Chosen for Power (Women of Power, #1) (8 page)

“What? You know every guy asks that when they meet an ex.”

“Her ex is Chord McAlister.”

“Definitely better than him.”

“I interrupted a conversation they were having. His hand was around her arm so tightly she had bruises this morning. Here’s his card. Find out everything you can.”

“You want me to . . .”

“No. I’ll take care of this one personally. I know she’s strong enough to handle her own battles. Look at what she did to him before. But no one hurts the woman I love.”

“Look at you getting all chivalrous. I’m outta here before you start extolling the color of her eyes and the feel of her skin.”

“Thanks, Phillip. Let me know if anyone finds out it’s me she’s dating. I’ll talk to Elle tomorrow about how we should handle it if the story doesn’t die down before then.”

“Will do.”

Drake pulled up the news and let out a long breath. He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out the black box. Opening it, he looked down at the ring he was planning to give Elle. Dammit. If he did it now, she’d think it was just to protect her from this news. He put the ring back and closed the drawer. He was just going to have to bide his time for the perfect moment.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Elle walked into the restaurant with her head held high. If she could handle her mother, then she could handle this deal. She was led past the white linen-covered tables to a private room in the back of the exclusive restaurant. Mr. Tompkins was waiting for her and stood when she entered.

“Mr. Tompkins, it’s nice to see you again,” Elle said as she held out her hand. The man, a good thirty years her senior with graying hair, shook it before sitting down after her.

“Thank you, Miss Simpson. You, too.” Elle glanced down at the glass of wine in front of Mr. Tompkins and the iced tea placed in front of her. She narrowed her eyes and gazed at Mr. Tompkins as he tried very hard to study the menu.

Elle raised her hand and waved the waiter in. “I’ll have a glass of wine as well. Whatever he has is good. Thank you.”

The gray head that had been buried in the menu popped up. “Wine? Do you really think that’s a good idea in your condition?”

“If by condition you mean having to spend the day telling your mother you’re not pregnant and trying to figure out where such a report came from, then yes, I do think it’s a good idea.”

“Well, it does bring up a point that I’m worried about. I wanted my company to join Simpson Global because of its stability. But hearing reports on the news about your liaisons with a rival and apparent fake pregnancy doesn’t lead me to have much faith in this merger.”

The glass of wine was placed on the table and the waiter hurriedly left the room, obviously feeling the tension between Elle and Mr. Tompkins.

“I mean,” Mr. Tompkins started when the door shut, “if you’re too busy dating, then how can I trust you to properly run the company?”

“Mr. Tompkins, how’s your wife, Gloria?” Elle asked with all politeness.

Mr. Tompkins stared for a second and then gentlemanly manners took over as he went with the change of subject. “She’s well, thank you. Our daughter is about to get married, so she’s up to her eyes with planning.”

“Congratulations. A wedding is always such a blessing. What does your daughter do?”

“She’s runs her own boutique on Peachtree. She makes the most beautiful clothes,” he said with fatherly pride.

“Really? You should have her call my sister, Allegra. She’s the vice president of our fashion house. How wonderful she runs her own business. And if I recall, you’ve been in charge of your company for what, thirty years? It must run in the family,” Elle smiled sweetly.

“Close. Thirty-six years.”

“Time flies, doesn’t it?” Elle smiled while Mr. Tompkins bobbed his head. “Now, when did you marry Gloria?” she asked conversationally.

“We’ve been married thirty years next month if you can believe it.” The man smiled with obvious love for his wife.

Elle beamed at him. “That’s great. I hope to have a love like that someday. Did you date Gloria before you started running your company?”

“No, I met her three years after I took over the company. We met on a blind date.”

“Oh, how sweet. How did your daughter meet her fiancé?” Elle asked as she took a sip of her wine.

“He came into the store looking for a gift for his sister. They hit it off right away. He’s a great guy. Works in production in the weather studio. He runs the national weather programming.”

“Amazing,” Elle said as if she’d never heard such a thing before. Her tone obviously out of character with the conversation.

Mr. Tompkins looked at her in confusion. “I’m sorry, what’s amazing?”

“That while running a company you were able to date, marry, and have a child, all while your company continued to grow. Then that child even went on to start her own business, date, and now marry, while I presume still growing her boutique.” Elle’s smile grew cold. The seriousness on her face showed that she wasn't willing to let the hypocrisy go unchecked.

Mr. Tompkins stopped with his wine glass in midair, his eyes widening at her cold look and tone. He swallowed loudly and put the wine glass down.

“You see, Mr. Tompkins, I don’t take too kindly to double standards. Now if you asked if I was really dating a rival, then I would tell you, ’No, I’m not.‘ Instead, you attack my ability to run a company while I date. Even though you did it and your daughter did it. Why do you think I can’t? Furthermore, I think we need to get one thing straight here. I think your company is wonderful, but I’ll still be a global powerhouse without it . . . what will you be if
I
decide not to bring your company into my family?” Elle sat back in her chair and stared him down.

Mr. Tompkins face went from white to pink with embarrassment in a split second. “I’m so sorry, Miss Simpson. I didn’t mean to imply . . .”

“Yes, you did.”

Mr. Tompkins let out a long breath. “You’re right. I did. I just blew this, didn’t I?”

“Yes. But my mother taught me not to throw the baby out with the bath water. I won’t hold your employees accountable for your mistake. However, I am changing my offering price to this.” Elle wrote a figure on the low end of the fair market value when she had been prepared to offer on the high end, and slid the paper across the table. It was still a fair offer, but one to show him she wasn’t to be pushed around. “Take it or leave it, Mr. Tompkins. I’ll give you five minutes to think it over.”

