A Hostile Takeover Read online

  A Hostile Takeover

  A Sweet Revenge Series

  Matilda Martel

  Copyright © 2019 by Matilda Martel

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Matilda Martel

  Created with Vellum

  For my boy, the real Pete

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Follow Me

  Also by Matilda Martel

  Chapter 1

  Sofia

  I can’t believe he talked me into this. What am I doing? Smile, Sofia, swallow it, it’s only two more days. Two days won’t kill you. You’ll only feel like you’re dying. You gave your word and you’re helping a friend, not to mention all those people who might lose their job. It’s a small price to pay for getting involved with someone like Landon Malone in the first place.

  What was I thinking?

  People like him are never as charming as they seem. People like him think they can use their money to get whatever they want, and I guess in this case, it might work. I’m the idiot who told him about that offering. I gave him ammunition to use and now come hell or high water he’s going to use it. It’s not fair to them. It’s not fair to anyone.

  Suck it up cupcake, you brought this on yourself.

  When the driver approaches the church, I hop out of the car, thank him once more and head in. I love this church.

  Find something positive, that’s the spirit.

  I don’t believe in any of this, but I like the aesthetic. And this is the church my mother brought us to when we were little. It’s not too big and still looks like an old-fashioned church, not those modern monstrosities.

  Jumping on the sidewalk, I see a big guy standing near the church door, wearing sunglasses. He looks a bit familiar, but he shouldn’t. I’m never in this part of town anymore and I would know if there was someone like him roaming around San Francisco, he’s gorgeous. Pacing slowly, he’s holding a wedding program, he must be in the bridal party. He’s hot, damn hot, too hot for this crowd, probably someone’s husband. All the good ones are always taken. And why wouldn’t he be? This guy must be 6’5, dark eyes, dark hair, a little rough around the edges, but in a good way and I can’t tell for certain, but he looks pretty ripped under that dress shirt...yeah, that’s definitely a mountain of muscle. When I get a few steps closer, he stops in his tracks and offers me a lazy smile.

  “Miss Sofia Leon, this is the best surprise.” He removes his glasses and I look up to see the eyes, the big brown eyes of the hottest chef in New York.

  Who the hell let you off the island, big boy?

  “Oh my God, Kaleb? Is that right? You’re the chef from Pete’s? I reviewed you, didn’t I?” I practically jump back in my stilettos and clutch my heart in surprise.

  You know damn well who it is, you little liar. You stalked him online for months after you left the city.

  “Yes! You gave us a five-star review. That was very generous of you. I asked your magazine for your contact information. I wanted to thank you, but they wouldn’t give it out, privacy concerns.” He stops and takes me in from head to toe. I feel undressed, vulnerable, violated by his eyes, but all in the most delicious way.

  “Look at you! You’re here! This is the last place I want to be and you’re here.” Appearing absolutely elated to see me, little old Sofia, a simple food critic who gave him a nice review. When he reaches out to hug me, I awkwardly accept, basking in the warmth of his mammoth chest.

  Oh, beautiful man, please marry me.

  For propriety’s sake and fearing Landon may arrive any moment, I pull away. It’s painful pulling away, I’ve fantasized about this man for over a year. He was one of my last reviews before I left the city to come home after my mother’s passing. It was a mistake coming home. Coming here only put that snake in my path and now I’m not the only one paying for it. Pushing away from this beautiful, hard man, I sigh and gaze up, wondering why he’s acting so thrilled to see me.

  “Are you here for the wedding? Do you know Edina and Victor?” I cut through the strange silence.

  “Victor and I went to college together. I grew up here, but I haven’t been back in ages.” He stares at me. He looks like he’s trying to take me in, make a memory or memorize something about the way I look. I do it all the time when I meet people I want to remember. I did it to him in New York. I really should have worn more makeup. I didn’t know I would be scrutinized this closely by someone this gorgeous.

  “Are you going in?” I take a few steps and point to the door.

  He nods. “I will in a few moments. I’m waiting for someone to get here.” He smiles again, wringing his hands nervously. “It is so good to see you. I’m blown away that you’re here.”

  Unsure of what to say, I smile sheepishly, biting my lip and shrugging my shoulders, reminiscent of that time in middle school when Ricky Young looked me straight in the face and told me I was the prettiest girl in 7th grade.

  “It’s good to see you, too. I guess I’ll see you inside.”

  “You bet you will.” He throws me a cocky grin that sends the butterflies in my stomach down to naughtier places.

  As I reach for the door, he beats me to it, holding it open. For a split second, our eyes meet, and I catch myself giggling, did I giggle? For God’s sake, did I giggle like some pre-pubescent school girl watching a boy band video?

  Get a hold of yourself! You’re walking into church, there are saints everywhere.

