The Billionaire's Wife (A Steamy BWWM Marriage of Convenience Romance Novel) (16 page)

(
Back to Table of Contents
)

Chapter 26

Cole

As the doors opened, I temporarily
set aside the mental picture of Kiona on her knees, bobbing away on my cock
before the explosive and knee-weakening finish. Stepping off the elevator, everything
focused on the here and now; it was time for business. Strangely, as I glanced
around I could sense an immediate tension in the air. People seemed stiffer,
bothered somehow as I walked from department to department, checking in with
the various supervisors and directors.

Even the
middlemen and leaders within my company seemed to have fallen under the tension
that had begun gripping my employees. This troubled me. I wasn’t used to my
team exhibiting blatant shaken confidence, and I wondered if my temporary
absence had anything to do with it.

I began
asking, but responses were tight-lipped and canned. The most I could get out of
anyone was “quotas” and “rough season,” but I would have been a fairly
incompetent leader to not immediately recognize that something was very, very
wrong.

The only
person who seemed absolutely cheerful was Coppersmith, whom I crossed in the
halls. He passed by without noticing me, whistling optimistically as he
wandered onward without a care in the world.

I should have
immediately recognized the alarm bells, but I was too preoccupied with my
impending death, as well as the concerning level of pressure on my staff.

Most of the
executives were either at a pair of conventions, on international travel under
my orders, or otherwise tied up. This, too, should have struck me as odd, but
the aforementioned factors were too near the forefront, and they blinded me.

However, I
did
have a way of reconciling my
concerns independent of them all.

Kylie looked
surprised as I entered her office. My executive assistant sprung into action at
my approach, brushing her ginger curls out of her way as she snatched up a
clipboard.

“Mr. Andrews,
I didn’t expect you to be back! Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, yes,
I’m fine,” I briskly told her, gazing around her office. “Update me. What
precisely you been up to in my temporary absence?”

“Well, I’ve
been forwarding calls, forestalling any pressing appointments, and…honestly,
there hasn’t been too much to do. Your executive staff has been overseeing
their own departments and mitigating small fires, here and there…of course,
they won’t listen to much direct instruction from me, but it looks like
everyone’s generally behaving. Andrews Enterprises seems to be running on
autopilot, independently of your direct oversight. Seems like your dream’s
finally come to fruition, sir.”

“As excellent
to hear, there’s something clearly wrong.”

“Sir?”

“The
employees…something has them all tense. Explain to me why everyone is on edge.”

“Mr. Andrews,
I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary…well, now that I think of it, there’s
the annual employee review coming up soon. That’s the only thing that crosses
my mind.”

“No, that’s
not it. The annual reviews have never bothered the staff this much. Something
else is going on, and I intend on getting to the bottom of it…and I rely on you
to be my eyes and ears while I’m away. If you haven’t noticed anything, then
you are less qualified for that role than I’d thought.”

Kylie swelled
with irritation for a moment, but quietly bit her tongue. The gesture was
enough to give something away though – my assistant had never once
displayed any visible sign of bother concerning orders, observations, or even
brutally honest remarks I had made. This meant that she, too, was stressed
about whatever was happening, and therefore not only knew what it was, but was
also lying to me about it.

My concern
rose to a new height.

“It’s
Coppersmith,” I remarked. “Whatever is happening, it’s revolving around him.”

“Coppersmith?”
She asked, cleverly masking recognition. Or so she thought.

“Yes, he’s
the only person here who doesn’t appear to be burdened by crippling fear and
tension,” I observed. “If anything, he looked positively
delighted
when I encountered him earlier.”

“I didn’t
realize that he was here today,” Kylie replied.

“Regardless…I
need to see some of the recent reports. I have to review some of the latest
projections.”

“Sir,” Kylie
asked with sincere compassion, her hand resting against mine, “how is your
condition?”

I pulled my
hand free from hers, somewhat bemused by her overly fond gesture. “I am
presently stable.”

“No updates?
Nothing at all?”

“…None,” I
lied.

Kylie
frowned, gazing into my eyes for a moment.

“Those
reports, please,” I reminded her.

“…Right.
Right away, Sir.”

As she
rummaged through a nearby shelf of folders and binders, I dwelled on the
oddness of my staff and how bizarre she was acting. I quickly concluded that I
should review and revoke any access to my personal files that she might have.

*
      
*
      
*

The
projections looked reasonable; nothing presented itself that might raise a red
flag with Alphonse Megami. I also independently checked on the arrangements
that I had Kylie schedule – they all looked to be in order, although I
wondered privately what might have changed if she knew how important this
meeting was going to be.

It wasn’t
like me to doubt my executive assistant, but I did not tolerate distrust from
those who occupied the position, and I wondered when I would need to remove her
from the spot.

Or perhaps, I
thought to myself, I would need to deal with the problem head-on.

Which meant
Coppersmith.