“I don’t need five minutes. You’re right. This is about my employees. I know you’ll take good care of them. I’ll take it.”

Elle stood and held out her hand. Mr. Tompkins similarly stood and shook on the deal. Elle allowed her face to soften and smiled brilliantly at him. “Thank you so much. Welcome to the Simpson family.”

“Thank you for not holding my gaffe against my employees,” Mr. Tompkins said with the relief clear in his voice. “And I’m truly sorry.”

“I know you are. It’s why I didn’t walk out a minute ago.”

“Um, are you really dating a rival?” he asked hesitantly.

“No, I’m dating Drake Charles. Good night, Mr. Tompkins, and please give my congratulations to your wife and daughter.”

Elle stood and left Mr. Tompkins sitting wide-eyed as she walked out of the restaurant. Her celebratory strut was cut short when she opened the door and was met with flashbulbs.

“Miss Simpson! Who are you dating?” the reporters called out.

“Is it true you’re pregnant?”

“Is Simpson Global stable or is this a play by someone to take over the company?”

“Should you be drinking wine when you’re pregnant?”

“Why did you email us if you didn’t want to comment?”

The reporters shouted as they pressed in on her. The lights blinded her as she lost her way in the crowd. But then strong arms encircled her and pushed the reporters back, allowing her to regain her bearings.

“Finn,” Elle said quietly with relief as she took a deep breath before turning to face the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, I will remember which of you were here and you will not be allowed in any of my press conferences with behavior like this. That includes the one I’m holding tomorrow morning,” Elle lectured in her best imitation of her mother. Some of the reporters immediately backed off while others pressed forward.

Finn opened the door and Elle gracefully got in before the reporters could start firing off more questions. She’d never been left speechless before, but she’d been so surprised. They’d been so aggressive that she had no idea how to respond. Elle groaned at the thought of how she was going to look on the news tonight.

“You all right, Miss Simpson? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Finn asked as he drove away as fast as he could.

Elle felt her head swimming, but she kept her chin up and looked straight ahead as the cameras continued to film. She wouldn’t let them see the turmoil inside her. The pain and worry that was knotting her stomach was not only for her, but also for her company, her family, and her employees. No, they would never see her upset.

“Thank you, Finn. You're a lifesaver.”

“What was that all about?”

“I don’t know. They think I emailed them a press release saying I was pregnant by a rival CEO. Why they think I would send that out, I have no idea.”

“I get it,” Finn nodded knowingly as he drove her out of downtown.

“Would you care to share, because I don’t.” Elle closed her eyes. She still felt the reporters closing in on her and took deep breaths to calm herself.

“Mind games. Happened all the time when I was playing ball. You say something to throw the opposing players off their game. Start a rumor their favorite coach was leaving, the wife of the pitcher is having an affair . . .”

“That’s horrible!”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. So, let me ask you this. Do you have any competitors who would want to mess with your game?”

Elle grinned with sadness and exhaustion as she reached for her phone to call her public relations team. “They all would.”

Drake almost fell off the treadmill when the image of Elle being hounded by reporters appeared on the nightly news. They reported that, even though they received a press release from Simpson Global about the pregnancy, Miss Simpson was neither confirming nor denying the report. The reporter’s image hadn’t even faded from the screen when his phone rang.

“She’s not pregnant,” Drake said as a way of answering his mother’s phone call.

“Didn’t you listen to the interview? They said it was emailed from her office. Now maybe someone slipped and sent it before it was time, but why would she have a press release if she wasn't pregnant? Do you know when she’s due? She must have just found out. Oh, I’m so excited!” His mother rambled as she completely ignored Drake’s attempts to interrupt her.

“Mom! She’s not pregnant. I gotta go. Love you.” Drake jumped off the treadmill and wiped his face and bare chest with a towel before hurrying down the hall toward his office.

His mom had just said something that stuck out. It was a simple fact. Elle would never have approved a press release like this, which meant someone else had. The only question was who.

Drake dialed his phone and waited for Elle to answer. Her eyes had gone wide when those reporters had pushed in on her. It was the first time he’d seen her nervous. But then Finn had come and, with a firm touch to her arm, had brought his Elle back. She had instantly straightened herself and, with all the power of a woman who ran a billion-dollar company, had lectured the reporters for their bad manners. He was so proud of her, but also very worried.

“I take it you saw,” Elle answered with a sigh.

“I did. How are you doing, sweetheart? You want me to do anything? I know the person who owns one of those stations,” Drake said as he turned on his computer.

“That’s all right. I can take care of myself. I was actually doing that when you called.  Mary and I are drafting a statement for a press conference tomorrow morning,” Elle told him.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you something. What’s this email they keep talking about?”

“I don’t know. Finn thinks it’s a competitor playing mind games. He thinks they’re trying to distract me from my work so they can beat me at some deal or something.”

“He has a good point. I was thinking the same thing.”

“Whoever it is, I’m going to destroy them as soon as I find them. If the business industry thought what I did to Chord and his company was tough, wait until this. No one lies about me and then suggests that the company is unstable. I’m responsible for thousands of employees, and I won’t let anyone hurt my family.”

“That’s my girl. Call me if you need anything. If not, I’ll be eagerly tuned in tomorrow and won’t be able to wait to hear about it over dinner.”

“Thanks for the support, Drake.”

His heart clinched as he heard the energy drain from her sweet voice. “You don’t need my support; you’re a force of nature all by yourself. But I’m happy to be here anytime you need me.”

As soon as he hung up, his fingers started to fly across the keyboard. Within minutes he was looking at the press release he found in one of the reporter’s inbox. With a few more clicks, he sat staring at an IP address that confirmed what the reporters had been saying—the press release had, in fact, come from Simpson Global. Worse, it had come from Elle’s personal email.