Utterly Yours (Book Five) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (4 page)

              Nathaniel gazed at Lillian as she watched out the window of his bedroom.  “He’s here,” she said curtly.  “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

              “He’s by himself, right?” Nathaniel asked from the bed and she nodded.  Nathaniel had called Adam and asked him to come by.  He had tried to sound as desperate as possible –making Adam think he was coming crawling back to try to beg for a job.  Adam had seemed to fall for it when they were on the phone, but now that he was actually here, Nathaniel was becoming nervous.  “Just stay up here.  I don’t even want him to know that you’re here, all right?”

              “The camera is set up,” she said.  “You really think you can get him to just confess to everything?”

              “I’m going to try,” Nathaniel kissed her forehead and headed downstairs.  He headed into the bar area where he knew Adam would want to hang out at; it’s where he always wanted to hang out.  He checked and double checked the camera Lillian had set up, and moments later Adam had invited himself inside and found his way to the basement where Nathaniel had a full bar setup. 

              “Hey,” Adam said as he entered the bar and helped himself to some whiskey, pouring them both a shot and plopping himself down at one of the barstools.  “Got to say, man, I’m surprised you called me.” Nathaniel wanted to punch the smirk right off of his face, but instead he just took a swig of the whiskey Adam had poured.  Nathaniel tried to speak, but he couldn’t.  There was so much anger raging inside of him, so he let Adam keep talking.  “Look, I know I sort of blindsided you here, but in the end, I know it’s going to be for the best.  If Lynch Industries is going to continue to grow, we need to take a new direction.”

              “And you’re the one who’s going to take it in that new direction, then?”

              Adam took the shot he had poured and then poured them each another.  “Look, you called me.  You asked me to come here, remember?  I’m sorry it had to be this way.  You’re my friend, Nate.  I don’t want that to change.  Really, I don’t.  If you still want to be at Lynch Industries, you’re going to be there.  You and I started this thing.  I don’t want you to opt out just because you feel like I betrayed you.”

              “You did, though,” Nathaniel said coldly and took the second shot.  He turned the glass upside down so Adam would not attempt to pour him another one.  “Just be honest with me, man.  Why?  Why did you do it?  And don’t tell me it’s because you think I was that bad for PR because that’s bullshit.”

              “I believe our public relations department would disagree with you about that.  You are a problem, Nathaniel.  The shelter helped with public opinion, though.  So that’s good.  It’s outlived its purpose, though.”

              “You’re going to throw all of those people out on the streets just to start up a hotel chain, though?” Nathaniel questioned.  “It’s not right, Adam.  You know it’s not.  That’s our hometown too, man.”

              “We don’t owe Troy a damn thing,” Adam hissed.  “Let it go.  Look, if you want to come back to Lynch Industries, I can make it happen.  I’d like to have you.  I really would.  I can put you in my old position.  It’s not like you don’t know the ropes.”

              “And I’m guessing that comes with a decrease in pay?” Nathaniel asked.

              “You’re not CEO anymore,” Adam said.

              “All right, fine,” Nathaniel said.  “I’ll come back to Lynch Industries.”

              Adam gripped his shoulder as he stood up from the bar stool.  “Good to hear,” Adam pulled his hand away and started to walk off.  “Glad that you’ve come to your senses.”

              “You know, Adam,” Nathaniel called out to him before he got too close to the door that led up the steps and out of the basement.  “I’m actually impressed.”

              Adam turned as he stood in the doorway.  “How so?”

              “I just didn’t know you had it in you,” Nathaniel said.  “I mean, sneaking that transfer approval form into Tony’s files was pretty sneaky.”

              Nathaniel studied Adam’s face.  He could see his eyebrows raise ever so slightly.  “Pardon?” Adam said, taking a single step towards him while still keeping his distance.

              “You heard me,” Nathaniel hissed and rose from his seat.  “You’re going to let that kid rot in prison so that you can be the big man on top.”

              “You’re out of your damn mind,” he said and turned around, but before he could open the door, Nathaniel was right by him –his hand pressed against the door so that he could not leave.

              “Where are you going, Adam?” Nathaniel jeered.  “Leaving so soon?  I think you and I have a lot to talk about.”

