This turn of events was so absurd and reckless, Raven laughed. “Never heard of it. Which means it’s a shell company. Let me guess, was this a leveraged buy out?” She glanced at the woman in the corner whose pink lips quirked. Suspicion confirmed.
Even worse. Raven spun back to Tiffany. “Did they let you keep any part of the company?”
“Ten percent,” Tiffany answered, looking extremely self-satisfied.
Raven felt sick. Tiffany had led her family to slaughter and didn’t see the firing squad. “You don’t realize what you’ve done.”
“Uh, we just made bank.” Tiffany snapped her fingers, and her brothers cheered.
When the fools finished celebrating, Raven said, “You’ve sold your family’s fourth-generation business to a bunch of vampires.”
Tiffany’s face turned ghostly white. “What? Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no such thing as vampires.”
“Then you’re even more ignorant than I thought. Your new partners have financed the purchase of Paulson Diagnostics with a crapload of debt. That means they’re going to restructure, fire employees, slash benefits, and suck everything good and valuable out of this company before they off-load it in about five years.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” the woman in the corner said smugly.
“You don’t have to speak to her, Kiara,” Tiffany told the woman.
Ignoring Tiffany entirely, Raven spoke directly to the mysterious Kiara. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I had plenty of job offers to join private equity firms when I graduated from Wharton, but I chose to keep my soul instead and fix troubled companies, rather than destroy them. Tell me, how many of my people are you firing today?”
“There will be some minor staff adjustments,” Kiara admitted.
Raven huffed out a laugh. “Minor, my ass. You’ll gut our human capital and force those who remain to pick up the slack.”
Tiffany shook her head. “You’re wrong. Sun Co understands our needs far better than you do, and they know how to show their appreciation of our worth.”
Raven leaned in on her elbows. “They only wanted this company because of the changes I put in place that made it profitable. Let me guess, you told them about the new blood sugar monitoring device and gamification app?”
Tiffany looked at Raven as if she was an idiot. “Of course. It’s our newest product. They needed to know what we had coming.”
“And I bet you didn’t counter with a higher asking price when you told them about it.”
Tiffany shook her head stubbornly. “No.”
Raven felt the blow almost as if it were her own company. Two years of her vision, planning, and hard labor, all for some vampire capitalists to swoop in and profit from it. “Your partner knew exactly what they were buying and how much it was worth. They screwed you.”
“Tiff, what is she talking about?” Dumb’s voice filled with unease as comprehension dawned.
“Is that true?” Dense asked.
Dimwit looked at Raven and tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“Your sister gave away your family legacy,” Raven answered.
Tiffany rose to her feet, red-faced, and thrust a pointed finger toward the door. “Get out! Your services are no longer required.”
Raven stood up. “Oh, I’m leaving, all right. I can’t bear to watch you sink this ship.” She glanced at the smiling Kiara, who must have been loving this, knowing how much her company stood to profit because they’d taken advantage of a greedy and inexperienced woman-child and her moronic brothers. Raven couldn’t help tossing a little missile in Kiara’s direction, too. “Enjoy today’s victory. Sun Co, LLC, got a great deal. But remember this: You can buy companies and pretty much whatever you want, except integrity.” She spun on her heels and headed toward the conference room door.
Mari pushed back her chair and started to stand.
“Mari, stay where you are. You’re my assistant now,” Tiffany said.
Mari froze, mid-crouch. “I thought I’d make sure she packed all her things.”
Raven paused and shot a glance at Tiffany over her shoulder. “And that I don’t steal any corporate secrets.”
“Oh, right. Good idea. And keep her away from the second floor. The rest of the partners and management team are down there,” Tiffany said.
Back in Raven’s office, she packed her belongings into an empty box. “I’m sorry you have to work for Tiffany. If it’s any consolation, she probably won’t be around long. You’ll probably end up working for Kiara.”
“Oh, my God.”
“When I find a new job, I’ll hire you back,” Raven said.
Mari nearly cried. “Thank you.”
“But it won’t be until my non-compete agreement expires in twelve months,” Raven added. Her employment contract included a juicy compensation package if she was fired, but it also imposed a penalty that kept her out of the industry for a full year.
Mari’s eyes filled with panic. “Oh, God.”
Raven clasped Mari’s arms. “Hey, you’ll be all right. We’ll get through this.” She hugged Mari, then turned back to her desk to stow the last of her pictures and her aloe plant. “In the meantime, I need to know how I can get revenge.”
“We don’t even know who the new owner is,” Mari said.
“Shell companies are almost impossible to crack. That’s the whole point.”
“I could look through my new boss’s files. Maybe there’ll be a clue.” Mari grinned.
Raven’s chest warmed at her former assistant’s prying urges, but it was too dangerous. “I love you for even thinking that, but don’t. It’s the kind of thing that could get you fired.”
“What are you going to do?” Mari asked.
Good question. The possibilities were endless, but there was only one place she wanted to be right now. One place that could soothe the ever-growing hole in her chest. Raven set the box on her desk and logged into her computer for the last time. She keyed in the rental website for her family’s beach house and searched the schedule. Miraculously, it was available.
“I’m going home.”
Chapter 2
Fired. She’d been fired.
Raven knew it was the truth, yet after absorbing this terrible fact over the two-hour drive from Philadelphia to Heron Harbor, Delaware, it was still impossible to believe.
In her whole career, she’d never once been let go. Every job had been completed to perfection. She’d brought each struggling company back from the brink under her strong, executive leadership.
Except for this one.
The unfamiliar rejection burned like acid. She didn’t deserve this. Losers got fired. She was a certified winner.
Raven lifted her head from the steering wheel of her BMW 7 Series sedan and grabbed her purse, work tote, and the bags of snacks she’d purchased at her last fill up. Her sanctuary—her family’s blue, three-story Queen Anne beach house—awaited.
She exited the car and glanced back at its sleek, white body out of habit. After her sisters and her career, the vehicle was Raven’s favorite thing in the world. It was the automotive representation of herself, or at least what she aspired to be—refined, high performing, technologically advanced, and attentive to exacting detail. And damn if it didn’t catch the eye of every guy who walked past it. She noticed a tiny smudge on the door just below the handle. Tucking her hand inside her coat sleeve, she buffed out the spot, then stood back to admire her beautiful, pristine car. It probably wasn’t wise to love an object this much, but after her wardrobe and handbags, she didn’t have much else to splurge on. Other women her age had babies. She had a BMW.