It was the beginning of a new week and Max found himself in another mandatory, impromptu meeting. This one had been called by his brother Parker—the company’s chief financial officer. Max sat at the conference table with his father and grandfather, Parker, Blake and Zora, waiting for Parker to explain why he’d called this meeting when they were already inundated with work and exhausted from the previous weekend’s festivities.
Parker pulled a stack of documents out of a manila folder and handed one to each of them.
Max read the title of the document aloud. “‘Merit-based Succession vs. Birth-Order Succession in Family-Owned Businesses.’ Parker, what the hell is this?”
Everyone else turned toward Parker, but Max glanced at Blake—next in line to become CEO of King’s Finest. There was no anger or confusion in Blake’s expression. Only keen interest.
“Well, Parker?” Their grandfather frowned. “What exactly is this about?”
Parker pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “If you’d turn to the introduction I’ve prepared on page one—”
“I don’t want to read a prepared statement, son.” Their father dropped the document onto the table with a thud without opening it. “If you’re proposing what I think you’re proposing, you’d damn well better have the balls to explain it yourself.”
“All right.” Parker set the document down.
He looked at their grandfather, then their father. Finally, his gaze settled on Blake with a hint of apology in his expression. It was a look they’d rarely seen from Parker before he’d started dating Kayleigh. His sister had teased that Kayleigh had sprinkled fairy dust on Parker and made him a real boy with real feelings.
That wasn’t exactly true.
Parker had always been keenly aware of his own feelings, and still completely ruled by logic. Emotions didn’t factor into his decisions. And he’d been a little too straightforward for his own good. Parker was still that person. His love for Kayleigh had simply shown him the power and usefulness of emotions like love and compassion. And he’d been making an effort to empathize with the people around him. So the pained look on Parker’s face was alarming.
“Blake, you are a phenomenal operations manager. The efficiency with which you run the floor and the way you handle the staff... I’d venture that no one else at this table could handle either as well as you do,” Parker said.
“Thanks, Park. That means quite a bit coming from you.” Blake leaned back in his padded leather chair, his eyebrows lowering as he regarded his brother warily. “But?”
Everyone in the room turned back to Parker, as if they were watching a tennis match.
Parker cleared his throat and shoved his glasses up on his nose again. “You strictly adhere to company standards, and you ensure that your team does, too. It’s one of the reasons King’s Finest is known for producing some of the best bourbon on the market. But the soft center that makes you a great boss and an exemplary husband and father would be your Achilles’ heel as the CEO.”
“Seriously, Parker? That’s what you’re going with? Blake doesn’t have an asshole mode, therefore he isn’t tough enough to run the company?” Zora stared daggers at their brother.
“That’s bullshit,” Max said, taking up Blake’s cause. “You just said yourself that no one else could run production the way Blake does. By your own logic, doesn’t it follow that if he runs operations so well, he’ll also run the entire company well?”
“Not necessarily.” Parker shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “How many great players in basketball or football turn out to be substandard coaches or GMs? You’re not going to sit there and tell me that you think your all-time favorite basketball player is a good general manager, are you?”
“Point taken,” Duke said gruffly. “But it’s a hell of a leap to say the same about your brother with no evidence to substantiate your claim.”
“And that proof would come at what expense, Dad?” Parker asked. “Should we wait until the company is in decline before we declare that the experiment is a failure?”
Everyone at the table was outraged on Blake’s behalf. Yet he just stared intently at Parker with an unreadable expression.
“You act as if King’s Finest is struggling. We can afford to absorb a misstep or two,” their grandfather said, then turned to Blake. “Not that I’m saying it would be a misstep to appoint you as CEO, son.”
“It’s okay, Gramps.” Blake put a reassuring hand on their grandfather’s shoulder.
“That’s true,” Parker acknowledged. “But we have the potential to achieve even more if we take a more aggressive approach.”
“What’s the upside of adopting a riskier approach when we’re already seeing phenomenal results?” Zora demanded.
