Wrapped Up: A Triple Threat Sports Romance (12 page)

Brooke

My big meeting, the one I had told Jake about that morning before leaving his house, was with the board. My father had been talking with them about my decision to marry to fulfill the conditions for him to surrender the company to me, and they called a meeting to discuss the process and make sure I fully understood the condition as it had been approved by the board.

Of course, the board meeting was first thing in the morning. As soon as I arrived, I met Hollie, my legal representation for this process. I had called her on the way to the office and explained to her that the board had sprung a meeting on me at the last minute, and that I was more than a little concerned that they were going to try to weasel me out of the company, even with the pending marriage that would have otherwise met the requirements they had set before me.

“You ready?” she asked as I walked through the glass doors at the ground floor of my father’s building. She carried a briefcase and wore a black suit with a white blouse underneath. She looked severe and powerful.

“I hope I am,” I replied. We didn’t even greet each other. We just teamed up immediately and took the elevator up to the board room, entering side by side to take our seats at one end of the table.

I was surprised to see my father sitting at the other end of the table. He rarely ventured into the office, but I figured he felt he had enough reason to be there to actually put some effort into his position.

“Miss Perry, so nice to see you,” my father said, almost sarcastically, as he stood to greet us.

“You, too, Mr. Scott. I hope you all understand the reason I am here today. My client, your daughter, the future head of this company, has asked me to be present during any proceedings concerning her promotion to the retired CEO’s former position, which is currently open,” Hollie explained, reminding the board of their precarious position as a corporation operating without a head.

“That’s just a technicality,” one of the smug board members commented, to the amusement of the others. The room filled with the uneasy laughter of the executives.

“It is a technicality, but it is one that may, in fact, bind some of the hands in the room if anyone decides to get greedy,” Hollie continued.

“Thank you, Miss Perry. Now, if we could get down to business, I have a lunch date, and I would like to be out of here in time,” protested my father.

“Yes, please,” I said. “I do have a company to run.”

“Great. Now that we’ve agreed upon a plan for today, please turn your attention to the packets in front of you on the table,” my father instructed us.

We each had a packet of papers stapled together. I flipped through and recognized it as the official procedure my father was going to use for turning the company over into my name after his retirement.

Well, he had already retired five years ago, so I wondered why he had taken so long to mention the marriage stipulation. Scott Enterprises had been running without a legitimate CEO for five whole years. It had also occurred to me that there might have been laws and regulations against letting the company run blindly like that for so long. I had taken for granted, of course, that his legal department had already handled all of that.

Thinking about it again, I pulled out a pen and jotted my concern down on the front page of the packet to show Hollie later. It would have been something to consider using against him to get the company without meeting any arbitrary conditions to humor the old man.

I loved my father. I really did. Despite some of the problems we’d had when I was growing up, I knew that he loved me. He had his own special ways of showing it, but he was a busy man, a driven, ambitious man. I may have been number one in his life, but that often meant having to settle for a number two spot behind his work, because I understood that what he was doing was for me. Eventually.

Taking over behind him at the company he had built, however, threatened to drive us apart, and it had. We hadn’t always been the closest family, certainly. There was no denying that simple fact. But working together, I realized that the company had, to some extent, actually replaced me as his number one priority. By the time I rose to the top of the ladder, he was no longer running the company for me. He had begun running it for himself at some point, working for the sake of seeing how far he could take the company.

While I continued to admire his ambition, I had begun growing bitter over the fact that I was an afterthought compared to his work. Things were really starting to fall apart between us now that it was time for him to turn the company over to me and he was doing everything in his power to keep that from happening.

It was time, I thought, to start finding ways to attack his credibility and get around his ridiculous stipulations. But that was before he even told me what was in the packet we were looking at. What I thought I understood about the transition was not true, and there was another reason why he wanted me to marry, beyond just presenting a stable and responsible image of myself to the board.

“This document details the transition process by which my daughter, Brooke Scott, will inherit the company once she is married, and not before. If you will turn to page three, the third paragraph on that page details the way in which ownership will transfer over. I will give everyone a moment to read the paragraph before I paraphrase,” my father continued.

That was when I realized why I needed to be married. The company wasn’t really transferring to me.

