One White Lie: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book One (21 page)
Read One White Lie: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book One Online
Authors: Jeannette Winters
“No, no, the report was fine. I need you to do something else for me, for the company.”
Lizette could not even guess what that could be. All she’d ever done was accounting but she was a team player, so whatever office work needed to be done, she would try her best. “Of course, I am an excellent typist. Did you need me to fill in for your administrative assistant while she is out sick too? You know I’m more than happy to do whatever I can.”
“Thank you, Lizette, I do know and appreciate your dedication. However, it’s not her role I need you to fill tonight. It’s mine.”
Hers?
she thought.
As CEO? I would not feel comfortable having to make all those critical decisions. I like numbers; they’re factual, they don’t lie, they’re black and white, no gray areas.
And yet, it was Friday night; there really couldn’t be anything that would come up that couldn’t wait until Monday. She could do this. All she’d need to do was be on call for anything critical. Then it hit her: Maybe there was something critical going on she wasn’t aware of. Maybe there was a fire in the community or something. Lizette didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“There is an extremely important event I was supposed to attend this evening. Obviously I am too ill to go.”
That was clear from the moment I entered the office, but what does this have to do with me?
Lizette wondered.
“I need you to go in my place,” Elaine continued, pausing to sneeze again. “To represent me, represent us, Another Chance.”
Lizette hoped Elaine couldn’t see the shock and horror that was surely written all over her face. Even though she and Elaine were similar in some ways, the major difference was Elaine carried herself with such confidence she could walk into any room and hold her ground on any topic even with the most influential people. That was not something Lizette enjoyed or was interested in doing. “What? Oh, no, I couldn’t . . . I can’t . . . you know I don’t . . .” Lizette didn’t even realize she was stumbling over her words. She did not want to attend such a high-profile Who’s Who event. That was the last place she wanted to be.
“Lizette, there is no one else who can do this for me tonight. You know my admin Jill is home sick, and the rest of the team is on vacation or also out sick. We need you to do this.” After another sneezing fit, she continued, “I need you to do this. You’re head of the accounting department. I don’t have to tell you what attending an event like this can do for our association. It’s a great opportunity to get our name out there. The people attending could provide exactly the type of funding we need to continue. Normally we could never afford to attend, but an old colleague of mine, Mr. Scott, is the chairman of the event and was kind enough to sponsor a ticket for me. Someone has to represent us. We won’t get another opportunity like this.”
Lizette knew it was true. All the recent cuts in government funding had hit nonprofit organizations like Another Chance extremely hard. Right now they were basically running on personal donations and barely making it. It was getting crucial to find a corporate sponsor; the future of their organization was at risk.
“It’s one night. All the arrangements have already been made. The dress is being delivered to your home at six o’clock. The limo driver will pick you up at seven thirty, and Mr. Scott has been told you will be representing me—I mean, us—tonight.”
As though Elaine noticed the writing all over her face, she continued. “Lizette, this is not only an important charity event, it’s our best shot at networking with people who can provide the kind of financial support we need. I would not ask you to do this if I didn’t know you would represent us well.” In a softer voice, she went on. “We’ve known each other for several years now. I know you can do this. Do what comes naturally. Talk about what you believe in. Talk about the business and all that we do. Tell them about some of our successes. I know you are passionate about what we do here, so it’ll be easy. You’ll see.” With a sincere smile she said, “You may even enjoy yourself so much you’ll wish you could do it all the time.”
Doubt it,
Lizette thought. Yet there was no way to get out of tonight after the speech she’d just received. She knew Elaine was not asking this of her as a friend; she was asking as the CEO. When the CEO asks for a favor, especially one of this magnitude, you don’t really have the option to decline. “Thank you. I will do my best,” she said with a forced smile.
“I need to get to bed. Thank you for filling in for me tonight.” Ms. Manning’s eyes traveled over Lizette’s very conservative business attire as she said, “Better get going, Lizette. You have a lot to do before seven thirty.”
Don’t remind me,
she thought as she rose and left the office. She felt bad Elaine was ill, but for once she wished there
were
problems with the month-end report. At least she knew she could fix that. An event like tonight’s was something she wasn’t comfortable with, something she had been able to avoid since her college days—until now.
*Look for a linked series set in the same world, written by Ruth Cardello (my sister).
You won’t have to read her series to enjoy mine, but it sure will make it more fun. Characters will appear in both series.
Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire
(available at all major eBook stores for FREE!)
Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire
Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire
Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea’s Redemption
Book 7: A Corisi Christmas Novella
The Andrades
A spin off series of the Legacy Collection with cameos from characters you love from that series.
Book 1: Come Away With Me
(available at all major eBook stores for FREE!)
Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way
Recipe For Love, An Andrade Christmas Novella
The Barringtons
A new, seven book series about the Andrade’s Boston cousins.
The first series in the Barrington Billionaire WORLD.
Book 2: Stolen Kisses (Available for Pre-order)
Book 3: Trade It All (Coming 2016)
Book 4: Let It Burn (Coming 2016)
Book 5: More Than Love (Coming 2016)
Book 6: Forever Now (Coming 2016)
Book 7: Never Goodbye (Coming 2016)
Book 1 of the Legacy Collection
By Ruth Cardello
Available at all major eBook retailers for FREE!
Dominic Corisi knew instantly that Abigail Dartley was just the distraction he was looking for, especially since having her took a bit more persuading than he was used to. So when business forces him to fly to China, he decides to take her with him, but on his terms. No promises. No complications. Just sex.
Abby has always been the responsible one. She doesn’t believe in taking risks; especially when it comes to men – until she meets Dominic. He’s both infuriating and intoxicating, a heady combination. Their trip to China revives a long forgotten side of Abby, but also reveals a threat to bring down Dominic’s company.
With no time to explain her actions, Abby must either influence the outcome of his latest venture and save his company or accept her role as his mistress and leave his fate to chance. Does she love him enough to risk losing him for good?
B
y dying now, his father had won again.
That old bastard.
Dominic Corisi slammed the door of his black Bugatti Veyron and stepped onto the sun baked Boston sidewalk without giving the million-dollar vehicle a backward glance. The joy of owning it was dead along with his desire to answer the incessant ring of the cell phone he’d ignored since yesterday. Rather than turning it off, he’d muffled the noise by burying the device deep within a coat pocket, maintaining the connection to his life like a distant beacon.
Despite the oppressive heat, he paused at the bottom stair of his old brownstone. There was nothing spectacular about it, outside of its location near the upbeat Newbury Street. If he remembered correctly, its rooms were small and the main staircase had a creak that he never did get around to fixing. It was nothing like the sprawling mansions he now owned in various countries around the world.
But it was the closest thing he had to a home.
His phone rang with a tone he couldn’t ignore.
Jake
. His second in command would simply call again, killing whatever chance Dominic had of finding a moment of peace inside those brick walls. “Corisi,” he barked into the phone.
“Dominic, glad I caught you,” Jake Walton said smoothly, as if he hadn’t unsuccessfully rung twenty times in the last two days. That was Jake, calm and professional, even in the storm of hostile takeovers. Nothing fazed the man.
Normally, Dominic appreciated his even temper, but today it grated on him. Maybe the forty or so hours without sleep were beginning to catch up with him. He fought an impulse to toss his phone over the metal railing. The world wasn’t the orderly, rational place Jake liked to organize it into. It was messy. It was ugly. And, most recently, it lacked justice.
“How is Boston?”
The inane question almost sent Dominic over the edge. “How do you think?”
It was probably too much to hope that Jake’s uncharacteristic silence signaled an end to a conversation Dominic wished he had avoided.
“We need to discuss the China contract. The Minister of Commerce is expecting to meet with you tomorrow to cement the details. This is your dream, Dominic. By next week, Corisi Enterprises will be a major global player. What do you want me to tell the minister?”
“I don’t know,” Dominic said wearily.
Jake made a sound somewhere between a choke and a cough, then was speechless—a revealing response for a man who handled irate international diplomats without missing a step. He was the fixer and navigated the unexpected with ease. Until now.
Poor Jake. Nothing in their shared history had prepared either of them for Dominic’s sudden desire to withdraw from the world. The creators of financial empires didn’t take sudden vacations and they most certainly didn’t hide, especially not after having laid the groundwork for the single greatest business venture of the century. Bill Gates himself had called last week to discuss the ramifications of the negotiations.
“Jake, I need to drop off the radar for about a week. Why don’t you take over the China contract?”
“Okay . . .” Jake said awkwardly. In another situation, Jake’s loss of composure would have been amusing.
“Can you handle it or not?” Dominic challenged. He could barely think past the throbbing of his headache.
