Mendacious (3 page)

“Are you seriously telling us to leave after you’ve had your little bit of fun?” Tasha scoffs while Jade glares at me and backs away. “You’re a prick.”

I smirk. “Ouch.”

Jade marches over to the massage equipment and quickly dismantles it under my amused gaze while Tasha pulls on her clothes.

I knew these two were more hassle than they were worth, and I know it’s my own fault for keeping them around for the last few months. If Alice found out what was going on, I know she’d kick my fucking arse for sleeping with her employees. But thankfully, these two plastic bimbos haven’t worked out the connection between Alice and me yet. So I can hopefully cut them loose without any issues.

“You’re a real piece of work,” Jade snarls, putting on her clothes while Tasha drags the equipment toward the hallway and does her best to get out of my sight.

“Well, if you don’t want to be treated like a whore, sweetie, then don’t fucking act like one,” I growl. “And watch the fucking flooring. Pick your shit up instead of dragging it round the place.”

“Fuck you!” Jade yells at the top of her voice. She opens the front door and drags her shit into the hall with Tasha. “Your cock wasn’t that impressive anyway!”

“Sweetie, do you honestly expect me to believe that when your fucking pussy was dripping all over the place a few minutes ago? You were practically begging for this cock. You aren’t fooling anyone but yourself.”

And on that final note, I close the door on them and lift the receiver to Jeffery. I hear the two girls screaming furiously outside my door, and I can’t help the throaty chuckle that escapes my lips. I’m a real bastard sometimes, but it comes with the territory and the reputation I have to uphold.

“Yes, sir?”

“Jeffery,” I greet warmly. “I’ve got two girls outside my door whose services I no longer need. Can you have them removed from the property? I would also like it noted that I no longer grant permission for them to enter this building moving forward.”

“You got it, sir. I’ll take care of it now. Have a nice evening, Mr. Lewis.”

Placing the receiver back on the wall, I leave them to it and head for my office. I’ve got plenty of whiskey and a load of e-mails calling my name anyway.

Trying to escape my mother’s wrath was always going to be difficult. Honestly, I was an idiot for even thinking she would accept Kelly’s feeble excuse for cancelling tonight’s dinner.

“Mum.” I let out an exasperated sigh and pull the phone away from my ear as she continues to rant. There’s not a chance of me getting a word in here.

She’s on a roll and I’m in the shit.

“I’m fed up of you choosing business over dinner with your family. This has to stop and you know it. We should always come before work. Your priorities are all wrong and you should be ashamed of yourself.”

And there it is ... she’s playing the disappointed parent card. You know the one that’s supposed to make me feel like the biggest tosser in the world.

“Mum, wait—”

“Do not interrupt me when I’m talking to you, Alexander Robert Lewis. You need to shut up and listen to what I’m telling you. I expect you to be at this house by no later than eight tomorrow night for dinner. Your sister has a busy life, but she always makes sure to spend time with her family.”

My eyes widen and a smirk touches my lips. She means business when she full names me in the middle of a rant.

“Are you gonna make something to tempt me home then?” I start to tease. “There has to be something in it to make me drive
all
that way.” She knows I’m baiting her further, so I’m surprised that she isn’t biting back.

“I’m making Toad in the Hole because it’s your sister’s favourite. If you start coming home more then I’ll start making things you like. Now, bugger off to your meeting.”

I can’t help but laugh. She knows I hate Toad in the Hole, so it’s obvious she’s doing it on purpose because I cancelled. Round win to the mother, I guess.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I reply, disconnecting the call and shoving my phone into the inside pocket of my suit jacket.

Despite her moaning, I’m grateful to have at least had some company as I made the short walk from my block of flats to the restaurant. It’s about five minutes away from where I live in Birmingham city centre, so not too far.

“Good evening, sir.”

I’m greeted by the usual attentive hostess as soon as I open the main door into Jamiesons. She’s been greeting me like this at least once a week for the last few months since Gemma, the old hostess, was promoted up to general manager. I’ve not learned the new girl’s name, but she seems far too intimidated by me to make general chit-chat.

“I believe my assistant, Kelly, has already booked a table under Lewis for three people?” I look past her at the dining room in case Benedict and Sean are already here. I spot them seated at our usual table off to the side and gesture toward them. “Actually, my guests are already here. I’ll show myself to my seat.” I nod politely and step past her.

