Chapter 32
Azalea's POV.
“What exactly is it you want from me, Ms. Cavanaugh?” Rowan asked with a slight frown on his face.
“I want us both to go to the Trumann Belt but not as ourselves,” I answered, remaining cryptic because I first wanted to read his face, to see how he felt about all of this.
“To spy? I’m not sure how legal that can be,” Rowan responded, but there was a sheer interest in his tone with intrigue splayed on his face. Bingo.
“Not to spy, Mr. Miller, I am genuinely interested in the Belt,” I corrected him. “I know it can prosper under our care,” I said truthfully.
I was certain of that. I had grown up on that Belt; I worked on that Belt since I was a young girl. I knew it like the back of my hand, and no matter how far I’d go from that place, I’d still know it forever. I wanted to genuinely save that place, my father cared about the Belt. The people there were once considered my family, and I can at least try to make sure they remain employed. It was clear that Damon wasn’t the businessman he thought he was, he wasn’t even half as good as his father.
Under his father’s management, the Trumann Belt had never sunk this low. It was unbelievable that the Belt was up for grabs. Well, technically, they wanted partnerships, but I wanted to make an offer to buy the Belt outright.
The Belt would flourish again, Damon would realize what a grave mistake he made, and Laura would too. Laura is the most vile woman I’ve ever come across. I’ll do all of this with a graceful smile on their lips, especially with their company now under my care. The Belt will remain under their name for the first few years, just to piss them off, and the final straw would be when I’d rename it to my last name.
“Ms. Cavanaugh? Hello?” Rowan called for my attention, and I snapped out of my train of thought. I stared at him, and he just raised a brow at me.
“Oh, sorry, could you repeat what you just said?” I asked, not bothering to lie that I had been paying attention. I was lost in my own thoughts, and I couldn’t ignore that.
“You mentioned ‘under your care.’ From what I read, they want a partnership, no?” Rowan asked. He was great at his job; Jakob praised him for being so great despite his young age, and he was right. “To focus on the fruits and vegetables together?” he recalled, already having gone through the files.
“I’m aware, but I don’t want that,” I decided with a smile, watching as confusion settled on his face. “Their Belt is one natural disaster or one terrible deal away from crumbling. I cannot deal with partnerships where there’s a chance of failing because another neglects to properly conduct business,” I explained in further detail. Of course, I had done extensive research on the Trumann since the passing of Nicholas Trumann, and it was true. If one small thing goes wrong, it could end badly for the Belt and their workers. I didn’t want to do business with failing farms.
“So you want to outright buy the Trumann Belt?” Rowan asked with a slight frown on his face.
“Unless you think I shouldn’t,” I pointed out, but I could tell he was more intrigued.
“Well, that department is all yours, I can ensure the legality of it all,” Rowan promised with a certain smile. I smiled too.
“That’s perfect. I have my plans set for that place,” I told him. I don’t think anyone would be able to talk me down from it.
“So, may I ask what favor it is you need from me?” Rowan then asked, finally relaxing in his seat. One leg crossed over the other as he watched me closely.
“Right, I have to admit something, but it cannot leave this room, Mr. Miller,” I spoke in a much lower tone despite no one else being present on this floor right now.
“Of course, Ms. Cavanaugh,” Rowan nodded and inched closer.
“I have a past on the Trumann Belt. When Jakob spoke of me having experience, he referred to me growing up on the Trumann Belt and working there since I was young and up until my twenty-second birthday,” I revealed, watching as Rowan’s mouth gaped.
“You– You have a past there?” Rowan began to ask, full of shock. “You never told anyone,” he muttered. Obviously, that was the plan.
“Because I wanted to keep it a secret. I loved that place, but the management– the owner and their family–was awful to me,” I answered simply, and he just nodded along. “I had to leave after my father passed away as I could no longer deal with the way they treated me,” I explained as briefly as possible. I didn’t want to go too in-depth about my past. I was sure he was not interested in that.
“My father lived there longer than I had. There are many sweet and kind people working on that Belt, people who deserve to keep their jobs, hence why I want to seize control and lead it to success,” I admitted. I missed them. I knew they wouldn’t care for me anymore since I left without a warning and cut ties fast. But, I knew they all deserved to hold the job they had and cherished.
“Those people are your family,” Rowan said.
“In a way, yes,” I confirmed. They were all my father had.
“So, we’ll go there, and I’ll make sure you get the deal you want, Ms. Cavanaugh,” Rowan promised.
“I need a bit more than that,” I said and watched as he tilted his head a bit to the side with intrigue. “I need you to pretend to be there in the interest of the owner. I want them to think you hold all the power in the company, and I’ll come with you as your personal assistant,” I finally revealed my grand idea to him.
“Won’t they recognize you?” Rowan asked. Good, his first response wasn’t to deny it.
“I’ll conceal my identity, and I can assure you I’ve changed quite a lot since then,” I assured him. I knew that I could change a few things and still get away with concealing my identity. “I’ll feed you all the information and lingo you need, and we’ll stay there for one to two weeks to check everything out. That has already been settled,” I promised. I had planned all of this already. All I needed was him on board. “I just need you for this role, feel free to say no, of course,” I said truthfully.
“I guess I can do this,” Rowan said, quite impressed. “I can’t portray myself as the owner of Tattlington, though,” he warned. I assumed that would be heavily illegal, and I wanted this to be as legal as possible.
“No need, you’re on behalf of the rightful owner, which the press hasn’t gotten a hold of,” I told him. This ruse was indeed the truth. Only the inner circle of the Tattlington business world knew the truth. The media has yet to find out that I inherited everything. “You can state that the owner wishes to still be concealed from the public, hence why you were sent,” I said, sharing yet another truth.
“That’s actually–genius,” Rowan smirked. “This will work for us.”
“I’m glad you think so, Mr. Miller,” I smiled and could tell he was already on board. Perfect. “For the acting entertainment, I thank you, and you shall be paid double that month,” I promised with a bright smile.
“Thank you, Ms. Cavanaugh,” Rowan smiled.
“Now, are you free for those one to two weeks?” I asked, already arranging our flights and such.
“I sure am,” Rowan confirmed. “But I will not be able to stay longer than that,” he mentioned, and I knew that already. According to his schedule, he had put in his PTO.
“That won’t be an issue,” I promised. “You will be back for your PTO.”
—
Thus the planning began. I loved my fiery red hair, but I also knew that it would always expose me. So I bought black hair dye, it wasn’t permanent. After about eight washes, the color should be out of my hair. I used it once one Halloween, and after washing my hair those eight times, I had my fiery red hair back without any issues. My hair was far longer than in the past, and I’d be wearing glasses and a cowboy hat most of the time. I should go unidentified. If Clark Kent could do it, I’m sure I could get away with it as well.
Rowan and I were invited to the farm by Damon and Laura Trumann. They were excited to welcome Rowan, wanting this deal more than anything else in the world. Rowan and I gave each other a subtle nod. I donned my cowboy hat and sunglasses and stepped outside.
I looked at the Belt, the place that was once my home. They had expanded a lot, but their quality had dropped. They no longer looked like the greatest of America like they once did. It only took a matter of three years for this place to go down the hill.
Lucas wasn’t kidding when he said he had to keep most things functioning since Damon had only a sliver of an idea of how to manage.
Shit–Lucas!
I hadn’t told Lucas about my plan. I was so focused on getting the Trumann Belt and my scheme that I forgot the one person who could blindly identify me would be present.
Right on cue, Damon, Laura, and Lucas all walked to the front to greet Rowan and me. Lucas' eyes were glued to me with confusion etched on his face.