Filthy Rich Revenge: A Filthy Rich Billionaires Book - Lynn Raye Harris Page 0,2
And right now, Layton International’s vulnerability was nothing short of cataclysmic.
“Yes?” she said as she reached for her planner. She could at least make a few calls while her executive assistant booked their return flight. She would not lose this company her family had built, in spite of the problems her father left her with when he had died unexpectedly. He’d trusted her to take care of things. She would not fail him.
“Hello, Rebecca.”
Rebecca’s breath sliced into her lungs as her head whipped up. The planner slid from her lap. “Alejandro?”
“You did not expect to hear from me again, no?”
Rebecca closed her eyes, her gut clenching with a mixture of need and sorrow. Five long years since she’d heard that voice speak her name. Once he’d meant everything to her. Now?
Now she couldn’t even begin to sort out how speaking to him made her feel. Sweat moistened her palms. “This is a bad time, Alejandro. I really can’t talk.”
His laugh, so cool and controlled, brought an image back to her. Alejandro Arroyo Rivera de Ramirez, the sexiest man she’d ever seen, naked to the waist, water streaming from his muscular chest in rivulets as he lifted himself from the pool. His sexy laugh as he’d scooped her up and hauled her into the bedroom. He hadn’t even dried off. The second she’d said yes he’d come for her. And then he’d spent the night showing her how amazing he truly was.
“You need only listen, querida.”
Something in his tone silenced her automatic protest.
Her heart kicked into double time. She reached for her forgotten wine glass, took a steadying sip.
“I expect you in Madrid in twenty-four hours. Spend the flight thinking how you will convince me to keep you on Layton International’s board of directors.”
Shock rocketed her to her feet. Her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest. “You’re the one trying to steal my company?”
“Steal? Such harsh words” He made a tsking sound. “You have made poor decisions, Rebecca. Do not continue to do so.”
Cold sweat spread over her skin. Oh, God. She wasn’t the one who’d made poor decisions—but what did it matter now? Her father had thought he’d been doing the right thing.
They’d tumbled far in the five years since she’d last seen Alejandro. Then, she’d been the one with the knowledge about the hotel business, the one with the might of a multi-million dollar company behind her. He’d been the new kid on the block with everything to learn.
How had everything changed so drastically?
There was still time to fix it. Not much, but a little. She could turn everything around and stop him. She would stop him or she wasn’t a Layton through and through. She’d picked herself up once before when he’d devastated her. She could do it again.
Alejandro could sense weakness like a shark sensing blood in the water. She would not give it to him. She forced herself to sound calm, controlled. “It’s not over yet. You’re counting chickens.”
“Counting chickens?” His laugh jarred her. “Ah, one of your Americanisms. Never count the chickens before they hatch, right?” She heard him speaking to someone in Spanish. “It is a done deal, Rebecca. Layton International belongs to Ramirez Enterprises.”
She felt the chill of his words as if someone had picked her up and thrust her into the arctic. It was an odd sensation, totally at odds with her memory of the heat he’d once incited. She swallowed the knot in her throat. “I don’t believe you.”
“Then stay in Hawaii while I hire a new CEO. Or come advise the board on how to handle my new acquisition. Your choice.”
He knew she was in Hawaii? Did he also know about the deal she’d just closed to acquire a chain of resorts in the islands?
This deal would have saved everything in just a few short months. Rebecca sank onto a rattan chair as her legs refused to hold her up any longer. The certainty in his voice was undeniable.
She knew from personal experience how determined Alejandro could be when he wanted something. He didn’t rest until he’d won, until he’d imposed his will and gotten exactly what he wanted. If he was calling her now, he was very certain he had control of Layton International.
Lock, stock, and barrel as her dad would have said. Jackson Layton was probably spinning in his grave right this instant. He’d never liked Alejandro. He would be shattered to know the company he’d built had fallen into his enemy’s hands. And all