Free Takeover: A Step-Brother Romance (The Legacy Series Book 1) by Lana Grayson Page A

we all behaved.
    Ten years ago, I might have had the same crisis of conscience as Reed. Cruelty existed in many forms. This was just the basest, the most animalistic and vulgar form of power.
    The personal touch sickened me. I held no respect or love for the Atwoods, but Reed was right. Sarah was a reckless twenty year old girl, but she reserved every bit of her father’s strength, her brothers’ ambition, and her own imaginative solutions to her family’s problems.
    She was also the most beautiful woman to ever hate me.
    Even panting and muddy, lost in a cornfield with a cut to her brow and hyperventilating as my brothers and I terrorized her, Sarah was lovely—pale and delicate with hair the same color as silken gold. I lamented that it was her name that would destroy her.
    She was a fluttering fairy trapped within a garden of stone.  Even the tiniest suffered.
    The helicopter flight would be quick, but my father’s text message vibrated my phone the instant the pilot lifted us from the roof. Instructions. Reminders. Orders.
    Life was little more than a schedule, and a rigorous one by intent. The Bennett Corporation thrived on out-pacing, out-innovating, and out-maneuvering our rivals. My grandfather built the empire, my father expanded it, and I was born to defend it.
    To me, that meant security and diversification.
    To my father, it meant imprisoning the daughter of our greatest business rival and then asserting our control by beating, raping, and breeding the poor girl. Neither of my brothers approved of this plan, but they had as little a choice as the girl.
    If I was to keep them all alive, including Sarah Atwood, we needed to obey my father. Do as he said. Act like the monsters he raised.
    I ignored the text message.
    …Or maybe I’d find another way.
    The helicopter delivered us to San Jose, landing on the rooftop of a partnered hotel chain. The top floor restaurant might have entertained those who hadn’t just seen the skyline from the air, but it amused the investors. Pleasing those willing to drop millions on our corporation was as important as winning them over through presentations and slide shows.
    A handsome smile, charming conversation, and direct, no-nonsense negotiation style usually secured our investments. We choreographed the lunch. One cocktail before ordering, a sensible wine with a light meal, and mineral water with a refreshing sorbet for dessert. I permitted the discussion to tread from business to family, but no further than memories of alma maters and, if the occasion permitted, gentle enthusiasm for children—especially if adult, female, and unattached. Professional matters were kept discreet, approximated numbers offered, and official figures promised at a later date within the corporate offices.
    And it usually worked.
    Usually.
    Our target was an important board member—one of my father’s initial contacts. Samuel Peters approached retirement age with a shuffling gait dancing between arthritis and gout. Max lost his patience the second time Samuel called him Matt, but he remembered me. He liked me.
    That’s what made his decision all the more puzzling.
    “Nicholas, I’ll be straight with you.” Samuel scooped a spoonful of the sorbet to his mouth, but missed the cream that lingered in the corners of his lips. “The Bennett Corporation has been good to me and my family, but I had an offer to sell my shares, and, I’ll tell you, it was a good offer.”
    We expected it. It didn’t stop the disappointment from pitting my stomach.
    “Our company has seen a seven percent growth each year for the past five,” I said. “It’s a solid investment. Selling now will secure you, but retaining your percentage could see your profits double within the next ten years.”
    “Doubt I’ll be around in ten years, my boy.” Samuel cracked a laugh as dry as the wallet he pulled from his pocket. He fiddled with the leather and held a photograph toward Max. “I’m trying to take care of my