Page 29 of Filthy Hot Billionaire
And to think, I’d only briefly conversed with her.
Because I was here to set a precedent, I gave Rhett the kindness of knocking to announce my presence, but I didn’t wait to be invited in, rather opening the door and stepping inside.
Rhett was immediately on his feet, vacating the leather high-back armchair he’d been sitting in. “What are you doing here?”
Funny, I’d figured he would be behind his desk, laptop in front of him, putting in a last-ditch effort to find a way out of this hole he’d dug for himself. I certainly didn’t expect him to be wallowing in the sitting area, a half-empty glass of bourbon in his hand, but it seemed fitting for the situation.
I closed the door behind me and made my way to the highboy where Rhett kept his decanter of the good stuff.
“Have a seat,” I said firmly. “I’m just here to talk.”
I poured two fingers into a crystal tumbler, then took a sip as I turned to face Rhett.
“I take it you haven’t spoken to Kitty?” I asked him.
“Not in a few hours. Why?”
I took another small taste of the liquor as I held the man’s gaze. “You’re out of time, Rhett.”
Perhaps I had never imagined what Rhett Campbell’s response was going to be when this day finally came. If I had, I probably would’ve bet big money there would’ve been some yelling, maybe a few punches being thrown. I certainly wouldn’t have thought the man would heave a relieved exhale and return to his comfortable chair.
Because I wanted to enforce my position of power, I perched on the edge of his monstrosity of a desk and stared down at him. “I expect you to vacate your position in the Austin office by the end of next week.”
Rhett’s eyes rounded, disbelief creasing his aging face. “Vacate? You can’t do that. Delta June’s ismycompany.”
“What did you think was going to happen, Rhett? That I’d just take the company and work around you?” I shook my head. “You are officially terminated.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can and I have.” I took another swallow. “As of tomorrow, there’ll be some organizational changes going into effect.”
“You’re trashing my company,” he shouted.
There was the reaction I had expected.
“It’s no longer yours.” I smirked. “Trust me when I say Delta June’s is in far more capable hands than ever before.”
“What? Withyouat the helm?”
I held his stare but didn’t respond. No way would I tell him that I didn’t want Delta June’s but that I was taking it with the intention of growing it into what it deserved to be before I handed it off to Emily when she was ready for it. The auction house was Emily’s legacy. The least it deserved was to be managed well until she was capable of handling it on her own.
“Was it that easy, Rhett? To just throw it all away?” I asked, not bothering to hide my distaste for him.
“You never gave me another choice,” he seethed, his shoulders tensing.
“I’ve given you so many I lost count,” I said flatly. “You could’ve avoided it all if you’d spent a few years in a six-by-eight cell, doing your time.”
Or at the very least, he could’ve pretended as though he’d been willing to make that sacrifice. That would’ve gone a long way in garnering my respect. Instead, he’d stooped so low as to pretend he hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t been complicit in my mother’s scheme. And then he’d gone and offered up his only daughter as though she was a sacrificial lamb.
Rhett didn’t respond, but his jaw had hardened.
“You haven’t told her yet,” I said firmly, referring to the daughter he treated like an outsider.
His eyes narrowed, but there was a hint of remorse in his gaze. “She wouldn’t understand.”
I didn’t bother to tell him that Emily was capable of far more than they gave her credit for. They treated her like a child, as though she didn’t have a mind of her own, when in truth, she was one of the smartest women I knew. The least she deserved was a father who would be honest and open with her. Unfortunately, she’d never had that, and I suspected she never would.
“When do you plan on telling her?”
