Page 13 of Heated Takeover

It can’t be. Right?

I weave in and out of people, attempting to make my way towards the front, needing to get eyes on the man everyone is staring at. When I find a clearing and my view is unobstructed, I stop. My breath catches in my throat and my heart slams into my ribcage. All I can do is blink.

Once.

Twice.

Three times to make sure I am seeing this right.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce Mr. Marcus Ashford of Ashford Hospitality.”

The room erupts in eager claps, but I am only able to stand there, gawking at Ash, or is it Marcus? He is standing like a statue at the front of the room.

“So it’s true,” one of the women next to me whispers to someone else. “Marcus Ashford really is our new boss.”

“I heard he’s an asshole,” someone else says.

“I heard he plans to fire all of us and replace us with people from his company,” someone else says.

But I can’t listen to any more of this. I can’t process…this. None of it. It’s too overwhelming and I need air. Air that is not in this room being consumed by this many people.

I have to get out of here.

But when I turn to leave, I run right into Garrett, my sister’s husband, who is the director of operations and technical production, a job my father only gave him because he didn’t want Reese marrying someone who didn’t have money. The title gives him approval over production vendors and event budgets, which is far more responsibility than I would ever hand him. Considering Garrett isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, any money they had would be by default and come from our family.

“Where ya going, Gnat?” he asks. He calls me by the nickname my sister gave me as kids. Spelled like the fruit fly, as you can see. Creative, I know.

“I need some air,” I tell him, attempting for the second time to move around him.

“Is something wrong?” he asks.

“Why isn’t my father here?” I ask.

“Why? Because he’s not in charge anymore, I assume,” Garrett says casually. Either he doesn’t understand or he doesn’t comprehend the weight of this situation. Either way, I have nothing to say to him.

“Well, I need to speak to him,” I say. “So, if you’ll excuse me…”

“You seem flustered, Gnat. Intimidated by the new boss?”

That stops me, and I whip my attention over to my brother-in-law. “First, he’s not our new boss because he can’t just replace my dad. And second…no. Why would I be intimidated by a man I don’t even know?” I ask, praying to God that I sound convincing.

“You’re the head of event coordination and you don’t know who Marcus Ashford is?” he spits out.

Did I know Ash was Marcus Ashford? No.

Did I know all those years ago that the man who pulled me away from a hostile crowd into a Ferris wheel gondola was Marcus Ashford? Also no.

I am surprised that the universe has crossed our paths again by making him my new boss. That I can confirm. Yes.

“I can’t believe you are this shaken up,” Garrett laughs, and considering the meeting is still in full swing, the sound of it gets everyone’s attention. Including…Ash.

The room grows quiet as he starts to talk, but I am having a hard time focusing on anything he’s saying. Something in me shudders. I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is I’m pretty sure my life is about to change. Again. All because of this man.

Chapter 6

Marcus

This isn’t the first time I’ve bought control of a company. There were shares available, and considering the fact that the head of my events coordination passed away, it felt like Mission Events literally just fell into my lap. I’m not a man who believes in nonsense like fate or karma or anything else made up by liberal arts majors trying to justify their student loan debt. But I do know a wise opportunity when I am presented with one. And buying control of Mission Events is a very wise opportunity.