DREAM (2 page)

“One month. Nickerson and Ronnie say I have one month.” I begin to pace.

“There’s not much you can do, Dream.”

I stop and spin to face her.

“Out of everyone in this company, I didn’t expect to hear that from you. I’m Dream Jackson. I’m the CEO of Jackson Enterprise. I’m Ulrich Jackson’s daughter. We don’t fail.” I feel the tears building up, but I won’t let them fall.

She smiles as she walks up to me. “I was just seeing where you the stood on the subject. I know who you really are. You’re a strong, determined woman. If anyone can pull this company out of the red, it’s going to be you. Now, what do you need from me?”

My heart relaxes a bit knowing she has my back.

“Do we have any allies left?”

“Sad to say, but no. Ulrich has borrowed from everyone and anyone that would stop and listen to him for a moment.”

I lean against the front of the large mahogany desk. No allies mean I don’t have any clear connections.

“All right, I might have to stew on this for a little bit, but I’ll figure it out.”

“I know you can. Now, remember you have a meeting in five minutes.”

“Gable Butler. I remember.”

Mrs. Stones nods and walks out of the office.

I walk around the desk and sit in my dad’s chair. I stare at the files strewn on top. The computer looks brand new and I doubt that he used it often. Dad was more hands-on and left typing and emailing to Mrs. Stones. There are two pictures on his desk. One is my parents on their wedding day. You can see their love for each other in their eyes. The other is Dad and me. I was sixteen, and he’d given me my first Mercedes, which Leo drove. I remember crying to drive, but Dad never let me.

If he were here right now I would hug him and then scream at him for making these mistakes and the hole we’re in.

I jump slightly when Mrs. Stones knocks on the door and enters.

“Mr. Butler is here and he brought Mr. Nickerson.”

Her face looks as confused as mine.

“Why are they together?”

“I don’t know, Dream.”

“Send them in and sit in on the meeting, too.”

She nods and goes back out to the lobby.

I fluff my hair and smooth my shirt. I’m not thinking about why Mr. Butler would be with Mr. Nickerson, but like everything else I have done today, I push it away.

Time to be the CEO.

Chapter 2

Mrs. Stones walks back into the office and behind her is Mr. Nickerson still has the same expression as when I left him. And two strides behind him is Gable Butler.

Billionaire Gable Butler.

I know a lot about Mr. Butler. He’s twenty years older than I am but looks like he’s still in his thirties. He’s single, no children, and for his age, very handsome. His hair is still blond, and he has the bluest eyes. He has a freshly groomed light blond beard. It’s not thick, but it shades his perfectly chiseled jaw. He’s at least six feet tall and built like a football player. He’s in his signature black dress pants, black dress shirt, and a red silk tie. It’s what he always wears.

“Dream Jackson, it’s a pleasure to finally met you in person. I’m very sorry about your father.” Gable’s voice is smooth and deeper than I’d imagined.

“I believe the pleasure is mine, Mr. Butler. Thank you for your condolences.” I extend my hand for him to shake.

“Please call me Gable,” he says shaking my hand. “I believe, since we’re going to be discussing a lot today, we should be on a first name basis.”

“Agreed.” I put on a smile. “Please, have a seat.” I point my arm to the square table on the far side of the office. Mr. Nickerson is already seated, as is Mrs. Stones. Gable pulls my chair for me and I give him another polite, fake smile. I’m not sure what his deal is. Maybe he’s just a chivalrous gentleman.

“Gable, you will have to forgive me for a moment; there are no notes on why you were meeting my father today.” I start.

“The only person who has any knowledge about this meeting, other than myself and your father, is Mr. Nickerson. The only reason he knows is because he wrote up the contract.”

Contract?

He’s planning on doing business with JE? This could be good. This could be
really
good. Having Gable Butler’s name associated with ours might pull in others and buy us some time to make the revenue to pay off the debt.

“What does this contract entail?”

“You.” Gable smirks.

“Wait…what?” I’m momentarily thrown off my game.

“Gable, let me explain this to her.” Mr. Nickerson jumps in. “Dream, your father had a
tentative
contract set out between Gable and himself. Now, I need to warn you as your attorney that this contract really does not have any true legal bearing.”

I look between him and Gable—the smirk still painted on his face.

“I think once she hears the terms and conditions, she’ll be willing.” Gable says confidently.

