Right where Wyatt said he’d be.
Dad’s soft snores filled the room, and I sighed. I reached for the door and closed it tightly, locking it from the inside out. That way, no one would burst in unexpectedly on him while he slept. Besides, the massive keyring I found in one of my desk drawers probably had a key that went to that room if I needed to get back in. Hopefully, at least.
As I sat back down at my desk, though, shock rolled over my body. I was stunned at Wyatt’s treatment of my father and even more shocked at the fact that he was willing to let my father sleep it off here. The idea of my dad driving in that state horrified me, and I knew I’d chew Mom’s ass off the second I got home. It was like raising two neglected, emotionally stunted toddlers, and I knew I’d be in for a knock-down, drag-out fight.
But for now, I relished in Wyatt’s secretive side as I reached for my original mug of coffee. Because apparently, there was more than met the eye with that tall, dark, and devilish man.
4
Wyatt
I escorted Mr. Blanchard into my office—wondering where Bryce and my lunch had disappeared to—but I knew by the purse of his lips, I’d get an earful regarding Bella’s father. Still, I felt for her. I’d witnessed my fair share of embarrassing parents of employees we had hired over the years, but none of them had been as difficult as that one. The idea that Bella was dealing with a drunk at home didn’t sit well with me.
I made my way to my desk. “So, what can I do for you, Mr. Blanchard?”
He sat in front of it. “I don’t believe I need to remind you that some of us on the board aren’t very happy with the changes this company has been making.”
Which is why we should be a family-run company. “I’m aware, yes.”
“Have you given any thought as to why we’re not happy?”
I eased myself into my chair. “Because the percentage of the company you own isn’t bringing in the kind of money it used to?”
He blinked. “Well, yes.”
I folded my hands in my lap. “I’m very well versed on why the board of investors, as a whole, isn’t happy with the way things are going with the company right now. But, I guarantee you that if I pulled monetary schematics from every major company in this country during a state of growth for them, you’d see a loss in capital returns because of the money being reinvested into the company. Which is something you signed off on when you originally joined the board.”
He leaned forward. “I know damn good and well what’s in that contract. What I don’t like is not getting a hard and fast date for when our earnings are going to start inching up due to all of this ‘growth.’”
I shrugged. “Will and Bryce have told me we need at least another quarter.”
“Another quarter? It’s already been two since we started the refinery project.”
I nodded. “You’re correct, but the refinery only just got up and running two months ago. Surely, you can understand why that would affect the numbers.”
He pointed at me. “Now, you listen here. You wouldn’t have a company if it were not for our financial backing. If everyone on the board dropped this company like a sack of potatoes, you guys would be—”
I crossed my leg over my knee. “Go on, be brave enough to finish that sentence.”
Mr. Blanchard drew in a deep breath. “All I’m trying to say is—”
“—that you want things to go back to the way they were when you were siphoning money off a company you don’t actively help with. Correct?”
“I don’t enjoy being taunted or belittled, Wyatt.”
I clicked my tongue. “And I don’t enjoy someone completely ignorant about this company strolling in unannounced without an appointment just to tell me how he thinks things should be run because it benefits the few people in this company who don’t do anything but cut checks, Miles.”
He shook his head. “Where’s Ryan? He’s the more level-headed one of the bunch.”
I stood to my feet. “Ryan is currently on paid leave for the next three months. Remember? He and Ellie have a new addition to their family.”
He blinked. “Who’s Ellie?”
I wanted to gouge the man’s eyes out. “You can see yourself out the same way you came. And the next time you wish to meet with me, schedule an appointment with Miss Bella downstairs. She has my full schedule right on her computer.”
He scoffed as he stood. “I knew this was a mistake. All of it. The refinery. Moving the headquarters to this blank slate of a town. What is there to even do around here during conferences?”
I slid my hands into my pockets. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you could come to the conferences and work now instead of bar hop.”
His voice dropped. “Don’t think I’m just here for my benefit. There are others on the board who aren’t too happy with this little arrangement.”
I shrugged. “And I knew I’d run into this issue when we were first tossing around plans. Rest assured, I have things set in motion to even the playing field and put everyone on the same page.
Once my family agrees to buy you fuckers out of this company for good.
Mr. Blanchard buttoned his suit jacket. “Then, I can’t wait for those plans to come to fruition. Times are tough right now.”
I snickered. “Times are tough for a man worth fifteen million? Somehow, I think not.”
He shot me a look. “Have a good rest of your day, Mr. Remington.”
I nodded. “And to you, Mr. Blanchard.”
I watched him like a hawk as he left my office, then I fell back into my chair. I knew this wouldn’t be the end of him, or the board, in general. It was why I hoped with all my might that the rest of the family would agree to buy out the board and make this company a family-owned operation. These men were killing me and bleeding us dry at the same time. They were vultures, all of them. And I wanted them gone.
For good, if I could finagle it.
Nevertheless, the anger wafting around inside my gut at the big-dick energy Miles fucking Blanchard just came in here with made me sick to my stomach. Who the hell did that man think he was, barging in here like that unannounced? If I knew I wouldn’t have received such backlash from Bryce, I would have seen him out as quickly as he had slipped through those doors.
And the audacity of him to speak to Miss Bella like that.
Classless little newt.
The fact that the board existed wasn’t the only issue, though. The broad-sweeping problem was the average age of our board. It made me so upset that there were people above us who owned the damn company who were our parents’ age—and some of them quite a bit older—who thought they knew better about this company and its future. The average age of all our employees combined was under forty. Yet, an investor board with combined ages of five times that figure were making massive, far-reaching determinations on what we should do with a company in the modern times they seemed to disconnected from. At the very least, I wished for us to have one or two younger members on the board to help the older farts see things in a more progressive manner.
But, I knew that was only a Band-Aid on the actual wound that needed healing.