  “Sofia! Over here!” Edina must be watching the door like a hawk. She's been on edge, it’s a bride thing. Well, what do I know? I’ve never been married, but it seems to be a bride thing, from what I’ve heard. I’m not sure why she made me a bridesmaid. We’ve never been that close. But I get the impression she doesn’t have too many friends and she didn’t want to miss out on the whole bride-bridesmaid experience. As for me, I won’t do any of it like this. Bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers, singers, programs, flower girls, what a bunch of nonsense. Just me and my groom and someone to marry us is enough for me. Well, you need witnesses, I guess and there’s gotta be cake. And this is precisely how things start to get out of hand.

  Typical. That’s the first place your mind goes. You’re always thinking about food.

  “Hey, girl! One more day!” I die a little more inside as I feign excitement, stomping my heels as I rush over. That’s right. Keep up the façade, this is bigger than you.

  “Oh Sofia, you’re so good about being early. I’m still waiting on a few others. I just want to get through this rehearsal and get everyone over to dinner. The guys will head out to the bachelor party afterwards.” She crosses her fingers. “Here’s hoping everyone behaves.”

  “Victor wouldn’t dare do anything wrong. He’s wrapped around your little finger.” I give her a side hug.

  “Landon’s on his way and there’s a big guy outside, I think his name is Kaleb. Are you waiting on him?” I downplay my interest in that big guy, not wanting to lead on that I think of anyone in the world but Landon Malone. Yeah, right.

  “Oh shit, big guy? Tattoos?” Edina looks frightened.

  “I didn’t see tattoos. He was wearing long sleeves. Short, dark hair, pretty handsome.” I play it casual. No need to go on and on de
scribing every one of his hot features. I’d almost forgotten about those tats. When we met at his restaurant, his sleeves were rolled up and one of his arms was sleeved in something tribal. I’ve never liked tattoos, but they looked so incredible on him. I bet they go all the way past his shoulder. He looked so dangerous and sexy. I think I’ve spent far too much time with the good little boys and their buttoned-up collared shirts and three-piece suits.

  Chefs and tats? Why? I’ve never figured it out.

  “That sounds like Kaleb. I’ll get Vic to get him. I don’t want any trouble before the rehearsal.” Edina flies off, darting towards Victor, who then proceeds to run off towards the front doors. Moments later, Victor re-enters, with Kaleb following close behind, looking smug and Landon a few steps behind him, appearing disheveled.

  What on earth?

  Because I promised to play the good girlfriend, and because I’m dying of curiosity, I head over to Landon, pretending to be concerned about his well-being. I’m not. I’m sorry the paramedics aren’t on their way. At least, I’d be able to have some time to myself. If Kaleb roughed him up, I’ll owe him a drink later, but for now, I need to act like I care. Stretching my arms out in sympathy, I traipse over, pretending I’ll slip on the marble floor, but simply dreading every minute I’ll have to spend in his company.

  “Landon? What happened?” I fix his upturned collar and help him re-tuck his shirt. It takes every ounce of strength not to laugh, but for the sake of Sean’s company, I keep it together. Gratitude must be given to Mr. Farias, my tenth-grade drama teacher for imparting his wisdom. Thank you, sir. If you were still alive, I’d owe you a drink too. This is going to be such a long night. If only he was here for one of his awesome pre-performance pep-talks.

  “It’s nothing, sweetheart.” He addresses me as sweetheart loud enough for others to hear and I cringe when Kaleb glances in our direction. Something sparks in his eyes, a flame of anger or spite, but he turns away and heads for the group near the altar.

  “I had words with Kaleb outside. He’s the one I told you about, the one who ran off with my girlfriend in college. I confronted him and things got ugly.” Landon is milking it. There’s nothing wrong with him but a little fright and I don’t believe a damn word coming out of his mouth. Sure, I can believe a woman would leave him for Kaleb, that’s a no-brainer, the man is a god. I’m going to have to give this girl a pass for that one. Not only am I contemplating it at this very second, but it’s the law of the jungle. This is an evolutionary, primal kind of thing. Look at that chest, those legs, those big hands that can probably cup my entire breast in one squeeze...wait...where am I?

  Church, Sofia, you’re in church. Next time take it outside.

  “Landon, why would you confront him? He’s bigger than you. You could have been hurt.” I know he’s lying. Kaleb was outside for a reason. He said he was waiting someone, waiting for him no doubt and Landon’s a total pussy. No way did he confront someone he couldn’t bully with money. I’m not sure why he’s lying, and it doesn’t matter, but I’m not coddling a liar.

  “He’s not that much bigger than me.” He fixes his hair and takes my hand, possessively.

  “Landon, this is Edina and Victor’s big day. I don’t care what this guy did to you back in the day. Stop picking fights. Now go get in place. Everyone is waiting.” I walk away and head towards the altar with the other bridesmaids, waiting for the priest’s instructions.

  “Sweetheart, it wasn’t like that.” He catches up with me and takes my hand again. I know it wasn’t like that, but it’s too late and he can’t change his story now. Grinning inside, I try to shake off his hand, but he holds firm.

  God, I hate him.

  “Come stand with me. We haven’t started yet. I’ve missed you all day.” His voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.

  What did I ever see in him?