“Don’t hold your breath. You don’t know her,” Mr. Nickerson replied.

“Hey.” I’m beginning to lose my cool. I don’t know what Dad and Gable have in the works, but I don’t like being talked about as if I’m not in the room.

“Dream, let me explain everything and then you can make your decision, okay?”

I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at Mr. Nickerson and then at Gable.

“All right.” I agree because I’m nosey, I want to know what Dad had planned, and why does this
contract
have no legal bearing.

“Your father had been desperate to save the company.” My blood is beginning to boil as Mr. Nickerson speaks frankly about JE’s money trouble in front of Gable, but I let him continue. “The last bargaining chip that your father had was you.”

I tilt my head in confusion.
Me?
I’m a bargaining chip.

“Mr. Butler is willing to bail out Jackson Enterprise, take the company back into the black, in exchange for your hand in marriage.”

“What?” I squeak along with Mrs. Stones, whom I forgot was still been in the room. “You can’t be serious.” I add. “There’s no way my father-”

“Dream, he did.” Mr. Nickerson hands me a stack of papers.

I snatch them up and being reading the contract.

Shit.

It’s true.

The contract states I would marry Gable within twenty-four hours of the contract execution. In return, Gable would give thirty million dollars to me to ensure JE would remain in business. I couldn’t bear to look at the sections marked ‘children’.

“This is the most absurd contract I’ve ever read. There’s no way in hell I’m going to marry you.” I shove the contracts back at Mr. Nickerson and Gable.

“You’ll lose JE in a few short weeks. Then what are you going to do?” Gable crosses his arms.

“I have a plan,” I lie. I have no plan. I have nothing, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to marry him to bail out JE. I’m smart enough to do this on my own.

“No, you don’t.” Gable calls me out. “There’s nothing you can do to save this company. I’m your one and only resource. Your father burned every bridge he had. Unless you plan on winning the lottery, there is no one else.” His blue eyes pierce me and I know he’s right, but I’m not going to tell him that.

“Get out.” I jump to my feet. “Get out this instant.”

Gable slowly rises to his feet, adjusting his blood red tie.

“You will either marry me, or I’ll buy this company when it goes on the auction block. Trust me when I say I’ll only have to spend five dollars for it.” He turns on the heels of his shiny, black shoes and stalks out of the office.

I turn to Mr. Nickerson and Mrs. Stones. “What the fuck was all of that?”

“Dream, I had no clue. I’m still in shock.” Mrs. Stones rushes out.

I narrow my gaze at Mr. Nickerson.

“Your father had no other options.” He shakes his head.

I begin to pace the room. This is too much for me to take in. My father dies, I find out that JE is broke, and now some billionaire wants to marry me. This is the beginning of a bad romance novel.

“I need to be alone.” I turn to Mr. Nickerson, who gets up and leaves without saying a word.

I slump into the desk chair and swivel to face the window. The view is amazing. The autumn sky is clear and the sun is bright. People are moving about their lives, and I’m sinking in quicksand.

What am I going to do?

Gable is right. I don’t have anyone, but I’m not going through with this preposterous plan. I can’t imagine what Dad was thinking.

Family and Jackson Enterprise are all that you need in your life.

Shit.

He was thinking about the company and me. But, there had to be a better way. There has to be something I’m missing.

I need fresh air because I can’t think with the walls closing in on me. I grab my purse and blow past Mrs. Stones and out of the building. I race down the street, passing people but not looking at anyone, as I make my way to the nearest coffee house.

I order a caramel latte and take a seat in the corner. I’m the verge of tears at the pain of my father using me as a pawn and the rage that he thought I would have gone through with it. Let’s not forget to add Gable’s arrogance as fuel to the fire.

I try to think of every possible scenario that could help me dig my way out of this mess. I can’t sell the house because I would have to pay off the mortgages first. He’s already borrowed against my trust fund, so that means it’s gone.

I run through the inventory of the house. I could sell the paintings, the cars, the light fixtures that are made of crystals, all the antiques, but in the end it wouldn’t be enough.

My phone is ringing and when I look at the display, I don’t recognize the number.

“Hello, Dream Jackson.” I answer.

“You know, I do believe you’re the first woman to ever throw me out.”

I roll my eyes. I know his voice instantly.

“How did you get my number, Gable?”

“Considering you’re about to be my wife, I had you on speed dial.”

