Shadow Empire by Bri Blackwood
Broderick
“That’s all I had. This meeting is adjourned.”
I nodded at my father, secretly glad that the meeting was over. A quick glance at my watch proved that this conversation had gone on longer than planned, and I still had a lot of things that I needed to do before I left for the day. Including reviewing a set of documents that I had been waiting on for the last couple of days.
“Everything all right?”
I turned to Gage, and my eyes shifted from him to Damien, to Dad. “Yes, why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’ve been anywhere but here for the last ninety minutes.”
He was right and I knew it, and seeing Dad and Damien slightly nod, confirming his statement, was a punch to the gut. I hadn’t meant to appear disinterested in the meeting, but my mind had wandered to the package I was waiting for.
“I’ve been listening. I have a project that’s been taking over most of my thoughts that I wanted to finish.” That was an understatement, but I didn’t want to divulge too much of what I had planned. At least, not yet.
Dad gave me a small smile and said, “I look forward to hearing about it.”
I dipped my head in acknowledgment, happy to receive some positivity from him. This was an agreement that had been in the works for a while, and I couldn’t wait to unveil it.
“Damien, can you stay for a second?”
Our father’s question yanked the moment that we’d just had from me, and a slight scowl covered my face. I could feel Gage’s eyes burning into my flesh because I knew he knew what had just occurred. Because he too lived in Damien’s shadow.
I cleared my throat and stood at the same time that Gage did.
Damien looked from our father to me. “I’ll stop by your office on my way back up to mine. I have something to give you.”
“Okay?” It was more of a question than anything, but Damien didn’t elaborate. I quickly packed my briefcase before snatching it off the chair and walking over to the door, Gage following in my footsteps. I opened the door and turned slightly to give my older brother and father a quick wave before exiting the room.
“Does it still get to you?” Gage asked right after he closed the door behind him.
“What?”
“The fact that Damien is going to be the heir to this place?”
I shrugged, but he knew my feelings about that as this discussion had come up between us once before. It made sense that Damien would be next in line. He was the oldest and wanted the position. None of that helped sway the way I felt about the dynamics that were at play.
And Gage wasn’t letting it go. “If the tables were turned, how would you feel?”
I didn’t answer the question right away. Instead, I kept walking toward the elevator that would take me to my office. Thankfully, no one was around to hear the interrogation. I took a deep breath and looked at Gage. “I don’t necessarily mind that Damien is going to be the head of everything here. My goal is to further establish myself outside of Cross Industries so that when the time comes and Dad retires, everything that I’ve worked for won’t solely be attached to the family business.”
The soft sound of the elevator announcing its arrival dragged my attention away from what Gage and I were talking about. We stepped into the elevator and watched the doors close before Gage spoke.
“I’ve been thinking the same.”
“Does that explain why you’ve been super busy for the last few months? Are you going to your floor?”
I stepped forward and pressed the button for my floor and then glanced back at him. He nodded and I pressed the corresponding button before taking a step back.
I was fully expecting him not to answer my first question, but he said, “Sort of.”
Our conversation stopped after Gage’s response, as the elevator announced its arrival to my floor. “See you later,” I said as the doors opened.
“Later.”
I left the elevator, leaving the uncomfortable conversation behind, with my plan was still intact and a secret. It wasn’t something I wanted to reveal until I had everything set in place. If it worked out the way I planned, I would stand to earn millions in the short term and billions in the long term, which would be added to the money I already had.
I gave a polite smile to Jenna, my assistant. She was on the phone and placed it back on the receiver as I walked up to her desk. “Did any deliveries come for me?”
Jenna took a second to recall something. “Ah, yes! Sorry, things have been super busy this morning. I left it on your desk.”
“Perfect,” I said as I walked past her and into my office before closing the door. I could see the manila envelope sitting on my desk, begging me to open it and read its contents.
Yet I was hesitant. Could this be the big break I’d been working my entire career toward?
I checked my watch, wondering when Damien would arrive, as the file on my desk taunted me. I had a feeling that as soon as I opened it and tried to read the documents, I was going to be disturbed. Just as I sat down at my desk, my office phone rang.
“Broderick,” I said. I assumed that Jenna had sent the call through for good reason.
I stroked my chin once as the person on the other line continued to drone on. Questions about whether I should have answered the phone or not were answered the longer the conversation went on. Figuring I could make better use of my time, I opened the manila envelope, and scanned the first page of the contract. When I looked at my wristwatch and noticed that he’d taken up twenty minutes of my life that I’d never get back, I knew it was time to end this call.