              Adam yanked away and backed towards the bar.  “I don’t think so.  I think you’ve lost your mind if you think I’d do something like that.”

              “You framed Tony,” Nathaniel said.  “Didn’t you?”

              “You don’t have any proof,” Adam said.

              “Not yet,” Nathaniel said with a smile.  “You know your little secretary has a crush on me, right?”

              “What are you blabbering on about?” Adam questioned.

              Nathaniel looked at his watch. “Yeah, she should be letting the police into your old office right about now.  They won’t find anything incriminating, will they, Adam?”

              “You got a warrant?” Adam questioned, his voice slightly shrill.

              “You think you’re the only one with connections in this town?” Nathaniel crossed his arms.  “You framed Tony, and you’re bribing the kid’s lawyer and the judge to make sure this thing gets settled quickly.  You did all of this so that you could butt me out of my office chair.”

              “You son of a bitch!” Adam shouted as he whipped out his phone.  He started calling Katie.  “They won’t find shit… they shouldn’t.” he sounded unsure.  “I deleted all of the evidence and had the hard drive on my computer wiped clean.” He held the phone to his ear as it began to ring.  He glared at Nathaniel.  “You must think you’re so clever figuring all of this out, huh?”

              “How could you do this to Tony?  To me?” Nathaniel asked his frantic friend.

              “I got tired of being second best,” Adam snarled.  “Tony was just an unfortunate and necessary casualty to make the board see what a fool you are.  Yeah, I set the little bastard up, but it was necessary to get this company out of your claws.  You’re an incompetent dumbass! I will run this company far better than-” he paused, Katie having clearly picked up the phone.  “Woman, don’t you dare let the police into my office!” he screamed into the phone.  “Wait until I get there.  Tell them to wait for me, do you understand?” He paused.

              Just barely, Nathaniel could make out Katie’s voice.  “Police?  What are you talking about, sir?”

              Adam paused as he glared Nathaniel down.  “Katie, I’m going to have to call you back.” He hung up the phone.  “What are you up to, Nate?”

              “I just needed a confession,” Nathaniel walked by Adam and pulled the camera from the bookshelf on the far wall.  “I had this streaming live to the board room.  I didn’t have a warrant, dumbass.  How would I have possibly have gotten a warrant over a hunch?  But now every single member of the board knows what you’ve done, and soon so will the police.” He turned to face Adam as he shut off the camera and placed it on the bookshelf.  “Get out of my house, Adam.  And you might want to hire your ass a lawyer.”

              Adam’s face became pale.  “You set me up.”

              “I set you up.  We were friends, man.  We were friends, and you screwed me.  You screwed me, and you were going to let an innocent kid go to prison for an extra zero on your paycheck.” Nathaniel gritted his teeth. 

              Adam lunged forward.  “You son of a bitch!”

              Nathaniel flung his fist into Adam as he came forward, and he managed to knock him clear onto his back. Nathaniel crossed his arms.  “Don’t try to fight me, man.  You know I’d tear your ass up.”

              Adam sat up on the ground, rubbing his now bloodied nose.  The door to the basement opened, and Lillian entered.  She grinned slightly at Adam.  “The feed went through.  One of the members of the board just called and said that the police are on their way.”

              Adam started to jump up, but Nathaniel shoved him back down on his rear.  “Stay right there.  You’re not going anywhere, Adam.” Nathaniel looked over at Lillian.  “Go back upstairs.” She nodded and started to go, but Adam started laughing.  The uncomfortable outburst made her pause and turn back around.  Nathaniel glared down at him.  “What’s so funny?” he snapped.

              “Just like my father before me, I’m stuck being second best to a damn Lynch,” he said, but he kept laughing.

              “And that’s funny to you?” Nathaniel asked.

              “I should have just done what he did,” Adam said, still laughing.

              Nathaniel stared down at Adam uncomfortably.  “And what did your father do, Adam?”

              “He saw an opportunity and took it, that’s what,” Adam smiled up at him with the most hateful looking eyes Nathaniel had ever seen.  “He saw your old man broke down on the side of the highway, and he embraced the opportunity.”

              Nathaniel felt as though someone had sucked all of the air out of his lungs.  “Your father was the hit and run driver,” Nathaniel said once his breath returned to him.

