Filthy Rich Revenge: A Filthy Rich Billionaires Book - Lynn Raye Harris Page 0,26

for the pain and anger she saw in his eyes, to divert her from her goals. She had to keep Layton International safe and whole, and she had to find a way to get it back. It was all that mattered.

He’d left her no instructions while he was gone, had not revealed a single element to his plan for her company. Until the man fired her, or she convinced him to let her buy back her stock, she had a business to run.

Rebecca frowned at her reflection. After last night, she had no illusions Alejandro would ever allow her to buy back her stock. The only way to retrieve Layton International was if Alejandro suddenly found himself in trouble and needed to sell some assets. And according to all her contacts, that wasn’t happening. Ramirez Enterprises was a juggernaut. Not only that, but Alejandro would sell Layton International piece by piece if forced. He would never allow it to be bought whole and certainly not by her.

Yet she couldn’t simply give up and cower like a whipped puppy.

After a quick shower and something to eat, she phoned Roger Cahill. She still needed to know what had happened five years ago, if there was even the smallest chance she could prove to Alejandro that she hadn’t stolen his deal. She didn’t think it was possible, but at least she would know for herself what’d happened.

“Becca,” Roger said when his secretary put her through. “I was just thinking about you. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes. Thank you for the flowers you sent to my dad’s funeral.”

He cleared his throat. “Jackson was a good bloke. I’m sorry I won’t get to play a round of golf with him at St. Andrews this year.”

“I know he would have enjoyed it.”

“You mustn’t blame yourself for losing Layton International,” he said, launching straight into the heart of the matter. “When Jackson came to me, I told him it was a bad idea to stake so much on those Thai resorts.”

Rebecca’s mouth twisted. If only the bank had felt the same before loaning him the money. “Yes, well he loved to take on new projects and he was certain he had a winner.”

Roger cleared his throat again. “So what can I help you with, love?”

Though everyone told her Ramirez Enterprises was invulnerable, she asked Roger if he knew of any weaknesses.

“I understand there may be some trouble in Dubai,” Roger replied. “Rumor has it they could lose the property they’ve sunk so much into. I have another client interested in property there, so they’ve heard rumblings.”

Rebecca tapped her chin with a fingernail. “There’s an accusation of impropriety in the permits process, right? Do you know anything about that?”

Roger sighed. “There’s no evidence to support the charge thus far, but I know the man himself took the corporate jet over this morning. It must be something to get Ramirez to fly in.”

He told her a few other things, about permits and engineers, architects, the Emir and a relative of some sort. Nothing specific, but things that could add up to trouble for a hotel chain trying to build a new resort. She’d fielded similar problems in the past so understood both the import of the issues and the hassle of bureaucratic red tape.

“You’ll let me know if you hear anything?” he finished.

“I’ll keep my ears open.” After what Alejandro had done to her, she refused to feel guilty about it. If there was a remote chance she could wrest Layton International from him, she had to take it. Her father would have demanded no less.

An image of Alejandro talking about his daughter in the past tense sprang to mind.

No. No room for weakness. This was business, not personal.

“I’d appreciate that,” Roger replied. “We’re digging, looking for an Achilles heel, but so far there’s nothing to report.”

“Roger,” Rebecca said when they were wrapping up the conversation. “I wanted to ask you something else before you go.”

“Shoot.”

“Why’d you pull out of the Ramirez deal five years ago?”

He hesitated a moment before speaking. “We decided it wasn’t a good investment after all.”

“But you financed our South American acquisitions.”

“The stake was less than Ramirez required.”

Rebecca’s temples throbbed. “But you didn’t pull out of Ramirez because of us, right?”

He sighed. “Your father thought it was a bad bet, love, and he didn’t want to do business with us if we took the risk. Ramirez had a reputation as a risk taker, you see. He was unorthodox, and several of our investors were already