Chapter 1

Jake Knightley closed his tired eyes and pushed back his chair with a large sigh. He looked around at his large office with the commanding mahogany desk on one side, a comfortable yet stylish sofa set in the center of the room, and the city skyline twinkling in the night sky visible through his office windows. The opulent surroundings were exactly what one would expect in the office for a CEO of one of the largest oil companies, Donwell Energy, but Jake knew the truth that he was nothing but a fraud when it came to handle this responsibility. What's more, he was pretty sure the entire Board of Directors and the company's shareholders all thought he wouldn't be able to keep Donwell Energy going. He had spent his entire life knowing that one day he would be running this company and had spent every moment familiarizing himself with every aspect of the company's operations and yet no one had expected he would be taking over this company quiet this soon. It was all well and good to have a young and hip CEO in the financial or IT sector where anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit and sharp mind could hit it big, but the oil industry was steeped with tradition with the average age of a company's leader was in his mid- to late 50's. No one believed Jake was ready for this position and while his Ivy League education was up to mark it was generally agreed that he didn't have the necessary life or work experience to fulfill the role.

The issue wasn't even that the Board didn't know what to make of a 34-year-old CEO leading one of the largest global oil companies but that they felt he somehow cheated his way to the position. No one was willing to believe that Jake hadn't known the changes to the company's succession plan his father, David Knightley had made in the last few months before his death. Although, everyone had accepted that Jake would one day take over, it was one of the few majority family owned oil companies after all, it had always been understood that he would continue to take on more and more challenging leadership positions until eventually he was appointed CEO. This was the agreed upon plan even before David was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and became even more solidified after the diagnosis. Everyone including Jake had been working with that understanding and plans were already underway to transition company responsibility to other senior members of the company. It wasn't until Jake's father suddenly passed away from complications related to the cancer that it was revealed that David had put in some peculiar points into his will regarding how the company would be split and had appointed Jake to take over effective immediately for a period of 18-months. If he wasn't successful at the job, then it would revert to the previous plan with a Board directed CEO until Jake was determined to be ready.

Jake sighed once again thinking about everything that had happened since his father had passed away four months ago. He had been in London overseeing the acquisition of a small oil refinery when he had been told his father was in the hospital and the prognosis wasn't very good.

"Jake, I want you to take responsibility. I know you can do it and want you to promise that you will try everything in your power to not give in to what they want," His father had said in an urgent whisper while furtively looking around like someone was spying on them. "I know their plan is to take this away from the family control"

"Don't worry father. Of course I will make sure I handle everything. Just rest for now and we will talk more when you are feeling better" At the time Jake had just wanted his father to sleep, not realizing this would be the last conversation they would have. He had gotten used to these paranoid conversations regarding the Board of Directors scheming to take away the company. Maybe his father was even right since it was no longer common for oil companies to be primarily owned by a single family.

"Just promise me you will take care of your brother and mother" He had looked so sad and afraid, "I always wished you two brothers had been closer, but I guess now it will be even harder for it to happen, but for the sake of the company I had to do it like this."

He thought back to that last conversation with his father, not fully comprehending what his father was telling him about the company. David had increasingly been talking about his legacy, the company, and his family honor in recent months and Jake had assumed it was more of the same.

Of course, everything had fallen apart in the last few months since the will had been read. David had made sure everyone in the family was comfortable but had left the bulk of the family estate and business responsibility under Jake to divvy up as appropriate. He had mentioned in the will that Jake would take care of everyone and only trusted his son to see things done as he would want them. As much as he appreciated his father's sudden vote of confidence, the fact that the changes were made in the last few months before his death left everyone with a sour taste in their mouth.

At this point, the Board of Director's were all convinced that Jake had taken advantage of his father in his dying days to take over power of the company. This resulted in thinly veiled barbs, rampant mistrust, and covert acts of defiance amongst his company's senior officers. As for the family front, he went from having a perfectly cordial relationship with his step-mom, Taylor Weston to suddenly being treated with either open hostility or extreme niceness as if Jake planned on kicking her out of her own home. Things were even worse with his brother John who proceeded to act like his father passing away and leaving his older brother in charge was a minor inconvenience in his days filled generally with drinking and women while constantly going from one party to the next. Of course, the fact that his father left provisions for John to also take part in the company's operations if he chose were treated with an eye roll and laugh with the statement "why would I want to work when I have more money then I can ever spend."

The only person who seemed happy with Jake's new responsibilities was his mother Cecily but that was probably due to her new-found status as mother to the most eligible bachelor on this side of the country. He had always had attention from women just based on his natural good looks with his thick black hair and ice grey eyes but was generally very discerning and discreet about his relationships. His tall physique and natural confidence in any situation gave him an aura of power and his watchful and quiet personality made him seem mysterious, further adding to his appeal to the opposite sex. His family connections and ivy league education had always been the icing on a well packaged cake. But once word of his father's will got out along with the title of youngest CEO of a large corporation, the husband hunting was at a whole new level with everyone wanting an introduction or spending time with anyone they thought could put in a good word for them.

