The Elite Four

Zack couldn’t help but be a little proud of himself. He’d finally come up with his own idea. Heather had been the one to nominate him to take over as CEO, it was Daniel’s plot to circumvent Zurbrugg’s coup, and even the Amusement Park Project itself had been Heather’s baby. So, when he had the opportunity to make his own ploy, he couldn’t resist. He intended for it to be a gift, to the Ravers, for their trust and loyalty, though until very recently he wasn’t sure if, by helping Daniel, he might have forfeited that confidence. Turned out they still believed in him in spades, shocking him so completely he forgot completely about the amusement park until Heather brought it up again.

“Why?” Heather asked, stunned. “Why me?”

“The why is obvious. If the park is in your name, it doesn’t belong to the company,” Robert noted with a shake of his head. “The more pertinent question is how? You don’t have the authority.”

“Robert is right, Zack,” Daniel added, frowning. “Even if you signed it in Heather’s name, without the authority to do so, the contract is null and void. It won’t even require re-negotiation, just for someone from Ravers Enterprises to actually sign the contract.”

“But I did have the authority,” Zack assured him, though he felt nervous. He wasn’t as experienced as the Ravers’ brothers. It was possible there was something that he’d missed, something about business and legality that he didn’t know. “When I became CEO, I had to sign a contract. Chastity was with me when I signed it yesterday morning, and went through it with me. The position was just a figurehead, mainly for the public, and, perhaps most importantly, I was only to carry out any tasks given to me by Robert, or one of the other executive members, such as the board. But since I was legally CEO, it had to be my signature on all the documents.”

“Right, except it wasn’t your signature,” Brooke reminded him.

“But Chastity noticed something about the contract. It wasn’t a new contract that had been drawn up specifically for me. When Robert asked that I take over, he apparently insisted that I be given all of his titles and permissions. In practice, I believe that means that I could see even the secret files on Robert’s computer, but I’d be powerless to actually do anything with that information without authority from Robert or Daniel. Would that be correct so far?”

Daniel tilted his head back thoughtfully. “Sounds about right. But even so, no one gave you permission to sign the contract in Heather’s name.”

“He wouldn’t need it,” Robert said slowly, beginning to understand. “This contract…it was just an amended version of my own, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Zack smiled, seeing that Robert had caught on to where his explanation was going. “It was actually Chastity that pointed it out to me, but she thought it was some kind of error. It wasn’t until she pulled your contract that she saw that the stipulation was in both. I asked her to keep it quiet because I thought it might turn out to be useful.”

“Stipulation? About me?” Heather recoiled, then pivoted to look at her dad. “What stipulation?”

“It’s nothing serious. It simply states that I can make business decisions on your behalf. But it was mostly a precaution. I never used it, mainly because you aren’t a part of Ravers Enterprises, so anything I might have signed in your name would have been owned by you and not the company.” Robert looked back at Zack. “Which is the precise loophole Zack took advantage of.”

“Exactly,” Zack said with a nod. “I hoped it was more of a grey area than actually illegal though. And Robert did tell me to sign the contract, but he didn’t specify whose name.”

“A very grey area,” Daniel said, his voice hard, the irony of Zack keeping a secret from him while he kept a secret from Robert not passing him by. “But, I think there’s a leg to stand on, and it’s something Ravers Enterprises will have to contest if they want to regain control, rather than it automatically forfeiting back into their possession.”

“So, we still have the Amusement Park?!” Heather asked, a huge grin forming on her face.

“Yes,” Daniel confirmed, smiling now at Heather’s beaming expression. “The Amusement Park Project is a-go.”

“Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.” Heather launched herself at the young, dark haired friend, wrapping her arms around his neck so tight he almost felt strangled as she pulled him into the deepest embrace he’d ever felt from a woman outside his family. She was clinging to him like a drowning swimmer to a rock, her face buried against the nook of his neck, so warm, and so wet. When she finally pulled away, he could see she was crying, heavy, flowing, unstoppable tears, offset by the ugly, wide, toothy, almost goofy, smile that had taken over her face.

“I’m sorry. Maybe it’s silly. It’s just…it was my first project. My first big proposal, and just thinking that I’d never get to see it come to fruition made me really sad,” Heather confessed, still standing in front of Zack, arms around his neck while his hands gripped her waist. And despite the four adults watching on, it somehow still felt deeply intimate. “I thought it was lost. I thought I was going to have to make my peace with that. But you saved it. Since last night I thought a lot of my dreams had died, but you’ve saved them all.”

At a time like this it would have felt natural to lean in and kiss her. Besides almost all of her immediate family watching on though, Zack was with Lisa. And he had his mother. He couldn’t cheat on either of them with anyone else, even if it really might just be a kiss this time. But it really made him think on why he’d done it. Heather had trusted him with her father’s company, a level of trust and loyalty he probably didn’t deserve after what happened with Chloe. He was just returning that confidence, wasn’t he?

“Well, you know, I did have a part in some of that,” Daniel joked. “But all I got was a slap in the face.”

“Boooooosssssss,” Chastity wailed, giving him another slap, though this time it was only a fairly harmless swat to the arm. “You ruined the mood.”