  He’s easy on the eyes, blonde hair, nice build, taller than average and not a terrible lover. My experience is so limited, he never had to try too hard. Simply allowing for foreplay was a big plus in my book. I really need to set the bar higher next time.

  I’m here tolerating him for one reason and one reason only, to help Sean. As much as I like Edina, I could have easily skipped this wedding and never have seen any of these people again. Meeting Landon Malone, dating him, living with him, believing I loved him, has been one of the biggest mistakes of my life and I’ve made some doozies.

  I should be done with this. I broke up with him over a month ago. We were only together six months. He should almost be over me by now. Isn’t that the rule? A week for every month we were together? Is that just for girls? Oh, who cares. This man is incapable of real love. I doubt he ever felt anything real, I certainly never did. How did I let him talk me into this farce?

  Your friend, dummy. Just do it for your friend.

  If it was just about me, I wouldn’t be here. But I feel responsible for tipping him off about Sean. He would have never made the investment because he’d never heard much about the company. I made the mistake of talking them up. I was proud of my friend. When they made their long-awaited public offering, it was huge, and Landon was ready to jump on it.

  Although Sean kept a large chunk of the shares, ever since we broke up, Landon has been buying more, little by little. He’s bought out one of Sean’s partner’s and he’s making a move on the second. It’s a sound investment but it’s all out of spite. It’s what he does. Landon is a raider. He calls it mergers and acquisitions, but that’s just a fancy name for someone who steals things he never had to talent or drive to come up with on his own. He says it’s never personal, but it’s called a hostile takeover for a reason. And in this case, it is personal.

  Two more days. He promised he’d back off if you do this for him. Just suck it up and put up with him for two more, goddamn, wretched, soulless days.

  Chapter 2

  Kaleb

  I still can’t believe I’m here. What the hell am I doing? Jesus. Why the hell didn’t I come up with an excuse? If it wasn’t Victor’s wedding, no way would I be here. But you gotta do right by Vic. The guy has no enemies, he’d give you the shirt off his back, salt of the earth and all that shit. I mean it, you’ll never meet a finer person. He’s the only reason I’m swallowing my pride and coming within ten feet of that backstabbing piece of shit, Landon Malone.

  It’s beyond me how he’s managed to keep any friends, but apparently, he and Victor are still close. I shouldn’t have shaken him up. I didn’t hurt him. I mean, come on, not in front of a church. That piece of shit yelled uncle before I had a chance to do any real damage. When he’s waving his Daddy’s money around, then he can act like a giant bully, but when he’s alone he cowers like a deer caught in the headlights. He’s such a pathetic asshole.

  I’ll get him later.

  I know I should be over it by now. The guys assumed I would be. I haven’t been back here in fifteen years. Who holds on to a grudge for fifteen years?

  I do, that’s who.

  Hey man, it’s not like I think about this every damn day. It’s this city. Being back in San Francisco has brought back all these memories that I thought were dead and buried. This was the scene of the crime.

  Fucking Landon.

  He couldn’t keep his slimy hands to himself. Jackie and I spent three years together. That meant something. He never gave a damn about her, he was bored, he needed something to do when his latest string of gold diggers moved on to greener pastures. Instead of looking for some other distraction, he fucked around with my girlfriend for over two months behind my back. We were good friends, the best of friends, we grew up together, but all that meant nothing to him.

  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an angry man. I’ve done well for myself, but things could be better. Things could have been different. I’m 38 and I don’t remember the last time I was in a serious relationship. My hours are horrible, and they’ve only gotten worse since I opened my second restaurant. It was a dream of mine for years while
I worked my way through the chef ranks, running kitchens and learning all the tricks of the trade. I opened my first place five years ago and I would have been happy with the one, but it’s done so well, an investor came to me with a proposal I couldn’t turn down.

  But work isn’t the problem. As busy as I am, I know myself, if I fell in love, I’d make time. Not being able to trust anyone complicates matters. You gotta trust people and I don’t. After what went down between Landon and Jackie, I’m not confident I can detect schemes and bullshit in real time.

  That shit was going on for months and I was clueless, fucking clueless. When it all came out, I was just as angry about the deception as I was about them having sex right under my nose. I felt like such a chump. Rather than drive people away with my possessive bullshit, I just end things before they get out of hand. I don’t want to be that guy. And right or wrong, I blame that fucking prick for it.

  The plan has always been to get in and get out. I’m here for one reason only, the wedding, but now I’m stuck with this rehearsal, the dinner, and the obligatory bachelor party. Not much hope of getting out of this dinner thing tonight, but after my open display of hostility towards the delicate Best Man, I might be able to check out early from the stag party. It’s better for everyone if I’m not around Landon while I’m drunk. I came for the wedding, not to socialize.

  When Sunday morning rolls around, all I want to do is get the hell out of town. I’ve got shit to do. I’ve got two restaurants in the city that need me. I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am, and this little excursion is keeping me from them. The least amount of time I spend in the presence of that lowlife, the less likely I am to kill him.