A billionaire scorned is a billionaire warned.
Usually calm and composed, Christian Grey was a man possessed as he ranted and raved in the back of the town car. Jason sent up a silent prayer as he drove silently for whomever was bearing the brunt of his spitting rage. Recalling the look on the young man's face as the girl behind the arrivals desk had told him his investor had been picked up by a Miss Steele, Taylor pursed his lips.
That girl was playing with fire.
A chemically accelerated, oxygen rich, flame of fury.
She was going to get burned. It was only a matter of time.
Sitting pretty in the VIP lounge of Washington's most select hotel, Miss Steele had no such qualms for her safety. Sipping an espresso and judging the man in front of her through shrewd eyes, victory was on the tip of her tongue. With Ian Hanson's connections in the green energy movement and his intercontinental investment portfolio, he was the cream of the crop.
And she'd just snatched him right from Christian Grey's harvest.
"Do we have an accord, Miss Steele?"
Smiling at the subtly sexist man with delicately rogue lips, she pretended to hesitate for just the right amount of time. Her little sigh was pitch-perfect and she watched with silent superiority when his eyes popped with concern. Men like Ian Hanson were always looking for a damsel in distress to stroke their ego.
"It certainly looks seamless on paper, Mr Hanson. Your five-year plan is solid and certainly coexists with ethos of The Steele Corporation. Your CSR is great. The figures are realistic and the expansion plan fits with my plans to grow internationally. There's just one problem and I'm not sure whether or not it can be overcome."
Ian arched a brow.
"Problem? I saw no problem when I viewed the figures."
"It's not really a mathematical issue. It's more of a personnel concern. You see Mr Hanson, I am building The Steele Corporation off the back of my own blood, sweat and tears. I do not wish to intertwine my efforts with those whom do not share my vision. I know that you were originally here to see Mr Christian Grey. He's a very talented man and I do not doubt his drive or passion, but the ethos of Grey Enterprises Holdings is very different from The Steele Corporation. It would be remiss of me to allow you to take away the idea that I would be willing to split this deal into three further down the line."
Silence descended over the private booth.
"Mr Grey has considerably more to offer me than you do, Miss Steele," Ian responded quietly, "Granted, I took this meeting at the expense of the appointment I held with him because I find your rise to success intriguing, but he is in a superior position. If you're looking for exclusivity of contract, then I'm afraid you're going to need to up the ante. Considerably. What you're proposing is strong, yes, but if we're cutting GEH out of the picture on the back of it, it needs to be stronger. Much stronger."
A careful look of distraught surprise coloured her face. Internally, she was serene and peaceable. Ian's reaction was exactly what she'd predicted.
"What are you proposing, Mr Hanson?"
"I'm proposing that, in order to remove GEH from the picture, we need what it would have brought to the table. Mr Grey has three or four investors lined up over the next three years to inject capitol into the construction of windmills and hydroelectric power plants. Without those investors it is unlikely that The Steele Corporation, even with my investment, will come close to the scale of expansion that is needed."
She raised a brow.
"So, if I were to secure these investors by convincing them to back me instead of Mr Grey, you would be willing to sign a deal of exclusivity with The Steele Corporation excluding GEH in any and all circumstances?"
Ian didn't hesitate.
"I would be more than willing, yes. All in all, The Steele Corporation is the better fit for my company. With all due respect however, Miss Steele, I cannot see you dragging those investors away from GEH. You are a very ambitious and industrious young lady, but the investors Mr Grey has secured are very conservative. They do not like the unknown and they do not like change."
Smiling sweetly, she reached into her attaché and drew out a sheaf of legal documents. The meeting couldn't have been going any better than if they were reading from a script of her hand. Pushing the stack over to a wide-eyed Ian, she chose her next words carefully.
"Great minds think alike, Mr Hanson. I have been in contact with those investors. All four of them. And after some admittedly tense deliberations, they have agreed to come on board with The Steele Corporation on one condition. That you and Hanson Industries come on board, also. With that five-pronged investment, your returns would be astronomical and the rise of The Steele Corporation would be unparalled."
Ian's mouth fell open.
"You convinced Harold Abrams and the rest to jump ship? How?"
