Blackmailed Merger (18 page)

“I like that about you Dante” he had said, grudging sincerity in his words
, opening
a brown folder before him on the desk
.

“I want to talk to you about my business and about my daughter” he had said, seeing the surprised frown on the other
man’s
face
.

“Sam?.
.
.what about her” he had asked softly seeing as
Daniel
Trey had pulled out some pictures from the folder tossing them over to him
.

Lifting the
m
he had seen Samantha at
Kate’s
wedding
two months previously
, his eyes looking back questioningly
.

“I d
on’t understand...” he had begu
n as
Daniel
had raised a hand
.

“I am getting to that age Dante when I want to retire, to really enjoy all the good things that I have built up in my life”
.

Sitting back in his chair, his eyes
held
the other mans
.

“I want to make su
re that my business has an heir...
a male heir”
.

His hand had pointed to the picture on the desk
.

“Unfortunately I only have a daughter”
.

Dante had seen the contempt in his eyes
.

“And she seems unwilling to settle down and produce for me the heirs that I need”
.

Dante
had frowned again
.

“What has that got to do with me
Daniel
?” he had questioned, seeing as the other man had fished out another picture
, sliding it across the table.  The picture showing Sam glaring up at Dante, as he had held her by the arm, his mouth tightening feeling the anger once more at their encounter

“As you can see the l
ast time I saw her,
let’s
just say she was indifferent”
.

The older man had smiled, an unpleasant smile, throwing
yet
another picture at him
.

“Really?...
not according to my
sources”
.

He had
replied, his voice full of such
innuendo
.

“I have been throwing some of the most eligible men
I
can find at my daughter
for years now,
and all have been fobbed off. 
In the past four years since you and she dated, s
he has shown zero interest in any men, until she bumps into you again”
.

Dante had given a small
mirthless
laugh
.

“Check your sources
Daniel
, your daughter gave me the cold shoulder all night...believe me she was completely indifferent”
.

His hands reaching to lift the
last
picture, his eyes widening with surprise as he had given an involuntary gasp.  In the picture obviously taken after she had left
him,
it showed Samantha moving from the lift, tears streaming down her lovely face
, her hand raised as she had been in the process of wiping a tear with the back of her hand
.  She had looked completely stricken, her lovely lips
trembling
, her face bleak and
vulnerable
. 

“Yes she looks completely
indifferent”
, t
he slow soft words of the man opposite from him
breaking
into his thoughts, as he had thrown the picture
back down onto the desk
.

“What is it you want
Daniel
?
” he had bitten out, feeling anger at the way the man was so casually showing the images of the woman he had known so intimately
so many years ago
, his own daughter.

“I want you to marry her”
.

Dante had looked at
Daniel
Trey in complete shock
.

“You want me to what?” he had cried in surprise, before collecting himself, making to stand from the chair opposite
.

“
NOW you want me to marry her...
You are crazy, and this meeting is over”
.

Daniel
Trey had quickly continued
.

“
Wait.  You should hear the deal first”
, s
eeing as Dante had
hesitated, his eyes scrutinizing the other man before slowly
sinking
back down, his eyes watching
Daniel
warily
.

“Go on”
.

His only words, as
he
had continued
.

“Like I said
, I
want to retire and I want a male heir
, now while you are the last man I would choose, it seems that my daughter still has feelings for you, and I don’t have
time for her to eventually find
.
somebody else.  It seems to me that she is more interested in that business of hers than in settling down”
.

Dante had frowned, speaking softly
.

“My sources tell me that her business is doing well, perhaps you should reconsider having her be your CEO”
.

Daniel
Trey had given a contemptuous sound
.

“No woman is going to take over my business.  I would rather sell it.

Dante had raised an eyebrow in interest
.

“Well if you
want
to sell...”
.

He had begu
n, seeing as the other man had looked at him
.

“I would never sell to you” he had bitten out angrily, both men glaring at each other, before
Daniel
had given a tired sigh
.

“I will put in a manager if I have to, however
...
”
.

His eyes had become serious,
shifting
forward
in his seat
as he had got to the point
.

“If
you marry Sam then I will make you the CEO of my company.
..
  Think of it as a merger of our two
enterprise
s
...
isn’t that what you had planned four years ago anyway.

Sitting back and looking intently at the younger man before him
.

“I
n many ways it
makes sense.  The only thing is that you have to produce a male heir, one that will take over from us both”
.

He had sat back to
watch
the surprised man before him
.

“You want ME to take over your business”
.

Had been Dante’s
only respons
e, seeing
as Daniel
Trey
had nodded

“On the
proviso
that you marry my daughter and within five years produce a son”
.

Dante had grown quiet, his eyes moving to look at a picture on the wall, not really seeing the image as he had concentrated, his brow furrowed.  After several minutes, he had looked back at the older man
.

“What if she won
’
t marry me
?
” he had
asked
softly, seeing the cruel
sneer
on
the older
man’s
face
.

“I am sure that you will find a way to make sure she does” he had said, his voice
low and
unpleasant.

Frowning
softly Dante’s features had grown more sure before he had nodded, standing to look down on the other man
.

“Within three months Sam and I will be married, and in two months and three weeks you will announce the merger
, agreed?
”

Daniel
Trey had smiled
, nodding his head
.

“Agreed” he had said softly, both men looking
back
at the other with understanding
, the deal struck
.