The Billionaire’s Tenacious Boss (The Maxfield Brothers Series Book 1) (14 page)

Slowly, Angie turned and left the office. When she reached the hall, she saw Stephen slipping out the front door.

“Great,” she muttered. Tears sprang into her eyes. “That’s just great.” Stephen had overheard Duncan bribing her to stick with his plan.

“Great.”

S
tephen had heard enough
. He knew that every word out of his father’s mouth was a lie. And now he knew where Angie stood. She was with Duncan, and that was fine. Stephen didn’t need her. Whatever he felt for her was long gone. Or rather, it would be long gone. Just as long as he won.

And he would win.

Immediately he called his manager. “Terrence. Stephen here. Can you email me all the job proposals you’ve gotten within the past month?”

“Mr. Maxfield? I’ve been trying to call you,” Terrence said frantically. “We’ve had some situations here that need your attention.”

“Yes, and I’ll get to them,” Stephen said dismissively. “The proposals, please. And you can outline your issues in the email as well.” Hanging up the phone, he leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes.

He needed some sleep. It had been a long few weeks, and now he needed to rest. There was no woman in his bed to distract him. It was only him. And his thoughts.

“
If you stay with me, I promise that you’ll have whatever job you want when I’m through.”

And she didn’t say no. She didn’t tell him to go to hell. She didn’t say anything because she had made her choice.

That was fine. They’d had their fun, and besides, she was a distraction. He needed to focus. He needed to focus on saving Duncan Enterprises.

And taking Duncan Maxfield down a few notches at the same time.

The next morning he was feeling energetic and focused. After showering in the large oval tub, he grabbed one of his clean white fluffy towers and started rubbing his hair vigorously. His phone was blowing up, but he waited until after his first coffee to check his messages.

One was from Gabe. Three from Angie. One from his manager, and one from Garret. He called Garret back first.

“Maxfield, I’ve got some news for you, but you did not hear this from me,” he said.

Stephen paused. “And I’m supposed to trust you?” he asked quietly.

“Look, I get that you’re not happy. Business is business, and you should know that better than anyone. But I feel bad, so this is my way of helping you out. But in return, you have to keep this from Duncan. Tell him you got the deal on your own.”

“Deal?” Stephen straightened and tightened the towel around his waist. “Go on.”

“Alliance Incorporated is looking for a builder. They’ve got some condos they want built on a previously privately owned bay in California. Alliance has put their feelers out for a lot of different companies, and one of them is Duncan Enterprises. Call them before they call Duncan, and you might be able to wedge your way in. And since it’s Alliance, Duncan won’t be able to turn it down without some nasty repercussions. One of your board members is good friends with the CEO.”

“Damn,” Stephen whispered. It was like striking gold. Duncan may want the company to go down the toilet, but he wanted it to happen on his terms. He would never let the board take the reins and remove him. Turning down Alliance would give them the power to do that. “Garret, I could kiss you!”

“Yeah, how about you don’t do that, and we’ll call it square. Do you have a pen and paper?”

Stephen reached over and grabbed the notepad that rested on the nightstand. Jotting down the number, he immediately hung up and called the company.

Garret was right. Not only were they interested, but they wanted to meet today. And they were more than happy to meet with Stephen Maxfield, Duncan’s representative.

Grinning like the devil himself, Stephen dropped his towel and grabbed his suit. Maybe things were going to go his way after all.

* * *

S
tephen met
Jeffrey Allister at the Alliance office in San Diego. The traffic had been a nightmare, but he was in good spirits. This could be a huge break for them.

His phone continued to ring. Angie had left two voicemails now, but he’d immediately deleted them. He didn’t need or want to hear her try to explain herself. Gabe left a voicemail, but it was simple, work-related stuff. Stephen had gone through the list that his manager had sent, but there were no jobs being bid at Maxfield Construction that Duncan Enterprises would be able to accept. There was quite a bit riding on this one job.

Alliance Incorporated’s office was impressive. With nothing but reflective glass siding, every office had a view of the ocean. This wasn’t any office block. This was a happening space that announced that Alliance Incorporated had arrived and was ready to spend some money.

Allister rose from his desk to greet Stephen with an outstretched hand. “Stephen Maxfield. I’ve heard some great things about Maxfield Construction, but I had no idea I’d meet you in Duncan Enterprises’ business. The rumors were circling that you wouldn’t touch your father’s business with a fifty-foot pole.”

Stephen’s eyes slid to the other man in the room, and a jolt of recognition passed through him. “I’d say don’t believe everything you hear, but at one time, you would have been right. Still, times change,” he said as he shook the man’s hand.

“Stephen, this is Mark Fine. I believe he used to work for Duncan Enterprises,” Allister said as he sat down. Mark rose from his chair and shook Stephen’s hand. There was a glitter of malice in his eyes.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Maxfield,” he said in a cold voice.

Stephen had fired Mark over the comment he’d made about Angie. What the hell was he doing here? “You too, Mark,” he said evenly.

“Fine represents Spencer Builders. You both called me this morning, and I figured I’d meet with you both together to save some time. Fine is aware that I would like Duncan Enterprises on this job, but he’s insisted that Spencer Builders is the better choice. I’m aware that Duncan’s has had some issues lately, so I’d like to hear both sides.”

Stephen took a deep breath to settle his nerves as he sat down. How Mark had gotten another job so quickly was beyond him, but that wasn’t his biggest problem. Mark could easily blow this deal for him.