Her smile was modest. A perfected deflection
"I have my ways, Mr Hanson. I appreciate that this is a surprise to you but this deal is extraordinarily time sensitive. An agreement today would be most beneficial. The lawyers have been over every inch of every document, and they're tighter than tight. Harold and Co are waiting on my word of your decision. They're ready to sign and this deal can be in play by this evening depending on your answer."
Ian's eyes grew saucer-like.
"Mr Grey remains oblivious as to this series of events?"
Ana's smile was sweeter than sweet.
"Mr Grey is oblivious to very little. I am quite sure he'll cope."
After a few seconds of hesitation, a greedy smile spread across Ian's pudgy face. His return under the agreement with The Steele Corporation was substantially healthier than the return under GEH. Money was money, and there was a certain allure about the enigmatic Miss Steele. He signed the contract with a flourish and enjoyed her company for longer than she would have liked, before departing for the airport once more. The moment he was out the door, Ana was on the phone to the other four investors and a deal was clinched.
Settling back in front of the hotel's roaring fire place, the phone call didn't surprise her.
"Steele."
His voice was a soft, silky hiss.
"Do you really think this is going to fly, Miss Steele? Do you honestly think I'm going to sit back whilst you sneak like a little rodent into my company and steal my investors? Here's a business lesson that they didn't teach you in your second-rate school. You never pick a fight with the likes of me. No matter how fast your ride to the top is."
Sipping her second espresso, Ana enjoyed the flickering flames.
"Good morning, Mr Grey. How nice to hear from you again. Did you by any chance happen to catch today's newspaper? There is a very interesting article in there. I read it over breakfast and I found it to be most illuminating."
Venom trickled through the receiver.
"I am giving you this one last chance," he bit out, "Just the one. You call back Abrams and the rest of them and you kill this deal. You keep to your mid-level tier and stay out of the deep end. You don't belong. You do not belong in the arena with me, Miss Steele. You do not have commercial etiquette, you do not have experience and you do not have the spine to go up against me. So be a clever little girl, and take this exit. It's your last chance."
Her tinkle of laughter bled with confidence.
"Such arrogance is truly unbecoming, Mr Grey. A pretty face can only hide so much, remember that. Now, I'd like to say there's enough room for the both of us, but we both know there isn't. And I know you were here first, but I'm a woman who gets what she wants. Even if someone else already has it. I want Washington, Mr Grey. As my base. As my home. And I'm going to take it from you. That can either come about with very little damage to your organisation, or I can crush GEH like the insignificant little bug it is. It's entirely your choice. You should take the time to think it through. Thoroughly."
An astonished, icy silence breezed through the line.
"Miss Steele, be wise and do not push me. You will not like the consequences. You are a mere academic businesswoman. You are no more than a child. You are in no position to make threats. The Steele Corporation is nothing more than a snivelling inconvenience compared to Grey Enterprises Holdings. I am giving you this one opportunity to escape with your treehouse company intact. Do not take it, and GEH will swallow your sandcastle in one bite."
She smiled happily at the waiter who delivered her scone.
"Hate to cut this riveting conversation short, Mr Grey, but I do need my mid-morning snack. Energy levels are so important to a successful day of conducting business, don't you think? Speaking of which, those four investor imbeciles are my imbeciles now. You should have made them feel valued, integral. You should have catered to their every need, rose above your own arrogance. I am never killing this deal. Never. Commitment is one of the many lessons I learned at my second-rate school. Perhaps you could take a night course? At a nice junior college?"
His voice burned with a terrifyingly glacial anger.
"I am a particular kind of bastard, Miss Steele. I will find one hundred different ways to ruin your business, your reputation and your life. I will laugh my way through every single one. You will never survive a war with me. You do not know how to go to war with me. You got the investors, clever girl. Keep them. I am Christian Grey. There will be more investors. Many more. You will never break through into the green energy movement. I have that niche wrapped up tighter than the virginity you still cling to."
She smirked at that.
If only he knew.
"I have given you fair warning. You wanted a war, Miss Steele? Then round up your four investors, your second-rate degree and your youthful good looks. I'll give you a war. Thankfully, you're still young enough to go crying back to mommy and daddy when everything burns around you. I'm sure they'll have their arms opened wide for their bright-eyed wonderchild."
Leaning back in her plush chair, her face split into a wide grin.
"I'll see you around, Mr Grey. I'm sure it'll be a thrilling ride."
….
TBC
….