Read Online Bound Beneath His Pain: A Dirty Little Secrets Novel by Stacey Kennedy - Free Book Online

should be reconsidering this. Have you looked at their reports?” He thrusts a hand through his copper-colored, stylish hair, causing his suit to stretch against his bulk. “This made sense as an acquisition to remove one of our competitors. It makes no sense to keep Richardson as is.”
    I lean back in my swivel chair, lacing my hands behind my head. I can’t disagree. It
is
a terrible decision. We had paid a higher price for Richardson because we weren’t the only interested buyers. But this time—this
one
time—I’m okay with making a bad financial decision.
    “I agree with Travis,” Isabella adds; her stern, light green eyes intent on mine. “It doesn’t make sense. We’d be throwing money away before we ever saw a return. Not only do we need to relocate the business, but we’ve taken all of their bestselling agents and brought them into Holt.”
    Anderson glances my way and frowns. “They’re right.”
    I sigh, turning in my chair, glancing out at the skyline, and seeing the sun high in the afternoon sky.
    On one hand, I can’t argue with anything being said. Holt isn’t only
my
company; it’s my team’s company, too. It’s been born from their sweat and blood, as much as it has from mine.
    On the other hand, the way Allie looked at me when she worried for her co-workers flashes through my mind and still stops me in my tracks. I can’t turn back. I made her a promise. I won’t break it.
    I draw in a long breath before facing them again. “Right now, I’m not changing my mind on this decision.”
    Isabella shakes her head in frustration, not about to back down. “We acquired Richardson for its clientele and to stake our claim in the residential market.”
    A frown begins pulling on my lips. While I don’t like being questioned, she’s not wrong—Holt deals mostly with mergers and acquisitions regarding commercial properties, but Holt’s residential real estate department is what we hoped to grow this year, selling not only high-income homes, but dabbling more into the middle-income market to dominate the entire industry.
    Isabella continues, “We don’t have the resources or staff to ensure we bring Richardson up to speed to be successful on its own. We never planned for that.”
    I glance at Anderson and he shrugs, telling me he feels the same as the others. I respect my team standing firm in their opinions. It’s why I work alongside them, and I have changed the game on them now.
    Where does this leave me?
    Right now all I know is Richardson is too small, too run-down, and is lacking good real estate agents, since we took them all to grow Holt. “Let’s bring in Darius Bennett on this and see if his team can give some insight.” Darius’s billion-dollar company, Bennett, Inc., provides financial and budgeting services to large corporations, as well as advice on organization and management issues, and can improve any company. I have gone to Darius a few times in the past when a company I bought needed a face-lift. His people could find flaws that others missed. “I’d like to see the entire picture of what we’re looking at here.” I turn to Isabella. “Get our team working on finding any properties that Richardson can possibly move into.”
    Anderson adds, “And make sure the location is somehow tied to real estate, too. If we end up doing this, we need to make sure we’re giving Richardson the best shot out of the gate.”
    Isabella begrudgingly nods. “I suppose that’s a good place to start.”
    Travis grimaces. “I’ll take another look at their financials and see if I can be of any help there, too.”
    “Excellent,” I say, glad the team is on board. “Let’s meet again after I talk with Darius and see where everything sits before we make any final decisions.”
    I get some disgruntled agreements as the room clears, and I reach for the conference room’s phone and press the intercom button. The loud beep cuts through the air as I spin in my chair, staring out at