“That’s the same thing we all thought initially when Savannah came to the company with her ideas about expanding our market share,” Blake said quietly. “But she was right and the uptick in sales we’ve seen in the past three years is directly tied to the fact that we took a risk and adopted her suggestions.”
“A project Blake encouraged us to take on,” Max reminded Parker.
“True,” Parker acknowledged. “But would Blake have had as favorable a view of Savannah’s proposal if it hadn’t been delivered by a beautiful woman to whom he was attracted?”
Blake stood abruptly and slammed his hand on the table. “If you want to question my leadership ability...fine. Do it. But don’t bring my wife into this discussion. This has nothing to do with Savannah.”
“That isn’t a slight against Savannah.” Parker held up a hand. “I hold her in the highest regard, as both my sister-in-law and as the event manager here. We’re damn lucky to have Savannah as an employee and part owner of the company.”
Parker inhaled deeply, then released a quiet sigh. “You don’t have that killer instinct, Blake. Which makes you a great brother and a fine husband and father. But when it comes to our highly competitive industry, it’s a fatal flaw.”
“The liquor business has always been cutthroat, whether it was legal or not. Running moonshine was dangerous business back in my father’s day,” their grandfather said, referring to the company’s namesake—his father, King Abbott. “And surely you don’t think it was easy for me, as a black man, to enter into this business fifty-three years ago.”
“Of course not, Grandad,” Parker said. “Every single person at this table appreciates the sacrifices you made to start this company and establish a legacy for all of us. But we live in very different times. Everyone and their mother is starting a craft distillery these days. And some of the products are remarkably good. I’m not saying we need to regard the other companies out there as the enemy, but we have to take a focused, straightforward approach if we want to achieve our goal of being the best. That’s the goal you established when you started this company fifty-three years ago. I take that seriously. And I’ve proven my willingness to make hard sacrifices on behalf of the company.”
“So now you’re trying to leverage the fact that you were willing to play fake fiancée to Kayleigh in order to acquire her building?” Zora asked, her jaw dropping.
During the acrimonious negotiations to convince Kayleigh to sell her building, Parker had agreed to pose as her fiancé at the wedding of her ex’s younger sister. Which had led to Parker becoming Kayleigh’s actual fiancé.
“Really, Park?” Max laughed. “You’re the one who came out ahead in that deal.”
Everyone at the table chuckled.
“Definitely,” Zora agreed. “Kayleigh is the best thing to ever happen to you, Parker. Plus, she took you on an all-expenses-paid trip to a tropical island. So don’t try to spin this like you’re some self-sacrificing martyr.”
“She is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m incredibly grateful to have her in my life,” Parker admitted. “But I had no idea things would end up this way. I did something extremely uncomfortable for the greater good of the family and the future of this company.”
“This is all a bunch of nonsense, Parker.” Their father’s face and cheeks were flushed, and his voice was strained. “I’m sorry that you somehow feel wronged because you weren’t the firstborn, but that’s just the way it is.”
“That’s not exactly true, either, son.” Their grandfather chuckled, rubbing a hand over his thinning gray hair.
“What do you mean, Dad?” Duke asked.
“You were an only child.” Joseph shrugged. “Not much competition there. You always knew that I was going to hand the company off to you. But what if you hadn’t been an only child? What if you’d been second or third in line? Maybe you’d see Parker’s argument differently.”
The room grew quiet as they considered his grandfather’s words.
They’d simply accepted that as firstborn, Blake was the one who’d be named CEO. Max had no doubt his brother would make a good CEO. But was he the best choice? It was a question he’d never considered. None of them had, except Parker, apparently.
“All right, Parker. Maybe you’re right.” Blake tapped the table, drawing everyone’s attention. “This isn’t some royal dynasty where birth order determines destiny. Nor do I want there to be any question about whether or not I deserved the position of CEO. I put a hell of a lot of thought into every hire I’ve ever made for this company. And I’ve never hired anyone—including Savannah—who I didn’t feel was the absolute best candidate for the job. I care enough about Grandad’s legacy to insist that the same care and effort be given to deciding who will one day replace Dad at the helm of this organization. So I agree that the decision should be merit based. And whatever choice Dad and Grandad make, I’ll stand behind it.”
