Chapter One
“What are you going to do?” The harsh demand was yelled with as much force as the frail man could manage.
Not what she wanted to do, Diana Kennedy mused.
“Answer me!” Lanford Kennedy continued to rage from his hospital bed.
Diana smoothed the skirt of her light blue suit and straightened her jacket before turning to her father. “Going into the lion’s den.”
“I already told you; we’re going to fight him every step of the way.”
“There’s nothing left to fight for. You lost.”
Lanford started to yell but instead began to cough uncontrollably. The nurse standing nearby, whom Diana was paying to watch over her father, gave him a sedative to calm him and put the oxygen mask back on his face.
Diana swallowed the lump in her throat. It was still a shock to see him in that bed, an IV in his hand, oxygen nearby, and his once virile form fading away as cancer ate at him. Six months ago he would have never allowed his iron-gray hair to grow into such disarray. He would have refused to wear the t-shirt and sweats that were now his daily uniform outside of the gym.
Thanking the woman, Diana left to grab her car keys and purse. It wouldn’t be much longer.
The doctors gave her father, at most, six months to live. Diana didn’t give him that long. She could see the rapid deterioration of his body despite the treatments over these past two months. His seizures were getting worse. There were days when he didn’t even recognize her or know who he was. The cancer that had started in his lungs quickly spread to his brain. The metastatic brain tumors had grown quickly, and the pressure was having an impact on his cognitive functions, while the lung cancer continued to grow so much that Lanford now struggled to get oxygen. No, it would not be much longer.
Diana imagined that only the knowledge that he would no longer have control over his family and what was left of his possessions kept him alive this long. The sick feeling in her stomach because she wished he would just give up lingered inside her, eating at her like acid. How she hated the man lying in that bed.
And how she hated Raphael Rouillard for putting her in the position of having to defend and protect her family, and in turn, protect her father.
Raphael Rouillard hated her father. Years before, Lanford Kennedy had had a brief affair with Raphael’s sister, Adeline, and had gotten her pregnant. When Lanford denied Adeline’s claim that he was the father of the baby boy growing inside her, she tried to take her life. Thankfully she had not been successful, and Raphael had gotten Adeline the help she needed to cope with being young and pregnant. Afterward, Raphael hunted Lanford down and beat the man severely, or at least that was how Lanford told the story. It was the only time anyone had ever dared to take a hand to Lanford Kennedy. Though it had taken the court a year, and Raphael had gotten to see the birth of his nephew, he spent two and a half years in state prison after resolutely refusing to take the plea that would have resulted in a misdemeanor versus a felony, opting instead to go before a jury. The judge had given Raphael four years for assault and battery of a highly regarded member of the business community.
When Raphael had gotten out of jail early, he had vowed to destroy Lanford. Or at least, that’s how Lanford told it. But Lanford had laughed, not worried about the younger man’s vow of vengeance. Ten years later, Lanford wasn’t laughing. Unfortunately, neither was Diana. Part of her applauded Raphael. Adeline and her son Paul were two more victims in Lanford Kennedy’s long history of abuse, negligence, and disinterest. But Diana had two younger siblings to protect, as well as their mother.
Diana climbed into her silver sedan and headed toward the corporate offices of Rouillard Enterprises. She’d scheduled an appointment to see Raphael, unsure yet what strategy she might employ. She just needed three months at most. By then her father would have passed, her twin brothers, Nick and Drew, would be eighteen and graduated from high school, and she could sell her father’s shares and turn the company over to whoever the board deemed worthy. She could take the money to put her brothers through college, and if she was lucky, give their mother, Larissa, the nest egg she needed to support herself until she could find a job and learn how to support herself. It was guaranteed her father would never relinquish what was left of his shares to Raphael, and if Raphael moved forward with his plans of a hostile takeover before her father passed, she wouldn’t get anywhere near current value. She had no doubt Raphael would take the company apart the minute he gained control, making the shares she was to inherit worthless.
She could admit she didn’t want to see the company her father had built, Cabotage Inc., destroyed. She had worked there, knew the people, and knew what sacrifices the men and women who worked in her father’s factories had made over the years. The equipment they made kept various commercial fishing and shipping businesses that relied on Cabotage’s equipment up and running. They looked to Lanford Kennedy and his small empire to keep their boats, cranes, and other equipment working. And for a time, those same men and women who looked to Lanford for their livelihood had looked to her for guidance and support until she hadn’t been able to take her father’s abuse and left.