Well, Stephen reckoned, maybe not easily. All Stephen had to do was keep it cool. Allister said Alliance wanted Duncan Enterprises. They would have to make sure that the ball remained in his court.

“What are the rumors saying about Duncan Enterprises?” he asked as he tried to keep his voice light.

“That he wants to sell, and the only thing holding him back are the board members,” Allister said as he leaned back.

“That’s certainly not a rumor. It’s truth,’ Stephen countered easily. “And it’s one of the reasons that I’ve gotten involved. The construction arm of Duncan Enterprises is still worth millions of dollars, and in my opinion, it’s worth keeping. You may not be aware of this, but we were awarded a job with Snyder Development, and it’s enough to make the board members reconsider.”

“Actually, when I left, I remember that most of the board members weren’t quite convinced,” Fine said quickly. “There are other issues going on.”

Ignoring him, Stephen only focused on Allister. “And even if Duncan Enterprises did sell, we would not abandon our current projects. Contracts would still be honored, and Duncan Enterprises would oversee all works with the same integrity that we’ve always had.”

“This is a five-year project,” Allister pointed out. “If Duncan Enterprises sold next month, year or even as late as three years from now, your contracts would suffer. We’ve worked with companies that changed hands, and the work simply wasn’t stellar.”

“Duncan Enterprises will not be like that,” Stephen insisted.

Fine turned his head and smiled. “But you don’t know that. Neither you or your brothers are slated to take over the company. Duncan Maxfield isn’t doing so well. Both physically and mentally.”

“What do you mean? Who is slated to take over?” Allister asked quickly.

“Angela Lopez,” Stephen jumped in. “And she earned her position. Duncan Enterprises will be in good hands because my father believed that hard work, not simply a last name or accident of birth, was what made you go places. Now Gabe has worked hard, but Ms. Lopez has earned her spot as Senior VP.”

“And you should know,” Fine said in a low voice. “You are sleeping with her.”

“Didn’t I fire you for sexual harassment?” Stephen snapped.

“Sure, but that doesn’t make what I’m about to say now any less true. Ms. Lopez did get her job before you came back, and the rumors were rampant that she gave Duncan some extra attention to get the Senior VP slot. But even if that weren’t true, Duncan has one foot in the grave and the other buried under a pile of pills and instability. He’s no longer making decisions for the company. He wants to watch it burn, and I assure you, Mr. Allister, he’ll do it anyway he can.”

“That’s not true,” Stephen spat as he straightened.

“If he can’t convince the members to sell, he’ll fuck up his contracts and force the members to jump ship. Once they sell, he’ll sell. And by that time, he’ll sell for pennies,” Fine said triumphantly.

“I’m not going to let that happen,” Stephen said desperately. “Gabe, Nathan and I are standing united against my father, and we still carry a lot of weight.”

“Gabe is standing united? I heard he’d rather see Angela Lopez go down with the ship than take over the reins of a successful business. Apparently if he can’t have it, no one can,” Fine said with a shrug.

“Stephen, is this true?” Allister demanded.

“I fired him,” Stephen said as he stood. “You can’t possibly believe anything that comes out of his mouth!”

“Then deny it,” Fine said as he rose. “Except that you can’t. Duncan wants to see that company burn, and if Gabe wanted to stop it, he’d be here himself. But he’s not. It’s only you, Stephen Maxfield. And your word is shit these days. Tell me, how is Ms. Lopez in bed? Does she wish you were your father? Is she banging you on the orders of your father to help keep you in line?”

Stephen saw red. Without even thinking, he reared back and punched Fine in the face. “You piece of shit!”

“Maxfield!” Allister said as he jumped up. “That’s enough! You’re both done.”

His words penetrated through Stephen’s rage, and Stephen’s shoulders slumped. Fine chuckled softly. He was never in it for the contract. He was only there to make sure that Stephen didn’t win.

And he’d succeeded.

Throwing one last look of hatred at Fine, Stephen stormed out. He’d lost. And now Duncan Enterprises was going to pay the price.

* * *

A
ngie was going
out of her mind with worry. Stephen wasn’t anywhere to be found. She’d driven to his hotel on her lunch-break only to find him gone. And she couldn’t focus on anything. Throwing aside her pride, she knocked on Gabe’s door.

He looked up in surprise and waved her in. Softly closing the door behind them so they wouldn’t be disturbed, she took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry to bother you. I’m worried about your brother,” she said in a shaky voice.

Gabe put down his pen and leaned back in his chair. “Which one?” he said, with raised eyebrows.

“Do you really not know?” she asked in an incredulous voice.

“No. Of course, I know. I wanted to hear it from your mouth,” he said with a knowing smile.

He was going to be a dick about it. She should have known. “Stephen,” she said. “I’m worried about Stephen. I can’t get a hold of him, and I can’t find him.”

“Did you check his hotel?” he asked softly.

“Of course I did,” she snapped, and she immediately reddened. She’d admitted to knowing where Stephen was spending his nights.

Gabe rose from his chair and walked around the desk to lean casually against it. “You surprise me, Ms. Lopez. In all the years that I’ve known you, you’ve risen above all the rumors and put your job first. But when Stephen comes along, you make the biggest mistake of your career. Why is that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The thing is, Stephen isn’t like this. I mean sure, he likes women. He’s been single for a while now, and if you knew what he was like before he got married, it would make you cringe. But he’s always been about control. In fact, he’s more like Duncan than he would like to admit. So for him to be with you, the Senior VP of a company he despises, is almost unbelievable.”