The entire room fell silent. But no one seemed more surprised by Blake’s concession than Parker.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, this marshmallow of a man has work to do.” Blake stood, pushing his chair beneath the table and leaving the room.
They all sat in stunned silence, staring after him.
Did that mean Parker would be appointed the new company CEO? Max never had any qualms about working for Blake. But working for Parker? He wasn’t sure who’d want to strangle his brother first—him or Zora.
Parker’s mouth curved in a faint smile, as if he’d already achieved victory.
Zora folded her arms and stared Parker down. “If this is going to be a merit-based decision, that means the CEO–ship is open to any of us. That includes Max and me.”
“Max lacks the killer instinct, same as Blake,” Parker said flatly. “You have it in spades.” He shook a finger in her direction, and she smiled proudly. “But while I struggle to figure emotion into the equation, it’s nearly impossible for you to leave emotion out of any decision. With you, everything is personal.”
“You’re playing the emotion card because I’m a girl. How original,” she said mockingly.
“No, I’m stating a fact because you’re a hothead. The moment someone upsets you, you’re ready to key their car.” Parker stared at her.
He isn’t wrong.
“I might think it, say it, dream about it. Maybe even threaten it. But I haven’t keyed anyone’s car to date,” Zora argued.
They all stared at her and Duke raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, there was that one time. But that mofo totally deserved it.”
The room erupted into laughter before it settled into an eerie quietness again.
“This is something your grandfather and I hadn’t considered.” Duke glanced over at their grandfather. “So we’ll need to discuss the matter ad nauseam.” He stood, picking up the document Parker had prepared. “Don’t expect a decision on this anytime soon.” He pointed at Parker, then glanced around the room. “And no matter what, we’re a family first. I hope all of you will keep that in mind. Greed and ambition have been the downfall of entire societies. They can easily destroy a family and a company like ours.”
“Yes, sir,” Max said. “We won’t forget that. But if we are making the choice based on merit, Zora and I should be a part of the discussion, too. Regardless of what Parker thinks.” He narrowed his gaze at his brother.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, son.”
“I do have one question,” Zora said to Parker. “This idea that you should be the CEO instead of Blake... Is Kayleigh behind it?”
They all regarded Parker carefully. He and Kayleigh were engaged now, but before then Kayleigh had hated their father, mistakenly believing he’d swindled her mother out of property once owned by her maternal grandfather.
She now knew the truth. Duke had been an anonymous benefactor to Kayleigh and her sister at the request of her now deceased mother. They’d embraced Kayleigh as part of their family. But maybe some residual animosity had prompted her to push Parker into making this power grab.
“No,” Parker said adamantly. “This is something I’ve been thinking about for at least a year. I wanted to do my research first. Then I was looking for the right time to bring it up. Seemed like after the anniversary party would be wise.”
Max stood. He’d heard all he needed to hear. He said goodbye to everyone and made his way back to his office.
“Ah...there you are, boss. The meeting didn’t go too well, huh?” Molly’s observation was more of a statement than a question. “Anyway, Quinn dropped by. She wants to know when you two can meet to go over some marketing ideas she has for your first event in two weeks.”
Max grunted. Before, he’d been irritated that he had to relinquish control of his pet project to someone else. And now that he had just as much of a shot at becoming CEO as any of his siblings, he resented having to share the spotlight on a project that could sway the decision his way.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Tell her I’m busy today. Maybe we can meet tomorrow afternoon.”
Molly frowned. She knew his schedule better than he did, so she was well aware that he could spare Quinn an hour or two. But she didn’t challenge him on it. She nodded, instead. “Will do. Can I get you anything?”
“No, thanks.” He forced a smile and closed the door behind him.
His father had been clear that working with Quinn wasn’t an option. But maybe he could change his mind.