“Trust me when I say, I don’t want to talk right now, especially to you.” I growl into the phone.

“I think you should. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I can answer them all for you. How about a nice lunch together?”

I shake my head as if he can see me. “No, thank you.”

“Dream, don’t act like you don’t want answers. Your father and I had several conversations about you, our marriage, and the future of JE. I know you care about that company like your father did. I know you want to save it.”

This bastard thinks he knows me. Well, I hate to admit that I’m nosey and I do want to know what the full story is.

“Lunch and only lunch.” I cave in.

“I’ll see you in an hour. Is Yearwood’s okay?”

I sigh. The top restaurant in the country, sure, I can lower my standards and eat there, is what I want to say, but instead I say fine and disconnect the call.

I call Mrs. Stones and tell her what’s happening. Then I send a text to Leo to pick me up in a half hour and take me to Yearwood’s. This is going to be a long day.

~~~

I walk to the hostess and give her my name. She nods and tells me to follow her. We walk the length of the restaurant until we reach a private dining room in the back. My father would reserve one of these when he had business dinners.

Gable stands when I enter. “Right on time. I like that.” He pulls my chair out for me to take a seat.

“Let’s cut the shit and get down to the purpose of the meeting.” I take a large gulp of the water from the glass in front of me.

“Your father told me you like to get to the point. I like that, too, because I’m the same way. I think that’s another reason why you and I would be good together.”

Before I open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, the waiter comes in. I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager. I already know what I want and order it.

When the waiter leaves and we are alone again, I turn my attention back to Gable. “I don’t know what you and my father had planned, nor do I know what sort of sick daddy-daughter fetish you have, but I’m not going to marry you.”

Gable stares me down for a moment.

“First, there is no fetish of any kind. Second, the contract is simple and had you read it, you might not be as upset.” He reaches down then puts the contract in front of me. “Why don’t we read it together? This way you can sign it here and we can be married tomorrow.”

“You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you?” I cross my arms, not touching the papers in front of me. “Whose idea was this originally? Did my father approach you first?”

Gable shakes his head. “Actually, our meeting was about me just buying the company outright. I knew JE was in trouble. I knew it was a good company and had a lot of decent contacts.”

“But, Dad refused?”

Gable nods and takes a sip of his wine. “He claimed JE was his, but you were going to be the one who was going to put it back at the top. When the conversation turned to you...well...one thing lead to another.”

“So, my father was bragging about me and you thought marriage was option to what…
meet
me?”

“No. I’ve seen you a lot around the University campus. You father enlightened me about you, your accomplishments, and I became more
impressed
. Then I was able to get a hold of your thesis and I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen something that specular since I wrote mine.”

“I’m glad to know your ego isn’t easily inflated.” I roll my eyes. “I’m guessing stalking is part of your résumé, too.”

Gable smirks. “Among other things.”

I look away from him, trying to figure out what the hell kind of tailspin I am in. My father had always been a determined, hard-working businessman. Among his other great qualities, he was a loving, caring father. He wouldn’t hand me off to some stranger.

“How did you meet my father?”

“I’ve known his reputation for years, and I had contacted him when I had heard of the demise of JE and offered some help.”

“I can guess his answer.” My father was a proud man. I know there was no way he was going to take a handout from anyone. He may have borrowed money, but he wasn’t a charity case.

Gable chuckles. “It was a few colorful words, but he turned me down. Soon, the conversation turned to you and now we’re here.” He taps on the contract.

My heart is racing. Gable makes it sound like they had been talking about the weather more than my life. “You can’t do this. I’m an adult and you can’t force me into marriage under duress.”

“I know, Dream.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“I see a beautiful woman, a smart mind, and a company that needs help. Think of me as a fairy godfather.”

My mouth curls in confusion and I’m lost for words, which rarely happens. “A fairy godfather? You seriously let those words leave your mouth.”

“I’m sure you understand what I mean.” He shakes his head realizing that his words aren’t exactly what he meant to say.

“My answer is still no.”

Gable places his elbow on the table and his head rest on two fingers. He’s staring at me and I’m don’t understand what part of ‘no’ he isn’t getting.

“You’re father explained to me you’re a bit hard-headed, and I really don’t think you want to make the front pages of every newspaper, across the land with the words ‘broke’ below it. Your father’s friends have been nice enough to keep this quiet, but it’s not going to last for long.