              “If I’m going down,” Adam said with a grin, “I’m taking my old man down with me.  I wasn’t willing to do what he did, but maybe I should have.  Can’t tell you how many times Dad and I had a laugh about that one before he ran your father’s company into the ground.”

              Nathaniel leaped forward, grabbing Adam by his throat.  The two of them tumbled backward, and Nathaniel flung as many fists into him as he could before Lillian was pulling him back.  “That’s enough!” she snapped just as the police came swarming into the basement, guns drawn.  It was over.

              Nathaniel stood by Lillian, leaned up against his car just outside of the local prison.  He had an arm around her as they waited patiently to pick up Tony after he had been officially released.  They had arrived early.  “I can’t believe this all worked out,” Lillian said.

              “Same here,” he kissed her forehead.  “So what now?”

              “What do you mean?” she asked.

              “I mean you and me.  What now?” he asked again.

              She laid her head against his chest.  “I don’t know.”

              “You still don’t want to stay in California, do you?” Nathaniel asked.

              Her face turned red.  “Nate-”

              “Well, that’s fine,” he said, cutting her off.  “Because Lynch Industries is reopening their head office in Troy.”

              She pulled away from him, standing with her arms dangling at her side.  She stared at him.  “Nathaniel, what are you saying?”

              “We’re looking into expanding.  There will still be an office here in California, but the headquarters is relocating.  Looks like I’m moving to Troy,” he smiled at her.

              “Did you do this for me?” she asked.

              “We were already looking to expand and open up a place somewhere on the east coast,” Nathaniel said.  “But yeah, I did.”

              She covered her mouth, hardly able to speak.  Just as she was about to say something, Nathaniel spotted Tony as he peered over her shoulder.  He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, “We’ll talk more about that later.”

              “Oh,” she said and leaned into him, her lips tickling his ear, “we certainly will.”

              Tony exited the prison gates; there was a smile plastered all over his face.  “Nathaniel?  Lillian?” he questioned as he approached them.

              “Hope you don’t mind, but I told your folks I’d come pick you up,” Nathaniel said.

              “I don’t think I can thank you enough for all of this,” Tony said.  “This… this could have really gone south for me.  Thank you.”

              “I’m just glad my assistant is back,” Nathaniel said.

              “He’s pretty helpless without you, Tony,” Lillian said with a laugh.  She gave Tony a tight hug and then looked at Nathaniel.  “Does Tony know about you moving headquarters to Troy?”

              Tony looked at Nathaniel curiously.  “I guess, if I still have my job, it looks like I’m going to be moving to Troy with you?”

              “You know I can’t ask you to do that, Tony,” Nathaniel said.  “Besides, someone has to keep the California branch running.”

              “What?” Tony questioned.

              “Yeah,” Nathaniel said.  “With Adam being arrested, there’s an opening for a new COO, and the board has already approved my nominee.  I nominated you.”

              Tony looked faint.  “COO?  You want me to be your COO?”

              “You do want the position, right?” Nathaniel asked, and he was answered by such a forceful embrace that Tony knocked him backward into the car.  Nathaniel laughed.  “Okay, easy, kid.” He patted Tony on his shoulder. 

              “I can’t believe this!” Tony was practically giddy.  “Me?  A COO?  I was just an intern a couple of years ago.  This is crazy!  Oh my God!  Oh my God!”

              “Okay, take it down a notch, kid,” Nathaniel smiled.  He put an arm over Lillian’s shoulder.  “And this lovely lady right here, if she’s willing, is going to become the head supervisor for all of our charity organizations –including the shelter in Troy.  So it looks like the three of us are going to be spending a lot of time working together.”

              Lillian smiled.  “I think that is a perfect fit for me, actually.”

              “Good,” Nathaniel kissed her forehead.  “All right, let’s load up. Your folks are making you a welcome home dinner, Tony, and I’m starving.”

              Tony laughed.  “So, um…” he climbed into the back seat as Nathaniel started up the engine.  “What sort of pay comes with that position?”

              Nathaniel smiled at Tony in the rearview mirror.  He shook his head, but he laughed.  Nathaniel held Lillian’s hand as they pulled away from the prison.  For once, everything seemed to have fallen into place.