Stepping back into the role, she found some satisfaction in taking over the company now that her father wasn’t there standing over her shoulder and criticizing her every move. Since she stepped into the role, she had been manufacturing dozens of reasons why no one had seen her father lately, even to her family. She didn’t want the word of his illness to spread until he was gone. And she didn’t want word of her father’s illness and pending bankruptcy to make its way to Raphael Rouillard’s ears.
The building that Rouillard Enterprises was housed in was a modern building. The majority of the building was glass, the sun reflecting off the tinted panes. Raphael’s uncle, Basile Rouillard, had designed and built the twelve-story glass structure years ago after his fledgling construction business had its first big taste of success.
Diana could feel her courage faltering as she climbed the concrete steps and entered the cool interior of the office complex. Before Lanford had gotten Adeline pregnant, Basile and Lanford had been friends. The two men had seemed inseparable for a time. They had met when Lanford had hired Rouillard Enterprises to expand his factories and his shipyard. Diana hadn’t met Raphael back then; he’d been living on the other side of the country after graduating from college. Rumors were that he had no interest in working for his uncle.
Despite never being introduced, Raphael Rouillard knew who she was. On the rare occasions their paths crossed, she could feel his icy glare following her. At sixteen, she’d gone to work for her father, and at nineteen, she had stood by her father’s side as the court passed judgment against Raphael. She could still hear Adeline’s cries as Raphael was taken away in handcuffs.
Diana strode toward the front desk, the sound of her high heels on the marble floors echoing in the two-story entryway. “Diana Kennedy to see Mr. Raphael Rouillard.”
The curvy receptionist directed her to the elevators and to the twelfth floor. Discreet lettering on the door declared she had the right office when she stepped off the elevator. Behind these glass doors, there was another receptionist. She introduced herself once again.
The receptionist, this one male, made a quick call.
“Ms. Kennedy?”
Diana turned to see a tall, slender brunette dressed in an expensive suit not unlike her own, who had been sent to meet her. “Yes.”
“I’m Lydia, Mr. Rouillard’s assistant. He asked me to fetch you.”
Diana nodded and followed the young woman. She was led to the back of the space toward the corner of the building that faced a view of the city.
“Go on in. He’s expecting you.”
Surprised, Diana nodded and thanked the woman. She had been sure she’d be kept waiting. With a light rap on the door, she opened it. Raphael Rouillard glanced up at her but was talking on the phone. He pointed to the seat across from his desk. She closed the door but only came to stand beside the chair instead of sitting in it.
“I said no. You tell them to better the offer or we walk.” Raphael rose to face the woman who was watching him with wary eyes.
Diana didn’t doubt he knew how intimidating he could be. She wanted to shrink under his dark sapphire gaze. And she didn’t like the analytical way he was looking at her. She couldn’t help the impact he had on her senses every time she saw him. He had dark wavy hair he kept a little too long. His blue eyes glittered like gems, and his normally sensuous mouth was pressed into a scowl. The black and red snake tattoo that wrapped around his left wrist peeked out from under the cuff of his white dress shirt, while the dark charcoal slacks molded to his powerful thighs. This was not a man to tangle with.
Raphael continued to watch her, and Diana struggled for a moment to remember why she was there. Nothing short of desperation would have brought her to his office. She was pleased when her voice didn’t waver. “Mr. Rouillard, thank you for seeing me.”
Raphael leaned over the desk, planting his palms on the gleaming wooden surface.
Diana’s eyes involuntarily widened at the implied threat.
Raphael’s eyes closed in on her face. “I see your father has decided to hide behind a woman instead of facing me himself. Did he think I’d show you mercy?”
Diana swallowed; she couldn’t fail in her mission. The lie she’d told so many times rolled easily off her tongue. “He’s out of the country.”
Raphael straightened. “I’ve heard that rumor. The funny thing is there is no record of him leaving.”
Diana was only caught off guard for a moment. “Then perhaps you didn’t look hard enough. His yacht has been out of its dock for over a month.”
“One of your father’s many toys. But then he has so many, it’s hard to keep track. So, he sends you in his place. I never took your father for a coward.”
Coward? No, he was not that. But as his days drew closer to their end, she had seen fear in his eyes, something else that was out of character for the man. “I’m in charge in his absence. While he’s been away, you pounced on the opportunity to attempt a takeover.”
“Your father left himself wide open. His investors were easy to manipulate. Most of them haven’t seen him in months. And they have no faith in you in his absence.”
