothing but a towel around his waist.
I don’t even get a chance to admire his gorgeous abs before he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. “I know, sleepyhead. You conked out the moment I pulled you against me.”
I grimace. “I’m sorry. How’d it go?”
“I used the quiet time to read through the file from Phil and get caught up to where you were on the details of the case. You have no idea how relieved and proud I am that you checked the other wheel wells and found that device.”
“If I didn’t have a thorough husband, I might not have.”
“So relieved,” he repeats softly before he releases me to step out of the towel. While he pulls on a pair of dress pants over his boxers, he says casually, “My father asked me to sell him my business.”
“You’re not going to, right?” I say, my eyes widening. Sebastian worked hard to establish his BLACK Security business. After listening to him tell me about his business in the office yesterday morning and then walking around and asking questions on my own while I waited for him to return, I thought of so many ways to expand it if he wanted to.
He shakes his head and pulls a dress shirt off the hanger. “I turned him down, but I offered to consult if he needs anything in the future. He countered by asking to set up a contract with me.”
“Are you going to?” I watch him button his shirt, my voice full of hope that they’ll finally get to really know each other.
Sebastian picks up a couple of ties and turns to me. “Which one?”
He’s not wearing the special shirt I gave him. This one is a medium blue and it’ll go well with his gray suit, but he’s holding the wrong color ties for it. I return them to their slots in his drawer and find a pale yellow one with blue flecks that’ll match his shirt and hand it to him. “Try this one.”
“Thanks, Little Red.” Smiling, he walks into the bathroom to knot his tie in front of the mirror.
I smile after him once I realize this is the second day in a row he asked me which tie. Actually, yesterday he sought out my opinion on his suit too. “Well?”
“He asked me to be CEO. I turned him down, so this is the least I can do to be indirectly involved with his company.”
“Adam asked you to run the business?” I follow him into the bathroom and meet his gaze in the mirror, eyes wide. That’s huge.<
br />
He smirks as he folds his shirt collar down over his tie. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that, but the paperwork he showed me with his succession plan was dated months ago. I told him he needs to let Gavin have a shot at it, but I would be there if needed.”
“Then the contract idea is a good way to bridge your involvement. I was looking over what BLACK Security does and as broad as your team’s skill sets are today, I think there’s so much potential for other areas of growth. Depending on how extensive you make the contract with your father, you could potentially be included in a lot of meetings if you wanted to be.”
He smiles his approval at me in the reflection as he smooths his tie and buttons his jacket. “Like I said, you’re already a valuable team member.”
“You said that comment was about us,” I say, giving him a look.
He turns to me, a devilish smile curving his lips. “Did I?” Clasping my face, he lowers his to mine, our lips almost touching. “Why, Little Red, don’t you know that statement applied across the board?”
Before I can think of a witty reply, he steals another kiss, this one lingering and so sensual, I sigh as he lifts his head. “Calder’s waiting downstairs for me. I’ve let Den in already. Do not take a breath without him there to hear it.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “I’m so glad you’re not serious.”
I jump when he lands a solid smack on my ass, then hauls me against his hips. “Who says I’m not? At all times, Talia.”
Saluting him, I tap his chest just before he moves away. “Don’t do anything crazy today. Just get the evidence you need to nail whoever’s responsible and let the police handle it.”
I walk back into our closet to put my flats on, then sigh that he’d left his towel on the marble-top island in the middle of our closet. I lift the towel up and a small white rectangle label flutters to the floor.
I pick it up and as I return the towel to the bathroom, I realize it’s one of the labels Teresa adds to his shirts as part of his color-coding system. Crap, which shirt is missing the tag? I return to our closet and start at the end of his row of shirts, lifting the tail to look for one that’s missing the tag. The first one I check must’ve been it; it’s missing its label. But when I look at the label, it doesn’t match the shirt. Frowning, I move on to the next shirt, then the next. Several of them are missing their labels. Why are they suddenly falling off? Did she change the adhesive she uses to iron it on?
Black Platinum (In the Shadows Book 6) Page 12