Titan CEO Revenge

Chapter 2

She’d gone home, after being gone all night and her father had been spitting he was so angry with her. She’d told him she was of legal age and could do what she wanted. She told her father she loved Vincent and she was going to marry him. Her father had seemed to accept her decision, because he’d become eerily calm and kissed her on the cheek. That was a rare thing as he wasn’t normally a man to openly show affection.

He said she was right and he was proud of her for making adult decisions. He then asked if he could help with anything. She’d been so happy her dad accepted her decision she told him everything.

The next day she ended up being late to the church, because she had a few errands her dad had asked her to do for him. She knew she had the rest of her life with Vincent so she could wait a couple of hours to run away with him. She knew he’d wait for her. She was confident in their relationship.

She got to the church and was surprised he wasn’t there but figured he’d gotten busy like her. She waited and then waited some more. She sat there all afternoon until she finally accepted he wasn’t coming as the sun started to set in the sky.

She’d dragged herself home, crying the entire way. When she walked into the house and her father saw her, he’d taken her into his arms and asked her what was wrong. She’d cried against him and finally told him Vincent hadn’t shown up.

He continued to stroke her back and tell her everything was okay. He’d explained to her he never trusted the boy and that’s why he’d been so overprotective. She never suspected her father had anything to do with Vincent not arriving.

Vincent left the hotel and was thinking back to that summer as well but his memories were far different from those of Emma’s. He had so much bitterness about that day but if he really thought back to it that’s what shaped him into the man he was now.

He’d fallen head over heels for the girl. He’d never thought he was worthy of dating someone as amazing as her but he was determined to make himself so. When he ended up helping her with her school work and found a connection together, he was unable to stay away from her.

He thought she was so different from the other kids who had money. Her family was the richest in town and her father reveled in that fact. He walked around in his custom made suits and drove his expensive cars. Hell, the man’s house was a showpiece so all the people lower than him could worship at his doorstep.

-

When he and Emma made love for the first time and he’d realized she’d given him her most sacred gift, he was overwhelmed. He proposed right away and decided to run away with her, to do the right thing.

He planned on heading to the city and making something of himself so he could continue to give her all the things she was used to. He wanted to make sure she never went without anything. He wanted to place her on a throne and spoil her rotten. He’d do or give her anything she wanted.

He’d shown up at the church full of naïve teenager dreams and one bag. When he heard approaching steps he’d turned in anticipation. His heart sunk at the sight of her father. The man approached with a sympathetic smile plastered on his face.

“Vincent, I’m sorry but Emma asked me to come and speak with you,” Henry had stated. Vincent didn’t understand why she’d send her father. “Emma said she couldn’t face you but she didn’t want to leave here. I have some cash here to help you on your way. She said you planned to go to the city and I want to help you get there,” he said with that same smile on his face.

Vincent felt like his world was falling out underneath him. The man pulled out an envelope loaded with hundred dollar bills. He held it out towards Vincent. Henry was trying to pay him off. It was as if he was saying, thanks for entertaining my daughter but your services are no longer needed.

“I don’t want your money,” Vincent spat at him. Henry continued holding the envelope out, like he couldn’t believe the kid from the wrong side of town wouldn’t jump at having that much cash.

“Emma was hoping this would appease your feelings and help you get on with your life,” Henry had the gall to say.

“Tell Emma no thank you,” Vincent growled at him and then turned and walked away. He never looked back. He’d been pissed when Henry had offered to pay him off but when he found out it was Emma’s idea he saw red.

He couldn’t believe how wrong he’d been about her. The thing that made him even angrier was the grief coursing through him at knowing he wouldn’t see her again. As he walked back towards his childhood home he vowed someday he’d have her begging him to take her back and then he’d be the one to walk away.

He’d made his way home, told his father goodbye and then left for the city. He worked night and day until he purchased his first company. He was excellent at his job. He found companies that were on the verge of bankruptcy, bought them and divided them up, making huge sums of money. His first takeover had led to many, many more. He was now worth far more than Emma ever had been and he was about to exact his revenge.

He downed a scotch and then went to bed. His day was a full one tomorrow and he wanted to be well rested for what was to come. He’d finally have Emma at his mercy, when her daddy no longer had any money left.

Vincent sat back at his desk, with a huge Cheshire cat grin on his face. The papers were all signed and now he was the owner of The Martin Corporation. He felt unbelievably good. He had taken it right out from under Henry, without the man even being aware of what was going on.

