If – no let’s get that right –whenAsher takes over as CEO at Wilkinson Holdings Corporation, with the two of us united, we will make a powerful, unstoppable team.
I gazed out of the tinted windows in the back of the car and noticed the fools of the city shoved from side to side as they weaved down the street in an attempt to get to their destination. Cars: that’s what the fuckers are for; keep you clean, dry and away from people who have not got a clue about personal space. I glanced down at my Rolex and noticed it was close to one pm. Sutton Wilkinson should’ve landed back in town now. Asher had informed me that they had a meeting with their father today. He’d hoped it was about retirement, as lately he’d been discussing the future and what he’d love to do. All things you couldn’t do while being tied to a business as a CEO. I couldn’t bloody wait to set the wheels in motion; after all, it affected me too.
Asher had been the big man and boasted that as the elder sibling, it meant the job would be his. Anyone he talked to about it agreed. But was that to build his ego? My gut thought so, people heard what they wanted to hear. I wasn’t certain, because Miss Wilkinson made an uneasiness appear in my chest that I wasn’t used to. I know that she’d chosen to learn her business responsibilities over in San Francisco, rather than here, which made me question the authority she held. Did she handle the power better than Asher did, I wondered? Possibly, as she didn’t have the constant battle or backlash from her family thrown back at her. Maybe if Asher had spent a moment to clarify a situation rather than bulldoze into it on first instincts, he’d make a better first impression at times. I don’t know, but the fact that an ocean and continent separated her from the daily grind of headquarters, maybe she’d grown and spread her wings far and wide.
I felt the car pull to a standstill before I exited, tapped the top of the car, and made my way over to enter The Muse Club. It was super trendy and located in a new, popular area of Piccadilly. It was the first club I’d purchased; it wouldn’t be the last. It was my place to escape, with its high-class business clientele and the looks of pure envy sent my way whenever I entered. I couldn’t help the way women fawned at me and men wanted to be me, the mere thought made my cock hard. I plied many clients with alcohol and a meal in the hopes of a deal being signed.
I couldn’t help that sex and business often went together, but it didn’t mean I had to be in the throes of it. The office in the back took me far away from the drama and was a place I could actually be alone, without the risk of being disturbed. A place to let myself be free. Thank fuck for that.
“Can I get you a drink, sir. Maybe your guest would like a top up?” the bartender, whose name tag informed me was Carl, questioned with a tray in his hand.
“Guest, Carl?” I asked with a raised brow as I ran a hand down my fitted suit jacket.
“Yes, Asher Wilkinson. He’s not in the best of moods,” he said with a smug grin across his face.
“Carl, I’ll say this once,” I leant in toward his face and whispered, “don’t ever disrespect a customer again. That’s your only warning.”
“I… I didn’t mean to,” Carl stuttered before he turned on his heel to escape.
“And Carl,” I shouted as he stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, the shudder visible in his form. “Bring some fruit infused water into the office.”
Let’s see what the fuck is going on now.
“Asher, what a wonderful surprise,” I bellowed as I flung the door open and noticed Asher sat in my chair, with his feet up on my desk. “Out of it, now.”
“Sorry,” he muttered, “it just didn’t go to plan.”
“I can tell that by the sorry state of your ass sitting in my relaxation space,” I snapped as I walked around the edge of the room, past my desk to my comfy high back chair. “You just going to sit there and wallow with that – my expensive whisky? Or start talking?”
A knock at the door disturbed us, my patience was already thin as my fingers began to tap against the high polished desk in front of me. “Enter.”
“I’ve your water, sir,” Carl addressed me after he opened the door as he balanced the tray in his hands. “Where would you like me to put it?”
“Over there.” I pointed to the cabinet nearest the door. “Don’t spill it,” I warned him.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hillside?” Carl asked as he tucked the now empty tray underneath his arm.
“No, that’s all, I don’t want to be disturbed.”
Carl left the room and shut the door behind him. Asher had found the bucket chair in the corner and slumped into it, letting his head hang back.
“Today, Asher, what happened?” I snapped. I wanted answers, and I didn’t want to wait for them. “Did old man Harrison Wilkinson hand over the reins to you?”
“No,” he uttered quietly as he leaned forward in his chair and let his palms run up and down his face. “He didn’t. He gave everything to Sutton.” His gaze focused on the ground and his jaw twitched as the anger radiated through his pores. He thought that he deserved everything after all he’d done for the company; Sutton had just got a free ride in his eyes.
“What about our plans?” I questioned, as I waited for his answer. “We had all this set-in motion for the next stage, Asher? Me and you, not your sister and I.”
“I know,” he mumbled under his breath.
“So, you better sort it, or should I look at taking my business to a competitor?” I stood up and walked over to where the water jug was and poured myself a glass. “I mean it, business comes first.”
Asher stood up and stormed out of my office with the blatant hint that I wouldn’t hesitate to end our friendship in terms of business. I mean, he made out that he was a strong powerful businessman, but really it was Sutton who’d excelled in that department. The way her father had put all his trust in her proved that.
I took a sip of the ice-cold water, enjoying the tang of the summer berries as they hit my tongue before I was disturbed by the loud noise of my phone. I pulled it out of my inner jacket pocket and couldn’t hold back the smirk that I felt pull at my lips.
Wilkinson Holdings Corporation
“Tate Hillside,” I answered as I headed back to my desk and took a perch on the edge as I looked out across the city.