“Basically what this is saying,” my father explained after giving us a moment to read, “is that the majority of Brooke’s share of the company will actually transfer over to her husband. If things go the way we are planning currently, the company will be transferring to Jake Hall, which is not a bad choice, actually. He will own more of the company than Brooke, but Brooke will be the new CEO. The position will automatically transfer to her unless she decides to forfeit the position and allow the board to vote in a new CEO.”

I looked at Hollie, who seemed to be rereading the passage quietly to make sure that was, in fact, what it said. I wanted her to speak up and tell them that they couldn’t do that. I wanted her to tell my father he was full of shit, but she didn’t say anything.

Instead, I said something. “Why didn’t you explain this to me at first? Is it because you decided to add it once you realized I was actually going to go through with a marriage? Is this because you don’t want me to have the company? And if that’s the case, why the hell not? I thought the plan from the beginning was to build a corporate empire that I would eventually inherit once you stepped down. You’ve been down for the past five years, and I’ve been here every day, running this company by myself while the rest of the board shows up for the occasional meeting.” My words escaped my mouth before I realized what I was saying. All of my thoughts were simply spilling out onto the table in front of my father and everyone.

Hollie’s firm hand rested on my shoulder. “That’s enough for now. We are going to look over your options to see if there is anything we can do to combat this ridiculous condition. In the meantime, stall your wedding with Jake. Do not get married until this has been sorted out,” she advised me in front of the room, basically letting them know she was going to challenge the board.

“Dear, I’m sorry. These stipulations were put into place when the board was first convened. We believed it necessary, as I mentioned before, to prove that you were responsible and stable enough to run the company. I never imagined that you would be stable and responsible enough on your own, as you are today, sitting here before us with your own legal counsel because you know how important this meeting is. However, at this time, the board has been reluctant to change the stipulation. They still think it is somewhat necessary, and that if you are as responsible as you seem to be, you will continue to play by the rules so that you will be able to change them yourself when the time comes,” my father explained.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My father, who had always raised and treated me as an equal, had actually looked at me as inferior at one point in my life. And as I grew up, under his careful watch, to be as strong and independent as he was, he never once thought to change that condition in his company’s charter.

“This is bullshit,” I declared. “I’m not buying it.”

“That’s enough for now,” Hollie cautioned me.

“Damn right it’s enough. I’m not going to settle for this bullshit.” I stood up to leave. Grumbles of disapproval made their way through the room as board members shifted uncomfortably in their chairs and cleared their throats, looking for my father to restore order to the meeting.

My father attempted to defend his position. “Brooke, dear, I’m sorry, but that’s the way it’s going to have to be.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way. It never did. I’m still not convinced you didn’t go behind my back and have this condition changed once you realized I was going to go through with the wedding you requested. But don’t worry, I’m going to challenge you one way or another. This is not going to happen. When you turn Scott Enterprises over to me, you’re turning the company over to me completely, not to my husband, who is not now and has never been part of this company. I am especially not going to stand by and watch you hand the company over to someone from the outside after I’ve been working for you for the past ten years, running it on my own for the past five while you pretended to retire.”

“No, Brooke. Come on,” Hollie protested, standing up to lead me out of the board room. “Don’t say anything else. We’ll figure out another way,” she said as we left the room.

I was shaking by the time we made it out into the hallway.

“Come on, let’s go talk about it over some coffee,” Hollie said, taking me by the hand and leading me to the elevator. We went to the ground floor and walked down to the coffee shop a couple of blocks from the office building.

“I know what I’m going to do,” I told her.

“Oh God, what?” Hollie asked in a cautious tone that told me she dreaded my answer.

“Remember the prenup? I want to add an amendment to it that once we divorce, Jake’s shares in the company will be transferred to me,” I said.

Hollie just laughed. “That was what I was going to suggest as the easiest way to remedy this situation.”

“Yeah, but there’s so much more I want to do,” I told her.

“Like what?”

“Like, let me think on it and I’ll get back to you. My father’s lack of faith in me really hurts, and I want to make him pay for it.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Hollie warned me.

“I know, but I’ll find a way to make him pay, and I will let you know what I figure out to do to him. Then you can let me know if it’s something we can do.” I closed my eyes and took a few slow breaths to calm myself.

“Sounds like a plan, but in the meantime, let’s enjoy some coffee. Take the rest of the day off, and I’m going to put that amendment into the prenup. But this means you’re going to have to get him to sign it,” she reminded me.

