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Declan took the chair at the foot of the table, seating himself on Holden s left. Sean took
the chair at the head of the table. The spearmint scent intensified as a man Holden didn t
know took the seat beside Vahid. More staff rushed in to join the meeting, but Holden found
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his gaze caught by the newcomer. Intense green eyes gazed back him, an indefinable emotion
churning within them. Holden had no clue as to the man s identity, but an odd sense of
familiarity pricked his awareness as he stared into those enigmatic eyes. It was as if knew the
man, but couldn t place where or how.
The green gaze shifted as a tall, blonde woman strode into the room. Dressed in an
unrelenting black suit and matching silk shirt, her pale hair twisted into a neat chignon, Emily
Carrington looked like a fashion model until one noticed her stern visage. As one of the most
powerful people at Antaeus International, she held the company s purse strings in her long-
fingered, capable hands. The new man smiled at her as she took a seat beside him. Her
expression turned smug and the new guy s identity dawned on Holden. The wunderkind of
the death care industry s financial sector, Garret Renquist.
Sean and Emily had somehow managed to lure Garret from his position as the head of
finance for Stone Mortuary Services, a job he hadn t even held very long. Alfred Stone had
hired him away from the biggest British mortuary conglomerate in the hope of turning him
loose on the Funeral Director s Guild s financials, a big project that Alfred had spearheaded as
the head of the FDG. Instead, Sean and Emily had whisked the whiz kid to Antaeus
International. With an internal smirk, Holden briefly imagined the acquisition of the stock
market genius taking place over a round of golf. His brother Sean golfed regularly with Alfred
and Marius Granville of Granville Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in their part of the
Darkworld. Holden figured the three powerful men brokered all kinds of industry related
deals during those golf games. Something told him that Garret Renquist might just have been
one of those deals.
 Let s get started, Sean said from the head of the table.  This will be a short meeting
anyway since we re all leaving.
 Leaving? Holden asked, startled. What the hell was his brother up to now?
Sean s intense golden stare turned on Holden.  Yes. Leaving. I ll get to that in a minute.
Holden watched as his older brother s hawk-like gaze settled on the new guy.  Has
everyone met Garret? Garret Renquist is our new Chief Investment Officer. He ll also be
working in the capacity of Budget Director under Emily, which means he ll be working with
all of you on your budgets. He comes highly recommended and has a great reputation for
increasing a company s investment returns. If you haven t had an opportunity to introduce
yourself to him, I suggest you do so over the next four days& 
Sean s voice trailed away and Holden mentally braced himself. He knew that tone. Sean
was up to something that would probably irritate the hell out of him. His brother s suggestion
that everyone introduce themselves to Garret was a thinly veiled order. Since Eden s
departure, Sean regularly did things that he knew would force his younger brother out of his
comfort zone and push the limits of his patience. In the past, Holden had always bounced
back from Sean s Machiavellian power trips. Lately, he found himself beyond angry when his
brother s machinations involved him.
Turning his gaze to his notepad so his brothers wouldn t see the anger beginning to
simmer inside him, his nostrils flared as the scent of spearmint wafted toward him again. Who
the hell smelled like mouthwash?
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 I ll be closing this meeting in a few minutes, but we will reconvene tonight at six over
dinner at the Gargoyle Resort. You are all to go home and pack. We re headed out to the
mountains for a retreat.
Holden s head shot up and his eyes met his older brother s. A gleam of triumph lit Sean s
amber eyes. Holden s jaw tightened. Sean had made his feelings clear a few weeks before
regarding the woman Holden had been dating. Since Sean had never interfered in his sex life
before, Holden had been surprised that he d even mentioned her. He d brushed off his older
brother at the time. Holden really didn t give a shit whether Sean liked who he was fucking. It
was none of Sean s business and it wasn t serious anyway.
Now, however, Sean s machinations had pissed him off and cost him money. Holden had
cleared his calendar for two days so he could have a long four day weekend. His intent had
been to spend those days in a sexual stupor at an exclusive spa in Santa Barbara. The steep
deposit he d put down with his reservations for two would now be lost, and the woman he was
seeing would require placating. Fury rose within him. The loss of the money didn t irritate
him so much, but the thought of having to soothe Gina s ruffled feathers made Holden furious
with his oldest brother. Even though Gina had a tongue that could lick all day, she also had a
rather bitchy attitude that showed up when she didn t get her way. Thanks to Sean, Holden
would now be the recipient of the bitching rather than the licking.
 This will be an opportunity for us to work on some team building and strategizing. It will
also give you all a chance to spend some time with Garret to see how he can help each of your
departments maximize your budgets.
Sean s smile widened as Vahid got up and handed out brochures and packets to everyone. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]