It’s not the largest restaurant in the world, so it only takes a couple of seconds before I’m standing in front of the table and find both men in deep conversation.

I clear my throat and straighten my already perfect tie. It catches their attention and they turn and greet me.

“Alex.” Benedict gets to his feet to shake my hand. “It’s good of you to arrange this meeting. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

I return his shake. “You have me intrigued. I’m sure you have something up your sleeve to warrant your barrage of phone calls to my office yesterday?”

“All will be revealed,” he replies, gesturing for me to take a seat. “We were just discussing it before you arrived.”

“Alright, mate?” Sean asks as I take a seat opposite and help myself to the jug of water in the centre of the table. “This deal has potential you know ...”

Taking a sip of water first, I lean back in the chair and cross one leg over the other. “Before we start, I want answers on the Oakley bid.” And more importantly, which one of them let this slip by undetected. “I can’t let Ivy take the hit completely. I think one of you two should have been aware of what was going on.” I narrow my eyes at both men. Sean is a picture of perfect composure, whereas Benedict suddenly seems nervous. I catch his face glistening under the dim chandelier light above our table.

Guilt?

Regret?

I’m placing the blame at his door. But, he’s a big lad and I’m sure he’ll get over it.

“Let’s not play the blame game,” Sean pipes up. “It’s happened. We need to focus on moving the company forward with the next big thing.”

Quirking an eyebrow, I study him for a couple of seconds, wondering where this sudden boldness has come from. We’ve been best friends for years, but our personal relationship has never strayed into business. I made that decision a long time ago, and we’ve both stuck to it well. There isn’t any special treatment in my office, and I treat Sean the same as any of my other employees. But I’m just curious as to why he’s been challenging me recently. He did it at the meeting yesterday and he’s doing it again now. Honestly, it’s starting to piss me off ... a lot.

“I-I agree,” Benedict stammers.

“Fine.” I decide I may as well leave this where it is for now, but make a mental note to speak to Sean at some point. I want to know what’s going on in his head because something seems different. “Let’s hear about this next ‘big thing’ you’ve been discussing. The Oakley bid really screwed us over the other day, so we need to come back with a bang,” I say, changing the subject. “And to say I’m expecting you to deliver the world on a plate is an understatement. I’m expecting this ‘thing’ to be the dog’s bollocks to put it lightly.”

My warning sinks in and Benedict nods swiftly. “I think we’ve really got a winner here, Alex. You need to forget about that poxy management company you were trying to invest in. I think your next angle into the big leagues is retail.”

“Retail?” I sneer. “That’s your
big
idea?” I shoot a look across the table at Sean and find him watching me carefully. “Are you both shitting me? No. Retail has never been on the cards for this company because it’s too unpredictable.”

My head feels suddenly overwhelmed and I know I’m starting to lose my patience with them both. I honestly have no clue why I pay people so much money when they do nothing but piss me off.

“Stop overthinking it,” Sean says, picking up some papers from the table. “I genuinely think this could be a good move for the company. It’s a moderately sized lingerie and swimwear retailer that’s based online and looking to branch out onto the high-street in a few locations. They have a solid business plan, but they just need that investment to get them there.”

“So get a fucking loan,” I snap, looking up to see if a waitress is actually going to bother taking an order from us at some point tonight. “I’m not investing in an underwear shop. I’ve worked too bloody hard to just piss my money up a wall.”

“At least look at the proposal—”

I cut Benedict off before he finishes his sentence. “Are we going to get any service tonight or what?” My voice is loud and full of arrogance, but at least it catches the attention of a waitress I can see bent over a table in front of us. I cock my head to the side and flash a charming smile to attract her over.

A quick flirt is the easiest way to great service.

“And how are we tonight, gentlemen?” she asks, pulling a pencil from behind her ear and leaning against the empty chair at our table. “Are you ready to order?” She licks her lips as she watches me recline in my chair, my hand running lazily across my jaw. “I’m Cece by the way,” she offers, flashing a set of sparkling white teeth at me.

“Nice to meet you,” I reply with a very brief, curt nod. “I’ll have the Rib-Eye, medium-rare. Can I also get a Jack Daniels and Coke?” I wait for the other two to give their orders before turning back to Cece. “That’ll be all,” I thank, waving her away from our table so we can continue with business.

“Alex,” Sean tries to reason, passing me the papers. “You may think differently after reading the proposal.”

