“C’mon,” Kaitlynn teased. “I’ve seen how you react whenever Maximus is mentioned in the news or on social media. You’ve got a crush on him,” she said in a singsongy tone.
“Do not,” Tahlia said, spinning around to face her.
“Preach to the choir because I’m not listening.” She covered her ears with her hands.
“Even if I did,” Tahlia responded with her hands on her hips, “I doubt Maximus would be interested in a peon like me.”
“I beg to differ. You’re in a position of power now, and Maximus will have no choice but to stand up and take notice of you.”
“Because of the shares I have?”
“You’re the deciding vote,” Kaitlynn responded. “He’ll want to keep you close. The question is how close will you let him get?”
Tahlia smiled at Kaitlynn’s teasing tone. She’d wanted Maximus to see her, but she would rather it was because he genuinely found her interesting, not because he thought she was a pawn he could use. But perhaps if they spent some time together he’d see her as something more than a vote in his favor. Only time would tell just what her relationship with Maximus would be.
* * *
“This is stunning news, Max,” his best friend, Griffin Cooper, stated when they met up on Sunday at the Los Angeles Country Club. Now seated in the main dining room, they were sharing breakfast over a cup of coffee. They’d forgone their weekly racquetball session to just sit and talk.
“You’re telling me,” Maximus replied. “I knew my father was a cunning liar, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined he would cut me out of what’s rightfully mine.”
“You’ve worked your butt off for Knight Shipping,” Griffin concurred. “It’s not fair.”
“No, it isn’t.” Maximus seethed in his seat. He’d been awake for nearly half the night mulling the situation over, remembering everything he’d ever done to win his father’s favor. The countless times he’d made sure to excel in school, to be the best in sports, to get into Harvard Business School, and still it was never quite enough. His father always pushed and pushed him. And for what? So in the end he could share running Knight Shipping with Lucius? And Tahlia Armstrong? Where in the heck had she come from?
“Why do you think he did it?”
“At first, I was so sucker punched, I couldn’t think of a single reason why. And then it came to me.”
“What came to you? Don’t leave me in suspense.”
“Tahlia may think my father’s motives were altruistic in giving her those shares. And maybe they were.” Maximus’s lips twisted in a cynical smile. “But I suspect the old man wanted to ensure that I never took Knight Shipping public.”
Griffin’s expression grew still, and he became serious. “Do you really think he went that far?”
Maximus shrugged.
“What are you going to do?” Griffin inquired. “Contest it? I would imagine your father made the will iron-clad.” Griffin was an attorney at a well-known law firm in Los Angeles.
Maximus nodded. “Robert said as much.”
“So? Do you think Lucius will sign over his shares?”
“It’s doubtful,” Maximus responded. Despite the fact that Lucius hadn’t asked for or even wanted the inheritance, Maximus doubted he’d walk away from it. His older brother struck him as the proud type. He’d keep the shares, just to show Maximus that he could and to prove to himself that he could run it. He’d done his research, and Lucius hadn’t become a corporate raider by chance. Lucius had obtained an MBA before investing in his first business venture, an up-and-coming technology firm. The gamble paid off, and he’d made his first million before he was thirty.
Unlike Maximus, who’d been groomed since he was young that one day he’d take over the company Arthur had started with his mother Charlotte’s help. Oh, yes, Maximus had learned years ago that his father had married into money and had used her family’s money to start Knight Shipping. No doubt, that was why he’d stayed married to her because he didn’t want to lose his empire. Yet, he continued his affair with Jocelyn Turner, the woman he’d truly loved.
It burned in Maximus’s craw.
“Max?” Griffin interrupted his thoughts. “What are you thinking? I can see your mind spinning a mile a minute. Are you thinking about the overseas deal and how you’re going to salvage it?”
Knight Shipping had been offered lucrative contracts to transport electrical machinery and luxury vehicles, but they needed capital to expand, especially if Knight Shipping wanted to compete with the other cargo and shipping companies in the Port of Los Angeles marketplace.
“I am thinking about it. But there’s no getting around Lucius,” Maximus responded, “at least for the moment. I’ll have to choose a different route.”
Griffin studied him, trying to read his next move. “The girl?”
“Bingo.” Maximus smiled devilishly.
“How?”
“Get her on my side. Convince her to see things my way.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” Griffin inquired, sipping his coffee.
Maximus shrugged. “It’s quite easy. Seduce her.”
Griffin choked on his beverage. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Tahlia Armstrong likes me,” Maximus replied. “I sensed it yesterday when she stayed behind for dinner.”
“Your mother dined with the woman who’d been carrying on an affair with her husband for years?” Griffin was aghast.
“Trust me, it didn’t last long. But it was Tahlia’s idea. From what I gather, my father intended her to be the peacekeeper between Lucius and me. Last night was her first attempt, which although a bust gave me just the ammunition I need to get out of this quagmire my father has left us in. I mean really, Griff, he gave both of us forty-nine percent? What was he thinking?”
“He wasn’t. He felt guilty for keeping Lucius in the dark about his true identity. This was his way of making amends.”
“At my expense,” Max said hotly. “He could have given Lucius money, baubles, anything—even a smaller percentage of the company. Why did he have to give him an equal share in Knight Shipping? He knew how much the company meant to me. The only thing I can think of is he did this to spite me, get back at me in some way because I was never the son he really wanted.”
Griffin frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He wanted Jocelyn. He wanted their son, Lucius, but he could never have them because he was bound to my mother because her money was used to build his company.”
“C’mon, Maximus. That sounds twisted. I’m sure that’s not it.”
“Isn’t it?” Maximus had never truly felt loved by his father. Arthur had been happy to see him go away to boarding school and college. And when he’d come home, Maximus would be so happy to see him and eager to show his father the reports of how well he’d done, but Arthur could never be bothered. He was always working. For what? A company he told Max would be his, only to give half of it away to Lucius, the son he really wanted?
“Max, bro.” Griffin grabbed his shoulder from across the table. “Don’t. Don’t do this to yourself. Don’t second-guess everything that ever happened between you and your father. It’ll drive you crazy.”
“No crazier than learning my entire life was built on a lie,” Maximus stated harshly,