Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
“You can sit,” Mr. Meléndez says without looking up. He’s very direct, it seems. Most of them are. Like they have very little time to waste. Our uncle is clearly the warmest of the bunch, and that’s probably because he’s related to us.
Charlie returns to his seat.
“You went to Prague yesterday,” Uncle Stokes says. “Will your travel decrease once you become CEO of Fizzle?”
Charlie doesn’t even blink. “No.”
Whispers ignite from the board members. Ms. Kapoor and Mr. Ackermann are the most peeved by his response. They use their hands to shield their lips, like we can read them. Mr. Wagner quiets everyone.
Those of us on the panel all lean forward to look at Charlie. We agreed not to throw this, but it’s hard to say if he’s tossing in the towel. He’s not putting on a façade. In a way, he’s delivering himself to them, and it’s admirable.
Yet, alarming.
What if he’s not chosen?
Uncle Stokes glances warily from the board, then back to his nephew. “How will you handle the workload while also keeping up your travels?” he questions.
“Remotely,” Charlie deadpans.
The board continues their grumbling softly. Even Adaline Dupont is stabbing her salad aggressively with her fork.
Uncle Stokes scoots forward. “Your relationship with Maximoff Hale has been divisive in the media. Not only is he a shareholder, but he plays a significant role within the company, as he helms a charity that Fizzle is actively involved in. Would you be opposed to working alongside him as future events arise?”
Charlie looks mildly irritated. “If you love him so much, then make him CEO.”
“We would,” Mr. Ackermann states flat-out. “But he’s not in contention. You five are.”
“Would you work amicably with him, Charlie?” Mr. Wagner questions.
It takes Charlie a tense minute, but he grinds out the word, “Yes.”
“Do you like Maximoff Hale?” Ms. Kapoor asks. “Press will prod you on this.”
“What’s not to like?” Charlie says dryly.
Mr. Ackermann turns to the board. “It sounds like he can’t stand him.”
“I like him,” Charlie emphasizes. “I trust Moffy with my life. With the lives of my brothers and sisters. With the lives of my cousins. If the world were ending, he’s who I’d want at my side…third.”
“Who are the first two?” Adaline asks with the tap of her manicured nails on the desk. She’s now very interested in Charlie. Salad abandoned. She’s bowing forward.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Charlie snaps.
Adaline smiles suggestively. Uh, I don’t think that was a come-on from Charlie, but who knows, I guess.
“We can move on,” Mr. Meléndez says.
“Eliot,” Uncle Stokes gestures my best friend forward. “Out in front, please.”
And so Eliot lets the board inspect his confident, dapper poise, as though he stepped right out of Mad Men. He’s selling the dark-blue suit that perfectly frames his six-foot-four build, the shiny gold cufflinks on his wrists, the polished mahogany-brown loafers—and even his shampoo, his hair styled like he ran his fingers casually through the strands instead of tugging haphazardly at them.
I can even smell his spritz of sandalwood and leather cologne. Wealth doesn’t wear him. His aura so naturally fits inside the regality of his legacy, it’s simply understood that Eliot Alice is the son of Rose and Connor Cobalt.
The board seems satisfied.
“You can sit,” Mr. Meléndez says while typing.
“Eliot.” Uncle Stokes speaks once my best friend is back in his chair. “If a theatre company were to offer you a job, would you quit your position in Fizzle to take it?”
“No,” Eliot answers clearly, concisely. Zero hesitation.
Xander mutters a “shit” under his breath.
Eliot exudes CEO energy. It’s obvious.
“Why not?” Uncle Stokes asks.
“Because I keep my commitments.”
The entire board loves this answer. Straight-forward. To the point. Nods of approval down the line. I take mental notes.
Charlie seems annoyed and rocks back on his chair legs to try and steal Eliot’s gaze. But Eliot is zoned in on the board and ignores his brother.
“Eliot,” Adaline, who prefers being addressed by her first name, points her pen at him. “Unlike Charlie, whose romantic affairs are largely a mystery to the public, you’ve been seen kissing a variety of women. Leading some tabloids to call you a modern-day rake. What do you have to say to that?”
“A modern-day rake,” Eliot muses with a rising grin. “Seventeenth-century Restoration comedy is among my favorites. The Rover by Aphra Behn, you’ve heard of it?”
“I can’t say I have,” Adaline says, looking him over like she’s the Bachelorette on TV and he’s one of her potential suitors.
“I love it. And I’ve played a many-a-rake on stage. It’s also a wide range. If we’re talking charming, witty scoundrel, then possibly it’s apt. Sexist pig, that’s hardly me.”
Mr. Wagner jumps in, “If we asked you to keep your personal affairs more discreet, would you?”
I twitch at this question, but Eliot hardly bats an eye. “Yes, of course.”
Charlie lets out an audible sigh. “He’s lying.”