Jake shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts and tried to focus on the spreadsheets and numbers on his computer screen. If it wasn't enough that everyone already thought he had somehow schemed to get control of the company and his father's wealth but if the truth ever came out about the companies true finances it would give the Board enough ammunition to take the company from Jake even before the trial period. He wasn't sure what his father had been trying to do but these high-risk investments were all done with company money but not through any of the usual process and due diligence a company of this size went through. There wasn't even some discernible pattern or calculated moves but seemed to be more in line with a dying man gambling his money maybe out of depression or desperation to somehow change his reality. If the company financial officers were to see this there would be hell to pay and as the de-facto leader it would be Jake who would have to pay it.

"I guess all the talk of wanting to leave a bigger legacy finally makes sense" murmured Jake to himself.

It had been three-weeks of Jake going through these numbers in secret after everyone else in the office had left but he was still no closer to figuring out how to pay off these high-risk losing investments without the Board of Directors or even worse the shareholder's finding out. The company was going through enough chaos with the change in leadership and the stipulation about Jake's trial period without adding something of this magnitude to the list. Jake was aware of the high number of employee turnover across the global operations due to all the uncertainty.

He was at his wit's end of how to fix this mess his father had left him in and the only person Jake could think of who had the kind of money needed and might be willing to lend it to Jake in a backdoor way was his father's best friend and biggest rival, Henry Woodhouse. He hadn't been able to come up with anyone else he could trust this with, but he was still hesitant to approach him. He always came down to the same question that even if Henry was willing to help him, what would he ask for in return?


"Can someone answer the damn door" Emma Woodhouse called out even while knowing no one was actually around and the chances of her father leaving his study to do such a mundane task were pretty much slim to none.

The doorbell rang once more "I'm coming, damn it" she quickly threw on her silk flower robe over her pajama bottoms and rushed down the main stairs to answer the door before the person on the other side rang the bell one more time.

"I'm sorry it took so long, I was in the zone with my headphones on, working on my term paper and didn't…" she trailed off as she saw who was on the other side. "Well, well, this is unexpected. I didn't think the high and mighty Jake Knightley would be at my door at this time at night."

"I'm here to see your father" came the brisk reply "Besides, I wouldn't think nine at night is considered overly late for you. Isn't that when most of your and John's parties start?"

"Yes, but I wasn't out with your brother tonight. It's a school night and a good girl like me should be all tucked into bed dreaming little dreams."

"You? A good girl?" Jake snorted "Anyone who is friends with my brother can't lay claim to that word. I'm surprised you are still in school and haven't dropped out like him."

Emma bristled at his condescending tone. She was trying very hard to prove to her father that she was getting her life back on track, which included her going back to university to finish her degree in Business Marketing. She had been encouraging John to take some courses with her and had been disappointed that he still wasn't interested in giving up the daily drinking and partying that used to be their usual plan.

Nevertheless, John was still her best friend and she knew all about how badly Jake treated him. A lot of the terms of his late father's will were already public knowledge and what wasn't had been filled in by John detailing how Jake had taken advantage of his father's dying days. All their lives their father had clearly favored John and had been as close as any two people could be and yet during his last months had changed his business and personal will to put Jack in charge. It didn't take a genius to figure out he had been manipulated into doing this or what Jake's motives had been.

"So, is your father available? I need to talk to him about an important matter" Jack asked carefully. He could tell the exact moment Emma's thoughts had turned to the contents of his father's will and the doubts about his role in it. He had watched her green eyes sharpen and look accusingly at him. This same judgement had been passing with regular frequency over many people's face.

He continued to watch as Emma considered whether to let him into the house to see her father. Although the families had known each other forever, he had never had any reason to interact with Emma. There was an eleven-year age difference between the two ensuring they didn't have many friends or interests in common. Furthermore, she was John's best friend which automatically made her hate him since John found a way to blame his brother for everything wrong in his life. They had run into each other over the years at family or business events or when she was visiting his brother, usually on their way out to some hot party. Jake realized in recent years he had only ever seen her with her face and hair completely done, while wearing some revealing mini skirt outfit and sky-high heels. She seemed younger and more vulnerable tonight in her pajama bottoms, t-shirt and robe with her blonde hair tied back in a messy bun and bare feet.

I didn't even realize she wore glasses, he thought to himself, wondering why he would care either way. Anyone who would hang out with his brother on a regular basis was too wild with no real thoughts to their future or consequences of their actions. He wasn't even sure if he believed that they were just friends or if there was any truth to all the stories about the two of them. Regardless, they were all rich and spoiled with no thoughts on the ones who worked to upkeep their lavish lifestyle.

