Just us.

35. Takeover

Marjorie, Reece and Autumn were standing in the office of the nursery discussing the plan to take over the business.

"And who's on the board of directors?" Marjorie questions, making sure she has all the information available
"Well obviously my father. Myself and Reece," autumn answers
"Dad's latest squeeze" the blond rolls his eyes at the thought of his father dating someone younger than himself. It was very unsettling.

"Oh, Siobhan" the woman rolls her eyes in response, sharing a particular hatred for the woman.
"Whilst we're on the subject of that leech," autumn interjects, "I no longer think she's classed as a 'squeeze'. I think she's actually around for the long haul"
"Eww she's younger than me"
"Yeah. I don't even know if there's a word to describe how weird that is"
"I can think of a few choice ones myself" Autumn replies.

"Right, so obviously your dad can't vote so isn't it just you two against Siobhan?" Marjorie asks
"No" the blond replies
"Well, who else is there?"
"There's a silent partner"
"Yeah, we've never met them. We have no idea who they are"
"They've been on the books since father started the nurseries. Couldn't even tell you if it's a man or a woman" Autumn added.

"Well we have to find them. See if they'll vote your way"
"Whoever it is, they will never vote our way. Every decision our fathers made about the nurseries, they've always been in his corner"
"So what does that mean in terms of the votes?" Marjorie asks.
"It means two votes against two votes. There's no way for us to do it"
"Are you sure Siobhan won't vote your way?" As soon as the woman said it she knew the answer. But they were running out of options.

"The woman is quite literally in bed with our father. There's no way she'll vote against him" Autumn replies.
"So that's it? There's no way you can move forward with this? No on you can contact with to help?"
"There is one person that could help" the man puts forward, hesitantly. This was a last resort, but he knew it would work. Hopefully, at least.

The two women look up at him,
"Who is it?" Marjorie questions
"You're not gonna like it"
"Why wouldn't we like it?"
"Because it's me" the woman enters the room, her wine stained hair flowing around her while her hands rest on her hips.

"Hey Mia" Reece mentally prepares himself for the verbal beating he's most likely getting later from both his girlfriend and sister.
"Thanks for inviting me to the family reunion Reecy" Mia smirks
"What? No no no! I'm sorry, no! How on earth can Mia help?"
"Mia's..."
"I'm on the board of directors"the red head finishes his sentence
"How on earth are you on the board of directors?" The woman questions,
"When daddy dearest asked me to work here so I could keep an eye on Reecy. I told him I'd only do it if it was worth my while. So he put me on the books"

Marjorie could not believe what was being said.
"I've been working here on a managers salary for eons and you swan in on your first day and get put on the board of directors?!"
"That's right" she confirms. "And between grossly overcharging the parents and severely underpaying the staff. It means people at the top make quite a tidy amount"
"Well that certainly explains how you've been able to swan about Asia without having to worry about work" the woman huffs. Mia's smug smile only infuriates her more.

"So you did receive my postcard from Bali" the red head smirks.
"It went straight in the shredder. I'm sorry I thought you were supposed to be turning over a new leaf or something and tryna be a better person"
"Sure. For Char. I really don't care what you think of me Marjorie"
"A leopard truly never changes its spots, does it?"
"Careful" she smirks, "I knew about you long before you knew about me. So I've heard all about your villain era a few years ago" Marjorie straights her posture at the comment. Truly, Mia just wanted to have a little fun and the way Marjorie reacts to her, was entertaining.

"Right Mia that is enough, okay? You've had your fun" the blond man huffs. "Are you going to vote our way or not?"
"Sure. Roger screwed me over too so I'd love to see him unseated"
"Right. Okay. So that's it then? We've got the votes. What else do we need?" Marjorie asks, trying to move this forward as quickly as possible.
"The solicitor said it would really help if we had the deed. However father keeps them in his safe and I've no idea what the password is"
"Neither do I" the brother adds.

Mia looked between the siblings,
"I know it" she mumbles gaining all the attention once again,
"You do?!" Reece spits out
"Mm hmm. And I'm sure it won't surprise anybody to learn that it's neither of your birthdays. The narcissist used the date he became a millionaire" she informs them
"Of course he did" the blond rolls his eyes "it's important to him"

"It's also where he keeps your diary" she directs her gaze towards Autumn, "you know, the one with 'Killerman' written all over it"
"He still has that?"
"Ugh that bloody diary caused so many problems" Reece huffs. "Right, I'm gonna go and see if I can get into the safe"
"I'll come with you" the couple walk out leaving autumn and Mia alone.

There was something else Mia found out that she's never told anyone before, something about Autumn.
"D'you know, prom night could have gone very differently if daddy dearest had paid closer attention to that diary" she states
"Meaning what?"
"Meaning he missed one tiny little page with somebody else's name written on it" autumn turns her body to fully face Mia. She knows what she wrote all those years ago.

"Right at the back. Covered in love hearts. Scrawled right in the middle of the page, was the name, 'Mrs Autumn Robert's'" Autumn didn't say anything. But Mia noticed as her posture hardened.

"You had a crush on me too" she smirks. The brunette looks her up and down
"That was a long time ago"
"It was" she agrees. "And as flattered as I am, I really did only see you as a little sister"
"Is that page still in there?"
"No don't worry. I tore it out when daddy dearest wasn't looking. It'll be our little secret" despite the cold straight face Autumn plastered on, she was so relived on the inside, "besides, your own last name sounds so much better. You should wear the name 'Autumn Knight'. Particularly if you're going to use it to take over the Knight Nursery"
"Only if we have your vote"
"You'll have it" Mia glances towards the window behind Autumn, a partially woman catching her eye, "I have to go. There's somebody outside I wanna see" she smiles before leaving the room to meet Charlotte.