Diana pursed her lips. Both his investors and his creditors had been calling nonstop. She’d fielded as many calls as she could, but most were from creditors. Her father had squandered most of his money, and what money hadn’t been squandered had been used to pay off his medical debts. Comfort measures at home were all the doctors could do now, and she was paying for that out of her own money. As she had told the creditors she’d spoken with, there simply wasn’t anything left.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she thought. There were her father’s shares in Cabotage left, as well as some artwork she hesitated to part with. She clung to the hope those shares represented. The yacht she so brazenly mentioned had been repossessed. So had most of her father’s toys, including his Porsche, his Mercedes, and his Hummer. Tomorrow she would be moving him and his nurse into her condo because the house was foreclosing, and the contents were being sold. But Raphael either didn’t know or didn’t care.
Diana stood as tall as she could and focused back on Raphael. “And you made sure they don’t. Say what you will about Lanford, but you don’t know me.”
“I know enough. I saw a dutiful daughter standing by the side of her father while he argued in court that he wasn’t the father of an eighteen-year-old girl’s baby. I saw a woman so spoiled, so uncaring, who simply sat without saying a word during the court proceedings that decided how much, or rather how little, child support Lanford was going to have to pay to that young woman. You, his wife, your stepsister, and his sons all stood by his side. The perfect blended family.”
Diana shivered at the hatred in his tone. She remembered that day well. Her father had stood there apologetically as he’d held his wife’s hand. Larissa had played her part and pretended to be the supportive wife. Diana had stood on the opposite end with the rest of the family in between. Shandy, her stepsister, had been nine, her twin brothers just five. Shandy had not wanted to go, her hatred of Lanford poorly disguised. Her brothers, unsure of what was going on around them, clung to their mother during the hearing. And while the couple had stayed married, that day marked the end of their relationship. Shandy moved in with her father across the country but had kept in touch with the family over the years, everyone except Lanford, and they still all got together occasionally for holidays and birthdays. If her father knew they kept in touch, he never mentioned it.
But now he would be gone, and nothing was left of the legacy he had thought to leave.
Raphael continued. “I see a woman loyal to her father.”
In a way, he was right. “I need you to stop what you’re doing. Just for a little while.”
Raphael held up a hand. “Don’t bother. I know about your father’s debts. I know about the foreclosure, and that most of what he had was repossessed by debt collectors. You don’t have a leg to stand on, any more than he does. Where is he hiding? And why did he send you?”
Diana paled at his demanding tone. He knew. She had tried so hard to hide it. She should have known better. But at least she had been able to keep his illness under wraps. If he knew, he no doubt would have thrown the fact in her face. “I’m going to ask again; please wait a little while longer before you take over my father’s company.”
Raphael came around the desk. The back of his fingers caressed her throat. “And what exactly are you going to offer me in exchange?”
Diana stood her ground, though her heart was beating frantically in her chest. “What is it that you want?”
Raphael’s fingers circled the back of her neck, and he leaned closer. “What if I said you?”
Diana pulled away and was surprised when he let her go. “Then I’d say you’re no better than my father.”
Raphael leaned back against his desk. “Except you’re not eighteen. You’re thirty-two. But you’re not my type.”
Diana let out a breath. “I wouldn’t even pretend to know what your type might be. I need you to give me three months. After that, you can do whatever you want.”
Raphael’s laugh was harsh. “I can already do what I want. And we both know it. So, again, what’s in it for me?”
Diana figured she didn’t have much to lose and opted for the truth. “You can do it for two young men. And you can do it for their mother. You can do it for all the people who work for my father. And you can do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Raphael’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not completely without compassion. But your father knows what will happen to everyone who works for him, and he’s not doing a thing to stop me. He deserves to lose everything he’s worked for.”
Diana watched as Raphael’s gaze drifted away. She could imagine what he was thinking. She knew when she came it was probably futile to try to reason with him. Revenge was a powerful motivator, and he had more provocation to seek revenge than most.
Diana closed her eyes for a moment, defeat weighing down on her. “Sorry I wasted your time. And I’m sorry that you care more about revenge than you do about the innocent people you’ll hurt.”
Diana would have turned and walked away, but Raphael stopped her by grabbing her wrist. She glanced down and saw the head of the snake. She looked up at Raphael and trembled.
“You’re right. Revenge is a powerful thing. I wonder what he was thinking when he sent you into the belly of the beast. And I can’t help but wonder what it is your father thinks when he looks back on his affair with my sister.”
Diana answered him honestly. “I doubt he thinks about it at all.”
Raphael snarled and pulled her down into the chair. “What would you be willing to do to get the three months you seem to need for the two young men, the mother, and the people?”