“I know.” I sighed. It also meant that we were going to have to go through with the divorce. I wondered if I would be able to convince him to do it just for show until we could get all of our legal nonsense squared away and remarry.

I wondered if Hollie would have gone for putting that into the prenup as well.

Jake

Can we meet somewhere for lunch?

Sure, like where?

There’s a little diner a couple of blocks from the office. I’ll send you the address.

Apparently, Brooke’s meeting that morning hadn’t gone well. She texted me mid-morning asking to meet for lunch. I had this unshakable feeling that it had something to do with our arrangement, the marriage we were staging for her father so she could get the company. That was a pretty big deal, and as we got closer to the date we had chosen for the wedding, it seemed to reach the forefront of our minds.

I met her at the small diner near her father’s office building. It was a quaint, greasy little place full of suits from all the nearby offices. There were also a few folks from the street itself coming and going, grabbing small cups of drinks or soup.

Brooke had taken a seat by the window looking out onto the street. I sat down with her.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

She just shook her head and let out a long, exasperated breath.

“Brooke, is it the message?” I probed.

“Yeah. And it’s not good. Remember when I mentioned doing a prenuptial agreement?” she asked me.

“I remember, but I thought we had moved beyond that agreement.”

“Well, it didn’t feel necessary anymore, and I was honestly just going to let it slide,” she admitted, letting her voice trail off.

“I feel like there’s a
but
in here somewhere,” I said, urging her to continue talking.

“We’re going to have to sign a prenup because my father continues to add stipulations to the marriage condition. If I could prove that it was added recently, after our initial conversation, I wouldn’t be worried about any of it anymore. My lawyer would be able to take him and the board down for it, and I would have the company all to myself,” she explained without actually telling me anything of what was bothering her.

“Okay, what’s the new condition he’s put on you?”

“You already know I can’t get the company unless we get married. Now, I won’t even really get the company. My shares will actually be split between us, between you and me, except they won’t be split evenly. I will be handed the position of CEO, which is pretty much where I am right now in all but title. But you will be given the majority ownership of the company, technically putting you above me and definitely putting most of
my
company in your hands,” she explained fully.

“So what does that mean for us on the prenup?” I asked. I sat back, letting what she’d just told me about the shares sink in.

“I’m including an amendment to state that once we divorce, your shares transfer to me,” she said nonchalantly, like she expected me to just go along with her without considering what my ownership status meant for
me
.

“I don’t know, Brooke,” I said.

“What do you mean you don’t know, Jake? There’s nothing to know. There’s nothing to consider. The company is mine, and I’m not going to get married if I have to hand my ownership over to someone else, especially someone who has never worked for the company, especially after I’ve worked there on my own as the fucking CEO for the last five years while my father pretended he was retiring without giving up any of his authority or his position.” She was raising her voice steadily as she talked, drawing attention to our table.

“Look, hear me out, Brooke,” I said, lowering my voice to let her know there was no reason for us to be shouting.

“Yeah, I’m listening,” she said in a confrontational tone.

“Once I leave the game, I could be a good face for your company. I don’t want to step on your toes. It’s yours to run. I won’t use my majority ownership to overrule you on anything, but I’m not going to give up my ownership either. I think having someone like me by your side will help. Besides, I think your father’s company will be a good move for me once I get off the field,” I explained.

I didn’t tell her that I was probably going to have to get out of the league once I left the team because of the guys in the network. I still wasn’t completely sure that my injury wasn’t actually related to backing away from the guys to pursue her plan for marriage. I wasn’t sure how to approach that topic with her. So far, the only people who knew about the network were the people involved with it, and that was how it really needed to stay. Unless I decided to tell Brooke, of course.

“So now you’re looking out for yourself,” she said, nodding. “Just like everybody else, you think you can fuck me over whenever you feel like it just because you stand to benefit. You know, I don’t have to do this. I want the company, but I want the whole company. I don’t want to get married so my father will think I’m worthy of inheriting what’s already mine just to turn it over to my husband.” She shook her head.

“Just think about it, Brooke. Have your lawyer draw up the prenup, and let’s talk about it a little more before we sign anything,” I said calmly, trying to calm her down.

