The Still CEO: Forged Succession

Chapter 7 - Fleshmongers

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Chase

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"2:30 p.m., it is then," I say to my brother. Just then, my doorbell goes off, so I tell him we will speak later. It’s been a while since we've had time to catch up, and I wanted to ask if he had time to grab a beer. I also wanted to share the news of my engagement with him.

I wanted to tell him before proposing, but I was freaking out, and talking about it just made me more paranoid. I also want to go see Mom and Dad later. Maybe tomorrow, Liv and I could have dinner with them.

I get to the front and open the door, and a smile stretches across my face when I see my sister-in-law. But the smile doesn't last long, as I notice that something is wrong.

I ask her if she’s okay, and she says she is, and we share a hug. But I don’t buy it, so I ask if she's sure, and she says she is. I invite her to sit down, telling her I was about to have some coffee, and she says she would love some before asking if Liv is in.

She says she stopped at her place, but she wasn't there, and she assumed she was here. I explain that she was, but she just left, and they must have missed each other. I see the look flashing across her face again as I say that, and I pull out a chair for her and ask her to sit down, asking again if she’s alright.

She says everything is fine; she just wanted to speak to Liv about something. I brew the coffee for us, and we sit down while she asks me how long I’m going to be off. I tell her, and she says she’s glad I was finally able to take some time for myself. She commends how hard I’ve worked these past months, saying my dad must be very proud and that he chose the right person to leave in charge.

I thank her but remind her that everything we’ve achieved in my father’s absence, we’ve achieved together. They had my back, and we have all worked just as hard. She smiles at that, but I can still see the sadness in her eyes, so I put down my cup, reach across the table, and take her hands in mine.

"He loves you, Laurel," I whisper, giving her a firm squeeze, having a feeling that whatever’s got her like this has something to do with what has been happening between her and my brother. I don’t know what really happened, as they both have refused to talk about it, but I know whatever it is will pass and they will be okay again.

Laurel and my brother started dating in high school, and they got married in their second year of university. I introduced them. She and I were in the same class, and we were friends. Well, I liked her, but my brother didn’t know that, and I guess I was too slow because he made a move first.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into my room and found them kissing. I was gutted, but Tyson apologized, and I never told her how I felt, so I didn’t have much choice but to let it go. I’m glad I did because they make each other happy. They are going through a rough patch now, something that is inevitable for every couple, but I know they will come out stronger.

When she and I met, we were not the big shots that we are now. Things weren’t going well for my parents, and after Laurel and my brother started dating. She introduced him to her family, and our families became friends. Her parents helped my parents with the company.

Her family is old money, and with their help, New Dawn Enterprises was not only able to stay afloat but also became the force that it is today. They are also major shareholders. I know Tyson will never forget the things she did for him. He used to tell me he would never forget how she chose him when there were a lot of guys on her level who wanted her.

I don’t say that to Laurel, though. I only assure her that Tyson loves her. She nods, her eyes glistening with tears, and I get up and hug her. But just then, my doorbell goes off again. We break the hug, and I head to the front to get it.

"I’m coming!" I shout out as the person rings the bell repeatedly, and I rip the door open to find my mother on the other side. I open my mouth to ask her what’s wrong, but she beats me to it, rushing inside and saying we need to talk.

"Okay, do-" I try to ask if she wants to sit down, but she cuts me off again, saying I can’t go through with it.

"I can’t go through with what? What are you talking about?" I ask, but just as she begins to speak, the sound of a phone ringing cuts her off, and her head snaps in the direction of the kitchen. I tell her Laurel is here and see the blood drain from her face.

"Mom, what is going on?" I ask, and just then Laurel emerges, speaking on the phone, and I make up that it’s Landre on the other side. Landre is Laurel’s childhood friend. She ends the call and greets Mom before saying she has to go, and we share a hug.

"Thanks for the talk," she says, even though we didn't really talk, and I tell her she’s welcome. She hugs my mother too, who asks her if she’s alright, and she says she is. She says she will catch us later and leaves, and there’s silence for a moment as we watch her exit the door before I speak again, asking Mom what she was saying. But she shakes her head, saying nothing, and I open my mouth to ask her to talk to me, not buying that—but she turns around and leaves me standing there.

"What on earth?"

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Liv

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"And then? The long face?" Jess asks with a smirk as I enter my apartment, but I don’t even get to respond as she starts screaming, seeing the ring on my finger. "Oh my God! Here, let me help you with that; you can’t have your hand falling off," she jokes, taking my purse before keeping my hand in hers, acting as though it is heavy, and I find myself laughing at her.

"When did you get back?" I ask since the last time I spoke to her she was still in Paris with her man, and she replies, placing my purse on the island, saying this morning before dashing toward the cellar, saying it’s time to celebrate.

"A few hours ago. I’m still jet-lagged, but I couldn’t wait to see my girl," she replies, coming back with the bottle of champagne, and I get our glasses as she starts opening the bottle. But she suddenly stops, making me look at her, wondering what’s up. "It’s Tyson, right?" she asks, looking at my ring. How the hell is it going to be Tyson's when he’s still holding onto that brat? I shake my head, and her eyes widen.

"It’s Chase," I mutter, sitting back down, and she gasps, clamping her hand over her mouth.

"And you accepted!" She asks, and I nod again, causing her to ask me why. "I thought you didn’t love him?" She adds, and I tell her I never said I didn’t love Chase. I only said I didn’t love him the way he loved me and wanted me to love him.

