Maybe Never (Maybe #2) (9 page)

Granddad winces as he reaches over to the bedside table and grabs a piece of paper. “I was going to say that, despite my reservations, you’re right. I don’t have a choice.”
 

He hands me the piece of paper that he had typed up, and I quickly read it. He is giving me temporary power over the company until he is healed and his trial is over.

“Thank you. I’ll do you proud.”
 

He smiles. “You will because you’ll do everything I say.”
 

I shake my head. “No, I won’t. I’ll do what is best for the company, no matter what that is. I’m not sure I have the best judgment in the world, but now, I know that it can’t be any worse than yours. If I sign this, I want full authority over my life and the company. I want your trust. I don’t want to be your puppet.”
 

He thinks for a second and then smiles. “I was hoping you would say that.”
 

He hands me a pen, and I hesitate over the papers.
 

Can one signature change your life?
One signature, whether mine or not, sent me to jail. I’m about to find out for the second time if one signature changes everything.
 

I pull the car into the driveway of my family home. A home that I feel both closer to and further away from due to the events as of late. Closer because I feel like I have to rely more on my family in order to get through these next few months. And further away because I’m afraid the walls of this house hold secrets that I’m not ready to face.
 

I turn off the car and then walk over to the passenger door. I open it for Granddad and help him out of the car.
 

“Thanks, princess,” he says.
 

I smile at him, not correcting him, just allowing him to use the name that only my father ever really called me.
 

And Killian…

Now, neither of those men will ever call me that again because both are out of my life. Hearing Granddad call me that makes me happy and sad at the same time.
 

“Just take it slow. No need to rush inside.”
 

“I know I’m safe as long as you are by my side,” he says.
 

I smile and nod at him as we walk slowly inside. I hope that is true. I hope I can stand by his side through everything that is coming our way.
 

I help him inside and to his bedroom and into bed. I glance at the clock. I need to get to the casino. I scheduled some meetings for this afternoon to ensure that everything has been running smoothly since his heart attack.
 

“I need to get going, but the nurse should be here soon, and I’ll notify the staff to look in on you. Do you need anything before I go?”
 

“Where are you going?”
 

“To check on how things are going at the casino.”

He carefully eyes me. “Don’t change anything without consulting me first.”
 

I just smile. I don’t argue with him. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
 

“I have to go,” I say before softly kissing him on the cheek.
 

I quickly run upstairs to change into something more appropriate for business. I slip on a business suit and heels, and then I run out the door to my car.
 

I am at the casino in a half hour.
 

When I walk up to the casino, I’m surprised by the crowd gathered outside. I watch as people pull out their phones when they see me walking into the casino. I try to smile brightly as they take my picture, seeming unfazed by the scandal swarming around my family.
 

I wave to the crowd at the door and then walk inside. I’m surprised to see the inside is just as crowded as the outside. I guess I expected that no one would want to gamble or stay at a casino filled with scandal. Instead, it seems we have tripled our crowds overnight. I guess what they say is true; any press is good press.
 

I head straight to my father’s office and close the door behind me. I walk over to the desk that is now covered in notes and papers people have dropped off, but no one has received because no one has been here. My father is gone. And now my grandfather. And Killian. That leaves me.
 

I quickly sort through the papers into things that need to be dealt with urgently and things that are less important.
 

Then, I dial Tony’s number.
 

“Hello?” Tony says in confusion.
 

“Tony, it’s Kinsley. Can you get everyone gathered in the meeting room in twenty minutes? I need to make sure everything is being handled since my grandfather and I were arrested.”
 

“Sure, Ms. Kinsley.”
 

“Thanks, Tony.” I hang up the phone.

The last time I’d tried to run a meeting, it went horribly, horribly wrong. I don’t even know what to say now, other than to make sure everyone is doing their job, especially since everyone who was anywhere near the CEO position is gone.
 

I gather every drop of strength I have as I stand, and I begin walking to the meeting room.
 

I have to walk past Killian’s office on the way. I pause at the door that still says
Killian Browne
on the outside. The door is shut though, so I can’t see inside. I don’t know what I expect to see though. He’s not in there. And he never wanted me. He was just doing whatever the FBI had told him. He was just getting my father and Granddad to trust him so that he could find out whatever he thought they were hiding. That’s it. Nothing more.
 

I have to think of him as nothing but a man who worked for the FBI. Just a man my family tried to get me to marry. Nothing between us was real, but it doesn’t stop me from hoping that he is somehow still in the office, just like he was the day I walked in with Tony.
 

I force myself to walk past his office to the meeting room where Tony is waiting for me at the door. He smiles at me but doesn’t say anything about the charges or situation I’m in. He just looks at me with a confident smile that I match on my face.
 

“You ready?” he asks.
 

I take a deep breath, trying to channel every part of my father’s strength inside me. “Yes.”
 

Tony opens the door for me, and I confidently walk inside because I know I’m capable. I’m my father’s daughter. I can do this.
 

Then, I glance around the room at the ten executives seated at the table and I feel my anxiety creeping back in.
 
I take a seat at the end of the long table.
 

But then Tony walks in with the same smile on his face, and I relax.
 

I can do this
, I repeat over and over in my head.
 