“Contact
him,” I commanded her as I walked back into her small office. “It’s time that I
get to the bottom of things.”

“Who, sir?”

I raised my
eyebrows in irritation – I didn’t appreciate being patronized. “You know
damned well who I mean.”

“…Yes, Sir.”

Kylie lifted
the phone and dialed a number. “Yes, you are being summoned to – that’s
right. Yes. I…of course.” She hung up and turned to me with an impartial
glance. “He will be in your office in approximately ten minutes.”

“Good,” I
answered, contemplating the impending confrontation. “It is time that he and I
had ourselves a little chat…”

*
      
*
      
*

“You asked to
see me?” Coppersmith grinned, popping his head into my office. At the behest of
my nod, he happily let himself in through the doorway, closing the door behind
himself and strolling over to sit down in front of my desk. I’d never seen him
so jovial before today, and it put a sickening pit in the depths of my stomach.

I, meanwhile,
was standing at the window, surveying the sight of the buildings across the
street. It would likely be the last time that I had this particular view.

“I would like
some answers,” I remarked calmly.

“Well,
whatever do you mean?”

“Don’t play
stupid with me,” my voice snapped. A cough started to sputter from my lips. I
quickly dabbed at them with my handkerchief, wishing to continue on with the
discussion. Unfortunately, the effect had already been lost, and my opponent
did not seem bothered in the slightest.

“Such a nasty
cough,” he observed. “You should probably get that checked out, you know. Might
be indicative of something that’s more…serious.”

“You and I
both know the truth,” I replied.

“And what is
that truth?”

I wasn’t
playing this game with him. “I’m not going to say it again, you old, ungrateful
bastard,” I explained in no uncertain terms as I turned to face him. “
Don’t play stupid with me
.”

“Very well
then,” he wickedly grinned. “Word is that the king is dying, and the castle
will be left woefully unguarded. In fact, judging by the paleness of his
face…I’m inclined to believe that the king is dying perhaps a bit ahead of
schedule?”

Of course he can see that,
I angrily observed.

“It is always
such a shame when one so
young
, so
capable
, dies before meeting one’s
prime,” Coppersmith remarked with a carefree, aloof air. “Tell me, what is your
contingency in this matter? Surely you have some sort of plan in mind? Not that
it’ll matter in the long run, really.”

“What are you
doing to my staff?” I demanded to know.

“You should
answer my question first,” the ancient windbag smugly remarked. “It’s only
polite, you know. Respecting one’s elders.”

“I sign your
checks, old man.”

“Amusingly, it
is
I
who has the luxury of time.”

I glared him
down, and his ridiculous grin stretched even wider across his lips. Before I
could reply, a coughing fit racked me again, and I pressed a palm down against
the desk to steady myself as I withstood a tremendously painful burst of rapid,
staggering coughs. My lungs whipped into a furious blaze, the fire flickering
up my raw esophagus; my shoulders rocked as my throat struggled desperately for
air.

All the
while, Coppersmith simply relaxed in his chair, delighting in the front-row
seat to my suffering. The smugness was still evident across his face, but his snarky
smile slow slid away. Instead, he simply dared to look
bored
, as if annoyed that I still breathed at all.

I pulled my
handkerchief back from my lips, horrified at the sight of bright, copious
blood. As I recognized the metallic taste in my mouth, Coppersmith simply
sighed.

“You’re on
your last days,” he observed calmly. “Not much longer now, is it?”

“What is it
that you want?” I demanded between groans. “Whatever you’re doing…why? Haven’t
I treated you fairly? Haven’t I bent over backwards to please you?”

Coppersmith
leaned in closely, every pretense gone from his sagging, ancient face. There
was nothing but cold, dark fury in his eyes as his timbre met a deep growl.

“What do I
want, you ask?”

I silently
watched him.

“I want every
trace of you gone, and my son’s rightful place in this company – his
legacy
– restored to the proper balance.
I want you dead and buried while his work lives on.”

“Your son is
dead,” I told him, “and I have dedicated my life to putting his dreams to
reality. I have committed every waking hour to lifting his ideas to fruition,
and I offered you a place here to honor him. Everything I have done, I did for
Hunter. How do you not see that?”

“
LIES!
” He shrieked, swiping his gnarled
arm across the desk and knocking papers, folders, and ornaments to a clatter
against the floor. “You
dare lie
to
Devin J. Coppersmith? You
bastardized
him!
You
stole
from him! You were
there!
You should have
saved
him! But no, you filthy,
degenerate son of a whore, you weren’t
there
when he needed you, and in death you
betrayed
him, you
thieving
scum!”

“You honestly
believe this complete and total fucking bullshit, don’t you?” I asked, my
thoughts a mixture of horror and disappointment. “He
willed me
his work, he
asked
that
I continue it. What sort of depraved monster must you be to punish me for
honoring his wishes?”