Chapter 26: Party Pooper
"I believe that," Rick whispered, his voice deep, and dripping with raw authority, "This is my seat."
Under his intense gaze, Victoria swallowed hard. For a woman who controlled thousands of employees and millions of dollars, she suddenly felt incredibly small.
He was too close to her and she could fel his breath brush against her skin.
"Mr. Smith," Victoria started, her voice shaking just a fraction before she forced it steady. She refused to look overwhelmed, "We... we were not expecting you to arrive in person so soon."
Rick smirked, but he did not break eye contact.
He let his gaze drag slowly and deliberately down from her eyes, resting heavily on the deep cleavage exposed by her white blouse, before dragging his eyes back up to her face.
Victoria noticed this and she felt hers cheeks instantly flush a faint shade of pink.
’This boy! He is too shameless.’
"You can keep this chair for the time being," Rick finally pushed off her chair, and turned his back on her, walking calmly to the exact opposite end of the long mahogany table.
He pulled the large chair out, sat down heavily, and casually kicked his boots up onto the expensive polished wood, crossing his ankles.
He looked down the length of the table at the terrified board of directors.
"Let’s get down to business," Rick said, a cocky smile on his face.
The room was dead silent. Nobody dared to breathe too loudly.
Finally it was Victoria who stood back up. She adjusted her tight skirt, trying to regain her professional composure.
"Mr. Smith," Victoria said, keeping her tone completely neutral, "You have acquired exactly fifty percent of this hotel’s controlling shares. You hold veto power over every single decision this board makes."
"That is correct," Rick nodded lazily.
"We still need to go through the process and verify your claims," Victoria said as she took the papers Rick had thrown in front of her and handed it them to her assistant, "In the mean time..."
"We need to know your intentions," Victoria continued, placing her hands flat on the table. "Are you planning a hostile takeover? Are you looking to liquidate our assets? Do you intend to sell the hotel to a rival conglomerate?"
The executives leaned in, sweating profusely, waiting to hear if they were all about to lose their jobs, steady source of income and their fortunes.
Rick let out a dark, highly amused chuckle.
"Sell it?" Rick scoffed, shaking his head, "Why the fuck would I sell my own playground? I am not liquidating anything. And I am not selling a single share to anyone."
The board let out a collective, massive sigh of relief. Even Dolund wiped a tear of joy from his eye.
"I had money so I bought this thing," Rick said bluntly, looking around the room, "I haven’t really decided what I want to do with this place."
"But I know one thing..."
"I own half this building, which means I own half of you. So you guys better behave yourself."
"You will continue to run the day-to-day operations and make me money. But when I give an order, you will execute it immediately, without a single question."
"Understood," Victoria nodded, her business instincts taking over. If he wasn’t selling her hotel, they could work with this.
"If you are taking an active role, we will need to officially appoint you to the executive structure. What title will you be taking, Mr. Smith? Co-Chairman? Chief Executive Officer?"
Rick smirked. He dropped his boots from the table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Neither," Rick declared smoothly.
The executives frowned in confusion. Victoria tilted her head. "I don’t understand, sir. You need an official position."
Rick locked eyes with Victoria, his dark smirk widening into an absolutely wicked grin.
"Make the arrangements immediately, Victoria," Rick commanded, his voice echoing loudly in the quiet boardroom. "I am not taking an office. I am the new Honorary Executive Head Chef of the Peninsula Hotel."
"Huh???"
~~~~~
While Rick was on the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel, playing this little game of his with Victoria, down on the seventh floor in the The "Diamond Lotus" private dining room, a reunion was in full swing.
The walls were lined with dark, polished mahogany and genuine gold trim. A massive, heavy crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, completely lighting up the long marble dining table.
The room was totally soundproof, entirely cut off from the rest of the hotel, giving its wealthy occupants the freedom to be as loud and obnoxious as they wanted.
Right now, the room was filled with the loud laughter and crude jokes of the city’s young, spoiled elite.
A group of ten men and women sat around the massive table. They were surrounded by empty bottles of vintage champagne, half-eaten plates of world-class caviar, and expensive imported steaks.
Sitting right at the head of the table, commanding the absolute spotlight, was Roy.
He wore a custom-tailored navy suit, his hair styled to perfection with expensive gel. He had the kind of arrogant, punchable face that only came from a lifetime of inherited wealth and zero consequences.
He was holding a crystal glass of expensive liquor, looking incredibly smug as the rest of the table practically worshipped him.
"Roy, I heard your new tech startup just closed the first funding round," one of the guys at the table said, leaning forward eagerly like an obedient dog, "Ten million dollars, right?"
"Seventeen million, actually," Roy corrected lazily, taking a sip of his drink, "And just for five percent stakes."
"My father made a few calls to some venture capitalists. It was incredibly easy. I didn’t even have to pitch the idea myself. When your last name carries weight, the money just flows in."
"Bro, you are an absolute legend," another guy chimed in, raising his glass high. "We are all just living in your shadow."
"Ahhh! It is nothing like that. We are all friends," Roy put on a humble face and raised his glass towards the boy.
"And yet so humble," The boy however continued to praise Roy, "To Roy! The most successful guy in our entire batch!"
"To Roy!" the group cheered loudly in unison, clinking their expensive glasses together.
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