Taking the paperwork from him, I cast my eyes over the heading and find my eyes immediately drawn to the company name.

“Sexy Bum?” I scoff. “No. I can’t do it.” I refuse to entertain the idea any longer. The name is enough for me. There’s not a chance in hell I’m putting my company and reputation anywhere near this thing. “Find something else,” I snap, throwing the papers on the table. “This isn’t going to work. I’m not a charity. Why should I invest and help some damsel in distress? It’s a female, right?”

Benedict nods.

“Alex—”

“Yeah, I’m not doing it,” I reply, cutting Sean off. “So I guess you’d both better look for something else to show me.” I pick up my glass of water just as Cece appears with my Jack Daniels. She places it on the table in front, but not before she bends over far enough to flash a good chunk of cleavage in my face. I mean, really? This girl doesn’t have an ounce of class about her.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asks, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at me.

“No thank you—”

“It’s Libby’s company, Alex,” I hear Sean interrupt.

For a moment, my body feels completely paralysed. I’m literally welded in place as I process his words.

“Please could you leave us?” Sean politely dismisses Cece as he catches my shift in character. “Did you hear what—”

“I heard you.” My tone is curt as I force the words out of my throat. Immediately, I snatch the papers back from the table and cast my eyes beyond the hideous title of the company.

And there it is ... right there in black and white.

Fuck
.

They’re right. This
does
change everything I previously thought. They must have a plan involved with this, I can tell. They wouldn’t have picked Libby without a damn good reason.

“Ready to hear the plan?” Benedict asks me with a grin. “We think we have the perfect proposal for you.”

Sean clears his throat and rests his arms on the table. I stay silent although I’m curious as hell, and take a quick sip of my Jack Daniels, the fiery alcohol burning a passage straight to my stomach.

“Look, I know there’s history between you and Libby, and I’m not sure how you’re feeling about this at the moment, but we need to take a risk here. If it pays off then we could be looking at some serious profit. It has the potential to expand, and with that, take us along for the ride. But there’s one thing we need to sort out first ...” Sean trails off and gauges my reaction.

I’m not sure I’m going to like where this is going, judging by the devious glint I can see reflected in his eyes. But then again, it’s exactly what could work in our favour. It’s all part and parcel of this dog eat dog world we’re competing in.

Cunning.

Sly.

Dangerous.

Surprisingly, I’m leaning closer to the idea, and I haven’t even heard their plan. There is just something about it that is capturing my interest. But I hope they propose something to take this in the right direction, and not straight down the shitter. Otherwise, this could turn into a big fucking problem, and something we don’t need the added stress of sorting out. Dealing with an ex-wife could be potentially messy, but I’m keeping an open mind until I’ve heard them out.

“Go on,” I press, resting my glass on my upper thigh.

Sean sighs. “The bottom line is we don’t want to just
invest
in this company, we need to
own
it instead. I’ve mapped out the future progressions and I believe with the right marketing, we could sell this for the right price when a buyer comes along.”

Owning it? I’m not sure I agree with this, and I make my reservations known with the slight grimace that’s tugging at my lips. I may consider her public enemy number one, but do I really want to shit on Libby from such a great height? Am I that much of a bastard?

“Yes, yes you are,” Sean replies to my unspoken questions with a smirk. “Don’t overthink this, Alex. It’s just business at the end of the day and you need to do what’s best for
your
company.”

Benedict decides to chime in as well. “He’s right. This could be huge if it’s done right.”

I cock my head to one side and study him closely for a couple of seconds, the idea playing over and over in my head. “And how do we go about this?”

Sean slams his hand on the table. “We need to sort it so she has no choice but to hand it over to you. When she realises what a mess she’s in and that she can’t handle it, that’s when you make a play and get her to sign it over.”

Right ... I think he’s finally cracked.

Lost it.

Gone.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I growl. “How do you expect me to convince her to sign it over? Do you
actually
think we’re going to get anywhere near it when she realises it’s me trying to invest?”

“And that’s why she won’t know it’s you ... yet,” Sean smiles. “We send him, instead,” he says, cocking his thumb at Benedict, “to lay the initial groundwork. Plus, we’ll throw in a separate clause giving the company, i.e. you, the right to exercise control over the expansion.”

He’s still holding my attention, although I’m a little concerned he feels so strongly about running Libby into the ground. Yes, I went through hell, but for some reason Sean seems to be taking the weight onto his own shoulders and making this his own personal vendetta.