Henry knew his company was in trouble but he didn’t know about the hostile take-over. Vincent’s victory felt so much better, knowing Henry had walked into his former offices today only to be met by Vincent’s security.

He’d been tempted to be there, sitting in the man’s chair, just so he could see his reaction. He’d barely been able to stop himself but he had plenty of time to gloat. He turned around and stared out the huge windows of his office, looking down at the thriving city of Seattle. He always felt good when he acquired a new company but this one was different. This one was the pinnacle of everything he’d been working for over the past ten years.

Vincent heard commotion outside his office and turned around to find the man in question had barged in through his doorway. Vincent’s secretary came chasing after him. “Sir, you can’t go in there,” she was trying to say, her voice and eyes panicked.

“It’s okay Lana, I can handle this,” he told her. She apologized and stood there, not knowing what to do. “You can call security, I have a feeling Mr. Martin will need to be escorted from the building once we are done talking,” he finished. The smile never left his face. This confrontation was coming far quicker than he’d expected.

“You piece of crap!” Henry yelled at him.

“It’s good to see you again, Henry,” Vincent said, never losing his cool.

“I was getting things straightened out and then you swoop in and steal my company out from under me,” the man continued to yell. He was so angry, his head was completely red and he could barely speak. The angrier Henry got, the calmer Vincent felt.

“I guess you should’ve run your business a bit more above ground and not left it vulnerable to a takeover,” Vincent said. Henry looked like he wanted to jump across the room and strangle him. Vincent looked over the man, who had seemed so much larger than life when he was still a teenager. The man now looked shrunken and old. It was satisfying.

“I ran my business successfully, for over forty years, you pompous piece of trash. You may have the rest of the world fooled but I know where you come from and I know who you really are,” Henry spat at him.

Vincent was losing some of his calm. He narrowed his eyes on the man who had changed his life. He knew Henry was trying to get a reaction from him but he refused to bite.

“Unlike you, Henry, I kept a protective, watchful eye on my business. I may have started out on the wrong side of town, as you like to point out but I made choices to change my life and now you’re the one who will have nothing,” he said, with a mocking smile.

Henry actually lunged at him, as the security guards stepped into the room. Vincent held his hand up, to stop them from grabbing the man. He wanted him to try and throw a punch. Vincent was normally not a violent man but it would be his total joy to knock Henry across his pathetic jaw.

Henry saw the look in Vincent’s eyes and quickly backed down. “This isn’t the last you’ll hear from me,” he said, still not leaving.

“Security please escort Mr. Martin from my building. Let the front desk know he’s no longer welcome to step foot on the premises,” he finished. He then turned his back on him, as if he didn’t matter in the least to him.

“I will get you back for this, just you wait,” Henry yelled, as the men dragged him away. Vincent continued to smile as he sat back down and once again looked over the papers that gave him ownership of the Martin Corporation.

Vincent pressed his buzzer, “Lana can you please pull up the full employee list for The Martin Corporation and the financial documents.”

“Yes sir, I will have the information to you within a few minutes,” she replied, as efficient as always. He didn’t know how he’d been so lucky to find her but if she ever retired he’d have a hell of a time replacing her.

She brought the information to him and he got to work. He hadn’t done his normal homework when acquiring the corporation. He normally knew the business inside and out before he took it over. He simply hadn’t cared with this one. He was buying it up no matter what. He didn’t even care if the buy ended up costing him millions; he had the money to spare. This was about his pride and nothing more.

As he studied the papers over the afternoon, he was surprised to find there were some legitimate reasons to keep the company as it was, instead of splitting it up like he normally would do. If Henry had run things how he was supposed to, the corporation would’ve never gone into jeopardy of being taken over. The man was more of an i***t than Vincent had originally thought.

He’d have to think about what he was going to do with this one. If he decided to leave it in tact, the first thing to go would be the name. Vincent wouldn’t leave that man’s name attached to any aspect of the business.

The Corporation was a major producer of medical equipment. They actually made a quality product but had a horrible marketing department. If the right people were brought in, he may decide to keep the company together.

As he studied through the papers over the next several days, he discovered Henry had embezzled millions of dollars. That was one of the reasons the company was in such a weak state. He’d leave the legal department to look further into it. He wouldn’t mind if the man ended up in prison. It would just be icing on the cake.