“I called this meeting to…” I lose my train of thought as I feel everyone staring at me.
 

“You can do this,”
I feel my father telling me.
 

I take a deep breath and start again. This time, I look up at the men and women gathered around the table, and I feel calmer than I ever have.
 

“I called this meeting to discuss how things have been going since my grandfather had a heart attack and the sudden news that followed. I would like to hear from all of you about how things have been going and what ideas you have to keep the company moving forward during this difficult time for my family and the company.”
 

I glance around the table, but nobody speaks. I don’t back down until I have met everyone’s eyes.
 

Finally, one gentleman sitting to my right speaks up, “As you can see from when you entered the casino, the number of customers has increased almost threefold, which sounds great. However, we were not prepared for such an increase in customers. We don’t have the staff to handle such a large number of people, and we have had several employees simply not show up to work. As a result, we have had to turn customers away.”
 

I nod. “Has this been the same experience across all of our hotels and casinos nationwide?”
 

“Yes,” a woman to my left says.
 

“Any ideas on how to solve this problem?” I ask the group.
 

“We have been asking our employees to do overtime to make up for those who haven’t been showing up. It’s the same strategy we have used in the past when employees haven’t shown up, but we can’t ask them to do that forever.”

I nod although I didn’t realize we had a problem with employees not showing up to work. “What about hiring new employees so that we can fill our hotels and casinos to capacity?”
 

“That would work in the short-term, but when the decrease in customers returns to our old rate, we would have to lay off lots of employees.”
 

I shake my head. “No, we won’t. We can hire the same amount of employees that we will need for the expansion of the hotel, so they can stay on. Test raising our rates during this period and see if demand decreases or stays steady to help pay for the increase in employees. Let’s get a marketing and PR team together to capitalize on the current situation and spin it to our favor so that the world is behind us.” I can’t believe the words that are coming out of my mouth, but there they are. Each word that falls from my lips makes me feel more and more confident.
 

“Are you sure the numbers will work? Will we make enough profit? We can’t afford to be in the negative at a time like this,” the woman next to me says.
 

I think back to the numbers that were lying on my father’s desk. I quickly calculate the risk and reward associated with the plan.
 

I smile. “It will work.”
 

“What makes you so sure?”
 

“I just ran the numbers in my head. Even if the numbers fell off, going back to our normal rate—which wouldn’t happen because we are going to increase our marketing to capitalize on the situation—we would still be in the positive. So, make it happen.”
 

Those around the table stare back at me with obvious confusion on their faces.

“What?” I ask, looking around the table. I touch my face, afraid I have something on it since everyone is looking at me so weirdly.
 

“Who is in charge now that Mr. Felton is incapacitated? Or will he be working from his home for now?” the woman next to me asks.
 

“I’m in charge.”
 

“You?” she asks.

“Yes. So, when I say implement the plan I just told you, you need to do it.”
 

I look around the table at everyone’s stunned expressions.
 

“Is this a permanent position for you or just until your grandfather chooses a new replacement?”

I glare at the man who just asked. “It’s permanent.” I don’t want them thinking they can just walk all over me until my grandfather chooses a replacement.
 

“But will you be able to run the company with the charges against you?”
 

I turn my glare to the woman who just asked me that. “I have full faith that the charges against me as well as the charges against my grandfather will be dropped soon. There is no merit to the charges.”
 

“But what if—”
 

I glare at the woman. “If, nothing. I will not be discussing the charges against me or my grandfather any further. It isn’t a concern for the company. We always have what is best for the company at heart. That isn’t going to change, no matter what happens.

“Now, do any of you have further questions about the company or what our focus should be in the upcoming months?”
 

I look around the room as everyone shakes their head.
 

“Good. If anyone has any questions, please contact me or Tony. He will be my assistant and will get any questions you have to me. Understood?”
 

I smile as I look around the room, and everyone nods.
 

I can do this
, I think.
I can run a company
. I just need a little confidence and a little more practice.
I can do this
.
 

A sense of calm washes over me as I walk into the Felton Grand casino. I shouldn’t feel this way, walking into a place that I’m helping to destroy. I shouldn’t feel like I’m walking into my home.
 

I walk through the casino to the door that says
Employees Only
. I swipe my employee card, and it still works. I open the door. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be doing this. Kinsley might not even be here, but I have to see her. I have to try one more time.
 

I walk down the hallway to Robert’s office. I grab the door handle, but it’s locked. I knock, but no one answers, and from what I can tell, it looks dark inside. I walk past my old office that still looks the same. I could go in and just pretend that this is still my life. That I get to feel important and useful, helping to build a company, instead of feeling like a fraud FBI agent. I rest my hand on the handle of my office door, ready to go inside, when I hear the door to the meeting room open.
 

I watch as several of the other execs file out of the room. I nod at them as they walk by with shocked, wide-eyed expressions on each of their faces. I wait until the last one has passed, and that’s when I see her.
 

Kinsley closes the door behind her as she takes a deep breath with a large smile on her face. I can’t help but smile at her, too. Whatever happened in there happened because she finally found herself. She found the piece of confidence that had been dampened years ago. She looks beautiful and strong, standing there in her business suit.