Page 136 of See You Maybe
The reminder had his temper brewing again. “Why is he calling you?”
“Who?”
“Chris Keller.”
Olivia shrugged. “He mentioned helping me find a job.” Her mouth firmed, and her gaze caught his, her confidence seeming to have rebounded now that she was talking about work. “But I don’t need to find a job, right? Because you are going to be so blown away with my final proposal on manufacturing XEROS, that you will see selling off Armstrong would be a colossal mistake.”
The words ‘you can have the company’ were on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back. She wouldn’t appreciate that. Olivia had worked hard, and sacrificed so much, making the company her entire life—Declan could understand that drive.
It was important to Olivia to earn what she had—and while she may not fully understand that he would give her whatever she wanted to make her happy—being gifted Armstrong Electronics would do the opposite.
Working with Olivia, it had quickly become apparent that she had essentially been running the entire company for years. Considering how hamstrung she was by her former father-in-law’s conservative business beliefs, and the dead weight of her asshole ex-husband, it was remarkable what she had created.
Would he give her the CEO position along with the keys to the company just to make her smile? Absolutely. But he didn’t need to. Declan recognized that, given free rein over the next couple of years, Olivia could double Armstrong’s profit. He looked forward to shoving that down Carrol’s throat when he told the investors of his decision.
Olivia set her jaw, and Declan sighed, realizing he’d been silent too long. “Definitely a colossal mistake, so you can go ahead and block him.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes. “I know the two of you don’t get along, but Chris Keller is influential, with a lot of connections. He may have lost out on XEROS, but that doesn’t mean Armstrong might not have a product that Bloom Communications would want in the future.”
Declan ground his teeth. “If your concern is Bloom Communications, let me assure you, you can pitch me over breakfast anytime, because I will be the one making those decisions in the future.”
“Declan—”
He waved a hand, cutting her off. “It’s not a pride thing. The fact of the matter is, after the shareholder meeting in two weeks, Chris Keller won’t be the CEO. I will.”
Olivia paled. “How?”
Declan frowned, not understanding why she was upset. “I’m going to call a vote of no confidence based on the morality clause in his contract.”
“Based on what? The two of you have history, but I’ve never heard of him doing anything that would come close to the level that would get him removed.” Olivia’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, and Declan’s frown darkened. What was she worried about?
He watched as Olivia straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. “Is the morality clause an excuse to call a vote, because you know that with Alan Carrol’s votes, you’ll prevail?”
Declan blinked, confused for a beat, and then understanding crashed over him. “I’m not marrying Fiona.”
Olivia’s body relaxed slightly, and he reached forward and caught her hands in his. “I told Fiona there wouldn’t be a partnership the day after your attack. It’s been over.” Declan stared at her. “Did you think I was lying these last weeks? Telling you I love you, promising to take care of you...” Anger colored his words.
“No.” Olivia shook her head. “I’m selfish, I haven’t even thought about Fiona or your whole situation with…” She waved a hand. “I’ve let myself enjoy what we have together. I forgot all that was still out there.” Her brow furrowed. “You won’t have the votes without him.”
“I will. Chris has some nasty skeletons in his closet, and one of them is willing to talk to the board. Once she tells them her story, along with the assistance of some photos I found in my father’s vault, the shareholders won’t want to risk the chance of a public scandal.” Declan smiled. “They know that even if this woman doesn’t release her story about Chris to the press… I certainly will.”
Olivia still looked skeptical. “Courtney will still vote to support him, and now Alan Carrol will too. How many votes do you need?”
Declan grimaced. “I need every other major shareholder.”
Her eyes widened. “Unless you have a witness to him murdering someone, I don’t see...” Declan stayed silent, holding her gaze. Olivia’s mouth fell open. “You’re not serious.”
“Deadly.”
“But who? How? Why isn’t he in jail?”
“This is going to be a long story,” Declan warned.
Olivia pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat, watching him expectantly.
“A little over three years ago, Chris killed an escort while driving drunk in my car. Another escort in the car was injured. It seems Chris was already involved with Courtney at that point, even though she was ostensibly living with my father. The two of them saw this as an opportunity to further their plans.”
“What does that mean?”