"Chase is an amazing man and an amazing lover. I have no doubt he would have made me happier," I reply, causing her to gasp again as I tell her to go ahead and open the bottle, suddenly parched as I think back to the events of last night.

"So, what are you saying? Are you dropping your plan?"

"Of course not," I reply, accepting the flute and raising it. "He might make me happier and f**k better, but he can’t get me what I want. His brother can. Besides, I’m in love with Tyson. I can teach him how to love me the way I want to be loved," I explain to her, and she nods before raising her glass as well, and we make a toast.

I take a sip while she reaches for my hand again, admiring the ring, before saying I still haven’t explained to her how saying yes to Chase helps in this whole plan. I remind her that Tyson is taking too long with Laurel and tell her that it’s making me doubt his commitment to our relationship. "He needs a little push. A reminder that time is ticking and this," I pause, raising my hand. "This is perfect."

"You conniving b***h!" she says, a smile making its way onto her face, and we clink our glasses again and take another sip. If you want to get ahead in this world, you have to be ready to do whatever it takes, and I want to get ahead.

I will not let people just trample over me like my mother did and get away with it. Speaking about my mother, I ask Jess if she was still here when she got here, and she says no. She asks how Mom's lip job is healing, and I tell her she went to redo it and that it was the reason she was here. She wanted money.

She let her sister get away with her inheritance and secure a bright future for her children off of it while she struggled, but when it comes to me, I must just fork out money as if it grows on trees. Jess asks if she knows about Tyson and me yet, and I shake my head. She can never know. She’d try to stop me. She’s too scared of that sister of hers, and she expects me to be as well, but I’m not. I will bring that f*****g b***h to her knees, and she will experience what she made my mother feel when she stripped her of everything and lived a lavish lifestyle while my mother struggled.

My grandparents died when I was a baby and left everything to Shirley and my mother, but Shirley and her husband, Jude Livingston, who was then her boyfriend, used his connections and took everything from my mother, leaving her with peanuts that soon ran out and left Mom struggling while Shirley and that son of a b***h husband of hers kept the business and flourished.

I was seventeen and about to start university when I found out I had an aunt—a rich aunt. Mom went to her to beg her to help her pay for my education, and then, later that day, Mom told me everything.

A week after that, I met my cousin, Laurel. She attended the same university, and she told me her parents never told her about me and that she was happy to meet me. She had everything, and everyone groveled at her feet in Uni—the fleshmongers even sucking up to me just to get her attention.

I hated her. I hated her just as much as I hated her b***h mother. During the holidays, I would go to her house, and her parents would take us shopping and expect me to be grateful, thinking I didn’t know what they did. I told myself that one day I would get back everything they took from my mother, and they would feel what she felt.

Laurel was engaged, and when her fiancé couldn't take his eyes off of me at the engagement dinner. I knew he was my ticket inside. I f****d him in the bathroom right then and there, and we never stopped from there.

When his mother caught us, she thought it was the first time, but it wasn’t, and it wasn’t just f*****g anymore. I was no longer just planning to use him and be done with him. I was in love with him, and I wanted him.

She also has no idea that her son killed Tom, the man I replaced. Tyson offered him a package to retire so I could come back, and he didn't want to. Instead, he figured out that Tyson wanted to bring me back, and upon following Tyson, he discovered our secret and threatened to expose Tyson to Laurel. Being exposed to Laurel meant being exposed to Tyson's parents and he couldn't have that.

Tyson told me he never loved Laurel; he told me that his mother forced their relationship to secure alliances between the Livingstons and the Kingsleys. The Kingsleys were sinking, and then Shirley and her husband helped them. Tyson told me he and Laurel have a big stake in her parents’ company and that my aunt and uncle are major shareholders at New Dawn.

I can’t wait for the day when they walk into that boardroom and find not Donna but me sitting in that big chair. By the time I’m done with them, those shares will be worth nothing, and I will own part of their company and make their lives a living hell.

Jess’s stomach grumbles, snapping me out of my thoughts, and she gets up and asks me what she can eat. I tell her to look in the fridge. Mom said she cooked when I was here yesterday. I ask her how her trip was, and I’m shocked to hear that she spent the rest of the trip alone.

She says Landre, her boyfriend, who she went with, had an emergency and had to come back. I’m not entirely surprised by that. I know my girl is crazy about the guy, but there’s something off about their relationship. It’s like he’s not wholeheartedly into the relationship, but it’s not my place, so I stay out of it.

Landre Van Ryk is a well-known billionaire and philanthropist, and unlike Tyson, his wealth is his. His parents’ yacht was attacked by killer whales while vacationing last year, and they drowned, leaving him to inherit everything.

Jess is dying to have him put a ring on it and I’m hoping he does for her sake, but I don’t see it happening. She finds food in the fridge and asks if I want any. But I’m good. I was spoiled with a full breakfast this morning.

"Of course you were," she says after I tell her. But just then, the doorbell rings. I tell her I will get it and head to the front, wondering who it is since I wasn’t expecting anyone. But I roll my eyes the moment I peep through the peephole.

"Hey cuz," I say, pretending as though I don’t see the tears gleaming in her eyes, but I don’t get to finish as the annoying b***h throws herself in my arms and breaks down.

"He’s cheating on me, Liv. My husband’s cheating on me."