"Sure, come in. He is in his study. Just knock and go in, I have work to do." Emma replied as she turned and started walking back up the stairs.

Jake watched as Emma left him standing in the foyer. It was an impressive house with a marble curved staircase leading to the second floor as the center piece facing the doorway. He knew his way to the study as he had been here previously with his father either to discuss or gloat about some upcoming deal. The relationship between his father and Henry Woodhouse had been complicated with friends being too simple a word and business rivals not fully capturing the extent of their ties. His coming here had made so much sense in the office but now he seemed to be losing his nerve and didn't really know what he was going to say.

He wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all; everything from his father passing away, to the unasked-for changes in his will which now made everyone suspicious of him, and finally to him having to beg for money in secret or else risk failing before he had even started trying. Instead he pushed back his shoulders and made his way to Henry Woodhouse' study.


"Come in" came a voice from inside the study in response to Jake's knock.

"Jake. Well this is a surprise. I don't believe I was expecting to see you. I'm glad you are here though" Henry Woodhouse got up from his chair and walked over slowly. "I've been having such a pain in my abdomen recently. I was looking it up and am worried my prognosis will be like your father's. I hear some forms of stomach cancer can be very deadly."

"Umm, yes, definitely something to look into" Jake was very aware of Henry's proclivity to start discussing his many ailments as well as him constantly diagnosing himself with the worst possible outcome. He always marvelled at the difference between Henry the portly gentleman versus the businessman who was as shrewd and sharp as they came.

"I need to discuss some business with you in private" Jake began "I came to you because you were my father's best friend, but I need your promise that this conversation won't leave this room"

He waited for Henry' nod before continuing, "As you know, my father had a hard time accepting how progressed his cancer was and made a number of changes to the way his business ran," carefully choosing his words to avoid casting his father in too much of a negative light, "everyone has heard about the infamous will putting me in charge. The part that isn't common knowledge is that he also made a number of investments… really bad investments with company funds but without anyone in the company knowing"

Jake had been watching Henry while he shared this information and didn't see any shock or change in expression "I can see by your face you knew about this?" a surge of fury went through him, "how could you let him do this, these are obviously bad investments that no one in their right mind would put their money in."

"No, you must understand. I didn't know about this until it was already too late" Henry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes "He came over one night and was rambling about hitting it big and leaving a legacy that will be remembered for generations. I of course started asking him what he was talking about and when he started telling me the stocks and companies he had invested in, I knew it wasn't good, some of them were downright frauds."

"I knew these were worthless, but I didn't realize he did this with company funds and without the proper due diligence," Henry continued to shake his head sadly, "I just assumed the usual process and number of people involved in a deal would filter these out. I didn't hear anything else about it, so I assumed it was taken care of already."

"I am guessing you didn't come here just to tell me this little secret, so what do you need from me, Jake?" Henry the businessman was on full display and it was apparent he knew Jake came here with something specific in mind.

"Henry, a lot of the issues our company is facing is public knowledge" Jake tentatively began, "If word gets out just how much of company assets have been lost, I will not be able to give my trial period as CEO a fair shot. Currently, these transactions don't show up on the company financial sheets so as far as I know, no one is aware of this. I can get away with it a bit longer since it was common for my father to transfer business and personal finances around from time to time. I only stumbled on these by accident myself."

"I need money," Jake finally blurted out "All of my personal assets are tied up and if I take any of it out right away it will raise red flags. I will of course pay you back with interest, but I need a significant loan to pay off these losses before any one else finds out."

Jake watched as Henry continued to sit and nod his head, deep in thought looking to see how he could turn this to his advantage. He generally didn't like doing business dealings in a way which left him so vulnerable, but he was here essentially begging for money since he couldn't ask anyone else for a legitimate loan. He wasn't willing to lose his chance to be CEO before he had even started trying. Even if he wasn't successful it wouldn't be because of this reason.

"Well Mr. Jake Knightley, you need money and more importantly you need me to keep this all a secret" began Henry with a gleam in his eye, "the return with interest is all good but you are asking me to risk my own reputation and personal finances here to help you out. Frankly, this isn't my mess. If you had been around more before your father passed away maybe you would have known more of what was going on. However, I would be willing to help you out, keep this quiet, and show my full support to you in the business community for the right incentive."

Jake had a bad feeling in his gut but stayed silent as Henry continued, "There is something I want in return, which I have been thinking of for quiet some time now, although to tell you the truth I had never actually thought of you in the role." Henry paused for awhile as in some great internal debate until he finally murmured "I guess we will see just how desperate you really are... I want you to marry my daughter, Emma"