“Josh, I have another meeting I need to prepare for. If you can just send any documents along to my assistant, I’ll be happy to go over them at my first opportunity.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Cross.”
“Likewise.”
I placed my phone down on the receiver once again and picked up my pen. I was determined to finish reading the contract that I removed from the manila folder, but the world was determined to not let that happen. I groaned when someone knocked on my office door. It seemed as if today I wouldn’t catch a break.
“Come in,” I said, not trying to hide the irritation that I felt in my voice. When the door opened, I found Damien standing on the other side. He said nothing as he closed the door, instead choosing to toss something onto my desk.
“What the hell is this?” I picked up the black object and examined it. It was a key with an intricate design, yet it was heavier than expected. The letter E was embossed on it in gold.
“Your key for getting into the basement of Elevate.”
I raised an eyebrow at his reply. “Why am I just finding out about this new security protocol?”
Damien crossed his arms over his chest. “Because we agreed that Kingston and I would find a security solution due to the latest threats we’ve received related to the club. Everyone who is a member of the sex club is getting one.”
He was right, he had volunteered to be the point person on the matter and agreed to come in with Gage if something needed to be discussed. But it was clear that he and Kingston had come to an agreement on this.
I flipped the key in my hand. “I like it. It’s inconspicuous if someone were to actually attach it to their keyring, but also still carries an air of…”
“Sophistication?”
I pointed at Damien briefly. “Yes. That’s the word I was looking for. Thanks for handling all of that.”
“Don’t thank me. My main objective was to protect Anais whenever we came to the club, everything else being protected just fell into place.”
I chuckled. “Okay.” I knew he meant every word.
“Are you going to be at the party?”
I raised an eyebrow and sat back in my chair. “Why would I miss my oldest brother’s engagement party without good reason? I might look like Gage, but I assure you we are not the same.”
Damien shook his head. Giving him a hard time was a highlight of my day. “Has he spoken to you?”
“Gage?”
Damien nodded.
So, he had noticed it too. “I’m not sure. I brought it up to him, but you know how he likes to brush things off.”
I knew what he was talking about. Gage was tightlipped about his absences from certain events.
“Well, if you find anything, let me know.”
“Will do. How is Anais?”
That caused a smile to form on Damien’s face. It didn’t take much to see the love that he had for his fiancée and how she’d changed him for the better.
“She’s doing well. I forgot it’s been a few weeks since you’ve seen her. Everything is great.”
“I’m glad. Looking forward to the party.”
“Since when do you enjoy socializing with the people Mom and Dad usually deal with? Let’s be honest, a significant portion of them will be there due to their connection to them instead of to Anais and me.”
“Since I’m going to have access to booze.”
“You’re full of shit. Especially with the stash we both know you have at your home.”
I chuckled, remembering the evening Damien came to ask me for advice about Anais. “I do love to entertain.”
“In more ways than one, I’m sure.”
“Just because you’re out of the game now because you’ve found love doesn’t mean the rest of us are. You were just in a similar situation as me not too long ago.”
“Touché. Anyway, the reason why I came down here was to give you that.” He gestured to the key on my desk. “I should probably end this social call and get back to work.”
I knew that was code for finishing everything he needed to do and get back to Anais as soon as possible. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
With a slight nod, Damien left as quickly as he came, and I was happy to get back to focusing on the work that was still on my desk. But Damien was right to call me out on my bullshit about going to his engagement party. Yes, I wanted to be there to support my older brother, but that wasn’t the only reason and it had nothing to do with the open bar I knew Mom and Dad had planned for the big celebration.
I read through the documents on my desk, combing through the file in hopes of presenting Dad with it at the latest by tomorrow morning. As I read through the papers in front of me, anger coursed through me. This deal was bullshit, and it was clear as day that Malcolm Harris was trying to pull one over on me.
Malcolm was heavily connected to everyone in New York City to the point where I was shocked that he was still alive due to him having a hand into so many pockets, whether it be local politicians or the different Mafia families. Never had I heard of him so blatantly attempting to fuck someone over until now, all over a deal that would have given him another revenue stream. Yet the redlining of the contract that I had given him showed that he expected to get way more money than I was willing to give. He dared to try to fuck me over? As if I wouldn’t review each change that he made to this document?
The buzzing of my phone didn’t annoy me nearly as much because I welcomed the reprieve. This would get solved and it would get done quickly, but I wanted the distraction. A glance at my phone told me that it was a text message.
Hunter: Yes, I’ll be at the party and Grace is coming too. Already RSVP’d for both of us.
Me:See you there.
I couldn’t help it, but I read over her name once again as a smirk formed on my face. This might be fun.