Maybe coming to Boston was a mistake. It had been here, at seventeen, that he’d walked away from his inheritance and waited tables to fund the search for his mother. Here, in this very brownstone, that he’d cultivated a hatred for a father who had denied both involvement and interest in the disappearance of his wife.
Jake’s voice slammed Dominic back into the present. “No problem. I’ve followed the progress you’ve made with the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency. They’re eager. I’ll clear my schedule and cover yours. Duhamel will forward all of your calls to me until further notice.”
“Good.”
“Dom . . .” Jake hesitated. “It’s normal to need time to grieve. You just lost your father.”
A harsh laugh escaped Dominic. “Trust me, I’m not grieving his loss.” He leaned a hip on the metal railing and looked up at the building he had instinctively returned to, searching for the man he’d once been and hoping to find something there that would shake off the immobilizing apathy he felt for all he had done since—high expectations for brick and antique wallpaper.
Jake said, “That’s what worries me. No matter what your plans were or what he once did to you, he’s gone now. You’ve got to let it go.”
Jake was asking the impossible. Of course the past mattered. Sometimes it was the only thing that did. “Just do your job, Jake. If you can’t handle it, tell me and I’ll promote Priestly to help you.”
For the second time since they had met at Harvard, Jake lost his temper. “That’s bullshit, Dom. You want to send Priestly to China? Send him. You’re absolutely right—you’ve made me a very rich man. I don’t need this. But heed my warning: you won’t be a billionaire for long if we both step away from the helm. A lot is riding on this contract. The lawsuits alone will freeze your assets if you screw this up. You invested too much of your own and you’re playing with the big boys now. Governments are not very forgiving when it comes to last minute walk outs.”
The speech should have shaken Dominic, but it barely breached the numbness that had settled in since he’d received the phone call from his father’s lawyer. What did all the money matter anyway? He’d wasted fifteen years amassing an empire that would allow him to throw down a forced buyout contract on his father’s enormous mahogany desk. Dominic should have taken action years ago, but no level of prior success had felt like enough. He’d choreographed the day from both sides, building his company while undermining his father’s, always working toward that one absolute win. Dominic had counted on his father’s desperation finally forcing him to confess what had actually happened to his mother.
It was that loss he mourned today.
In its place was a carefully orchestrated set of instructions from his father’s lawyer. No, it wasn’t enough to simply disinherit his only son—Antonio Corisi had also included provisions in his will to ensure that Dominic had to attend the reading. He’d used Dominic’s one weakness, his one regret, to reaffirm his control, even from the grave.
Jake coughed, reminding Dominic that a response was required. What could he say? As usual, Jake was correct in his assessment of the situation. Dominic had used his own wealth as well as that of his investors to back this venture. The risk had seemed worth it. The government contract would crack China’s software market wide open for them while their global influence would double exponentially. It was a daring move that, if carefully implemented, could put Corisi Enterprises on a stratosphere of power few companies ever acquired—a goal that a week ago had seemed imperative.
Jake could handle the negotiations. Dominic had always been the one to charge forward, shaking the situation up and clearing the way. This time would be no different. Jake would merely take over a few documents earlier this time. Priestly was good at the local level, but he was no Jake.
“One week, Jake.” It was the closest to an apology Dominic was able to get out. He hoped it was enough.
Sounding more like an older brother than a business associate, Jake said, “Take two weeks if you need it. Just get your head together. I can wrap up the China contract, but it’ll need your final signature and your presence. I’ll do a press release today and ask the media to respect your need to mourn in private; that should give you at least a few days before they descend.”
“Call Murdock.”
The man owes me a few favors.
“Do you mean the Murdock? I thought he’d retired.”
Ah, there is the real difference between us
. By not fighting in the trenches of financial warfare, Jake’s business associations had remained above reproach, but he lacked the backdoor connections to those seemingly innocuous individuals who wielded real international influence. Dominic casually gave Jake a number that many would have paid a small fortune to dial just once. “Men like Murdock don’t retire, they delegate from warmer climates. Tell him I don’t even want a good spin on this. It’s non-news. He’ll understand.”
Jake whistled softly in appreciation. “Is there anyone you don’t know?”
“Yes, you if you call me again today.”
Jake laughed, but they both knew it hadn’t been a joke. “Do yourself a favor, Dom . . .” Jake continued in an unusually authoritative tone.
What now? Dominic sighed.
“Put down the Jack Daniels for a night and pick up one of those models you like to date. You’ll sleep better.”
Dominic gave a noncommittal grunt and hung up.
If only it were that easy.