Diana thought of her two young brothers, their smiling faces, and their belief that they had bright futures ahead of them. “Most anything.”
Raphael dropped into the adjacent chair. “Again, what if I said I wanted you?”
Diana couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. “So if I agree to some lurid affair, you’ll give me the three months I’m asking for?”
Raphael tipped his head to study her. “You’d do it, wouldn’t you?”
Diana smacked him with all the strength she could muster from the chair. “You are no better than my father.”
Raphael absorbed the blow. “Maybe. I learned a lot while in prison. And some of what I learned is how to protect my own. I will destroy your father, Diana. You can bet on it. But I wonder what he would think if I took his golden girl away from him, too? What would he have left to lose after that? I doubt he has much affection for his wife. I feel sorry for her and the years she has spent with such a cold man. But you, you are not an innocent victim in this. Your presence in my office is proof of that. All those years ago, you never should have stood by his side; you were old enough to know better.”
“Like your sister was?” Diana tossed the barb and saw it hit its mark.
“Get out of my office, Diana. Next time I won’t be so nice.”
Diana rose and fled the office.
When she got to her car, she closed her eyes for a moment. She was torn between humiliation and anger. She decided on anger. She twisted the key in the ignition and headed to the office. Mock her, would he? Before going to his office, she had hoped he would simply give her the time she asked for. She supposed he was right that she had nothing to offer him. But to insinuate she’d be willing to sleep with him for that time was insulting. And it hadn’t gotten past her notice that he hadn’t actually propositioned her; it had been hypothetical. But regardless, her temper was riled, and she was going to start the fight she had been hoping to avoid.
She strode into the office building that held Cabotage Manufacturing. The business had been founded by her father and his older brother Thackery years ago. The company’s name had come from the word cabotage, which meant the right to operate by sea, air, or any other means. They saw themselves as masters of their budding empire. But when Thackery died, leaving behind a huge insurance policy, Cabotage Manufacturing grew into the massive manufacturing and shipping business it was today.
As she strode across the now threadbare carpet of her father’s failing empire, she waved at her vice president of operations, Brett Coleman.
The short, overweight man followed her into her office. He was only a couple of inches taller than she was, and his once brunette hair had thinned and grayed. But his mind was sharp, and if anyone could help her postpone Raphael’s inevitable takeover, he could.
“What’s up, Boss Lady?” Brett took a seat opposite Diana. He could see the flags of temper on her cheeks.
“Raphael Rouillard is what is up. He’s the one behind the purchase of our stock. I’ve been doing some checking in with our suppliers and customers, and he’s the reason we’ve been having issues with supplies and losing contracts. He’s been putting it out there that Cabotage is on the verge of bankruptcy and that my father’s absence is because the company is failing. Rumors are that Lanford has abandoned ship. I need to know what assets we have that we can liquidate. I am not going to let him take the company without a fight.”
Brett smiled. “It’s about time. I thought you were going to let him have it.”
Diana’s brows furrowed. “You knew about his plans to launch a hostile takeover?”
Brett shrugged. “I’ve been in this business a long time. And I’ve worked for Lanford Kennedy for a long time. Everyone knows he has more enemies than friends. And the scandal with Mr. Rouillard’s sister may be old news, but it’s still talked about from time to time. Rouillard has not been shy in his hatred of your father. I’m just surprised it took this long. But I’ve been hoping to hear you say you’re going to fight. I have already had our financials pulled and have some recommendations on what to sell off, what to retain, and a social campaign.”
“Social media, don’t you mean?” Diana opened her laptop and started pulling up the reports Brett had just sent her.
“No, I mean social campaign. Your father is essentially in the wind. No one other than you knows where he is. If you don’t start getting out there and letting everyone know that you’re in charge and that you mean business, you’ll have no way of knowing what is being said about Cabotage.”
Hating that he was right, Diana pulled up her calendar. Her ever-efficient assistant had her days and nights planned. One of their biggest customers was hosting a fundraiser this weekend at his home. “I guess I’d better get my hair done and find a dress.”
Brett cleared his throat. “Not to be overly personal, but sexier is better in that crowd. Everyone knows that Gilbert Chambers can be swayed by a pretty face. And while I would never say this to one of my daughters or my wife, most men respond, whether they want to or not, to a sexy lady.”
“The red dress then.” Normally every feminine bone in her body would have rebelled at the thought of dressing sexy to gain business, a favor, or anything else. But Raphael was a worthy opponent, and if flashing some leg and letting a little cleavage show would get these men to listen to her, then she would.
Diana shut her laptop. “Game on.”
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