“No. No, we’re not going to sign anything. I’m just going to call it off and let my father know I don’t want any part in his bullshit. He can hand the company over to someone else if that’s what he wants to do, but I’m not going to play this little game with him. Or with you. I’ll get my stuff and get out of the house,” she said, getting up from the table.

“Whoa, wait a minute, Brooke,” I said, following her out to the sidewalk.

“No, don’t
wait a minute
me, Jake. You came into this just to stage our marriage because you needed to show your boss that you could maintain a steady relationship with someone. I needed someone to marry me so I could inherit the company. This wasn’t supposed to be a plan for when you’re a used-up former pro athlete. It was supposed to be a simple staged wedding to make everyone happy. Once they were all pleased, we were supposed to get a divorce, and that was that. It would all be over, and we would just go our separate ways.” Tears were streaming down her face while she rambled.

“Brooke, baby,” I said, reaching to put my arms around her.

She pulled away and put her hands up. “Don’t
baby
me, Jake. No. This is over. No marriage. No fake wedding and staged divorce to set everything right. No more sex to confuse the issue. No more pretending that we’re trying to pick up where we left off in high school so that we don’t feel guilty for using each other like this. No. No more. I’m sorry, Jake.” She put her hands down and looked at me with a pitiful, hurt look in her eyes.

“Brooke, don’t do anything rash,” I insisted. “I’ll take the rest of the day off. We can sit down with your father, with your lawyer, my lawyer, whoever we need to consult to fix this.” If she turned around to walk away, I knew I stood to lose so much more than just the business opportunity of owning part of her father’s company.

Part of me was tempted just to go ahead and agree to the new terms of the nonexistent prenuptial agreement. But I couldn’t do that. There was no way I could do that. Agreeing to the prenup meant that I was agreeing once again to divorcing her once everything was settled for both of us. I wasn’t about to do that. I was going to try to turn our staged relationship into something real.

“I’m sorry, Jake. We tried.” She turned around and started to walk away, leaving me in the middle of the busy sidewalk, staring after her as she walked off, for good this time.

I shook my head and turned to leave. I wasn’t going to stand there and watch after her. She wasn’t going to make a fool out of me. I was going to keep it together, because it was just a staged relationship anyway. I was going to go find someone to help me forget her, just like I always did, and I was going to return to doing things my way.

I should have paid someone to pretend to be my girlfriend. I didn’t have to put myself through all the shit I had with Brooke, all the back and forth and uncertainty. I wondered if it had been a business proposal from day one or just an excuse to get me to agree to marry her.

Her father had certainly seemed to regard her motives with suspicion.

No matter what I told myself or what I tried to think, I couldn’t convince myself to think less of her. I couldn’t convince myself that I felt any differently than I did. I was not happy to see this relationship end. I was actually pretty upset, surprisingly enough. I had been completely prepared to go along with her arrangement for our marriage and divorce. I was going to leave our fake marriage and find someone to take me back to my old life.

What the hell had happened along the way? Why was I feeling so horrible? Why did I want to call her and ask her to reconsider? Why was I actually considering signing off to agree to a divorce just so she could keep ownership of her father’s company? So many questions rattled around in my head. I didn’t have any answers for any of them.

I got back in my car and had my driver take me to the house. I wasn’t going to return to the office after that conversation. I was going to go home and drink it off. In fact, I was going to do better than that. I was going to get the guys together and go out drinking with them.

The three of us out at the bar or at a club always led to good times. I’d show her. Or rather, the tabloids would show her in the morning. She’d see me with another girl on my arm, a girl I would take home.

Hell, if she came back that night or in the morning to get her things, she’d probably run into the other girl. That promised to be an entertaining situation. I could just imagine Brooke coming in all high and mighty from deciding to take the higher ground and not accept her full position at her father’s company, just to find someone I had brought home with me from the club.

We could even be waiting for her in her bed. There was so much I could do to get back at her, and it would have been beautiful just to enjoy myself with another woman, a woman who wouldn’t make me feel guilty for sleeping with her multiple times, a woman who would be willing to do everything I wanted to do to her in one night.

The thought started to disgust me. If I had been honest with myself, I would have known I didn’t want another woman. I only wanted Brooke. Why in the hell was she thinking about not getting married? She was going from sacrificing some of her ownership to letting go of all of it by not getting married!

I needed a drink, if for no other reason than to just silence my thoughts for a little while.