Heather and Zack parted, both extremely red faced. Heather shook her head, lowering her eyes in a rare instance of embarrassment. “It’s, it’s not like that. He’s, um, got a girlfriend…”

“And he was almost your half-brother,” Brooke reminded them, less than impressed by the show of affection, slight and brisk as it was.

“Well, we have our project,” Robert concluded, eager to keep the conversation from drifting into matters of ****. “Now we need investors.”

“Zack, you have the client list?” Daniel asked, to which the young man nodded and produced a flashdrive from the inside breast pocket of his jacket. The younger Ravers brother took it in hand and displayed it to the room. “I had Zack copy all of your personal files from your computer onto this. Everything we need to steal the investors from Ravers Enterprises is on this drive. This is why we need to act fast. We have to hit the investors and convince them to abandon the old company and join us before Zurbrugg and the others realize what’s going on. If we can get them to back our company and our project, we’ll be able to establish ourselves and cripple Ravers Enterprises in a single swoop.”

“It makes sense then to target the four biggest investors,” Robert surmised. “Their money will be our biggest boon and the most devastating blow to our competitor.”

“That would be the Smiths, the Wynwicks, the Nordsteins and the Harringtons,” Chastity recited from memory.

“The Harringtons?” Heather’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you did business with them. Aren’t they…uh…”

“Criminals? Allegedly, but we have no part in that side of the business, if it exists. They have a number of legit businesses, and like any other business need to host functions and conferences,” Robert assured his daughter. “They don’t fund any projects, but we have an agreement. We provide them a significant discount, and they don’t build hotels in Azure Rocks.”

“Still, we’d better handle them ourselves,” Daniel remarked, folding his arms as a frown crossed his face. “They might not take too kindly to dealing with anyone but the most senior members of our new company.”

“The Ravers brothers back together,” Robert laughed as he slapped his brother on the shoulder. “Just like old times.”

“Let’s hope not too much like old times,” Brooke warned. “Who’s next?”

“The Smiths are our biggest supplier of metals and materials, and our biggest investor.” Chastity suggested.

“That’s right,” Robert confirmed with a nod. “They’re our closest rival in size, and they're the only manufacturer for miles, but they only tend to be interested in projects that directly benefit them. Besides that, I just don’t trust them. After how they took advantage of our dad and nearly ruined our company, if I could I’d do without them completely. But, given their finances, and the fact that if they’re not working with us, they could be investing in Ravers Enterprises, we need to at least try to convince them to work on our side.”

“Then you should let me handle that meeting. As a Lakefield, the Ravers-Smith feud doesn’t mean much to me, and they may be open to a little more subtle, feminine persuasion,” Brooke said, turning to look at her daughter. “In fact, if the boys are teaming up, why don’t we girls take on the Smiths together?”

“Sure. But we should definitely deal with the Nordsteins too. I know Klaus and Dad go way back, but Andrew was always very friendly with me. Maybe I can use that nostalgia to persuade him to take a shot with our new company,” Heather suggested.

“Friends?” Robert queried, a hint of jealousy in his voice that went unnoticed by all, except his daughter. As her father, he accepted that his daughter would have sex. It was a simple part of growing up and living life. Ever since their relationship had deepened to that of lovers, however, the idea of her having sex with other men bothered him even more. “Was that all it was?”

Heather smiled, a little pleased that she could make the great, insatiable Robert Ravers green with envy. Deciding to tease him further, she simply said, “No, you’re right. We were actually very good friends.”

“That leaves the Wynwicks, right?” Zack asked, returning to the previous conversation. They less he thought about Heather’s sex life as well, the better.

“Indeed. Besides the Smiths, they’re our second biggest investor. However, like the Harringtons, they also make use of our conference rooms and ball rooms for their fundraisers and social events, and we have a standing agreement with them to use our services exclusively within Azure Rocks,” Daniel explained to the inexperienced and unaware teen. “So, you can understand, that they would be an invaluable partner to recruit, given the dual source of money that they provide.”

“They shouldn’t be too difficult to convince, though,” Robert said, scratching his chin thoughtfully, though frankly his thoughts were still largely on Heather and Andrew’s relationship. “As a philanthropic group, their interests in development lie in anything that benefits the community or people in general. An amusement park will be a good source of family friendly fun, so I think it’ll be possible to get them on-board. Fiona can be a hard ass though, so perhaps it’s better if Daniel and I deal with her ourselves too.”

“Great, so we know where we’re going, but what about Chastity and Zack?” Heather asked looking between the two.

“Chastity, I want you to go back to the office,” Daniel said, facing the receptionist. “Don’t tell anyone what you heard here and go about your job normally. If anyone asks where I am, cover for me, and tell them I’ll be in late. Try to buy as much time as possible, but, if it looks like things are going south, and we might be discovered, contact me, immediately.”

“Will do, boss,” she said cheerily, hoping to her feet in seconds and bounding out the door with light, bouncy steps that seemed to make her whole body wobble and jiggle.

Zack couldn’t help but watch her ass sway, wiggling in her tight skirt as she walked, until Robert snapped him out of it, asking, “And what about you? What will you do?”