Fool Me Once (First Wives #1)

“So what is your role? I know I’m probably sounding naive.”

“The company belongs to us. Collectively, we are the CEOs of Everson Oil. And now you hold one-third of that. The three of us make the final decisions in the hiring or firing of the executives. We only need a majority, so two out of the three of us can make the decisions, which is probably why Alice felt it wasn’t a bad company decision to leave this to you.”

“So you could stop me from becoming a part of this if you wanted to?” Trina asked.

Andrea and Diane looked at each other. “Voting out the third CEO is not possible,” Diane told her.

“This keeps the company moving forward if in fact one of us had a different goal.”

“That makes perfect sense,” Lori chimed in. She turned toward Trina. “Companies that have been in existence as long as Everson Oil have many contingencies to keep any one person from destroying it.”

“Everson Oil is responsible for the livelihood of thousands of families, both here in Texas and scattered throughout the States. Our father understood that and took the responsibility for our employees to heart.” Andrea tapped her chest. “I spend my time here talking with the different department heads and our staff from all levels. I will often know of a problem brewing before it’s brought up in a board meeting.”

“And I have spent the last few years working with the lobbyists and politicians about pipelines and alternative fuel.”

“Like solar?” Trina asked.

“Solar, wind, methane . . . we have so many renewable resources to tap into in the United States that go underutilized, it’s staggering,” Diane said.

“Foreign oil isn’t needed in our country, but there is so much political pull tugging on all ends we may never see a day when we’re completely independent.”

“Is that the goal of Everson Oil?” Trina asked.

“The goal of every company is to make money and increase shareholder value.”

“And who are the shareholders?”

Lori grinned. “You three.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not a public company,” Diane said. “But some of the companies we’ve spun off are partially.”

Trina’s head was going to explode. “You have spin-off companies?”

“Everson Solar, Everson Turbines. The three of us hold controlling interest, but we’ve made the companies partially public to offer incentives to our employees.”

“Which keeps our employees invested in the greater good of the overall operations.”

Trina blinked a few times. “I’m not afraid of saying I’m overwhelmed.”

Andrea reached out and patted her hand. “It’s a lot to fall into.”

“Like a rabbit hole,” Trina sighed.

“Which is why you can do as much, or as little, as you want to do with the company. Andrea and I can make decisions without you. We don’t expect that you have any idea about what we do here.”

Trina leaned back and looked around the room. “For the first time in weeks, I’ve been able to talk about Fedor and Alice without feeling like my stomach was going to drop through my feet.”

Diane had Alice’s smile. “Concentrating on what you can control, and not the things you can’t, has a way of keeping us focused and moving forward.”

“That sounds like something Alice would have said,” Trina told her.

“She stole that line from me,” Diane confessed with a wink. Her eyes glossed over with an unshed tear.

It was time for Trina to reach out and comfort the sisters.

“Truth is,” Andrea started, “teaching you the ropes might be exactly what we need to move forward, too.”

“You can stay in Alice’s house, check things out . . . see if this is something you want to do,” Diane suggested.

Trina cocked her head to the side, looked at Lori. “Is there a house in Texas?”

“If you want to call it a house. I seem to remember something about twenty-five acres and several horses.”

“Holy cow.”

“No cows,” Andrea teased.

“Our sister didn’t care for New York. She only went there in the end to be close to Fedor.”

Andrea lightened the mood. “The weather here sucks, not gonna lie. But hey, we have air conditioning.”

“And when the power goes out,” Diane continued, “we have all the resources needed to power it back up.” She spread her arms wide, as if the company singlehandedly took care of all the coolness they’d need to survive the heat.

Suddenly the world didn’t feel so dim. “I need to close up the house in New York.”

Andrea and Diane chuckled.

“So you’re in?”

Trina glanced at Lori. “I don’t see any reason for you to walk the dark halls of Fedor’s estate if you don’t.”

And just like that, Trina changed her life once again. “I’m in.”

Diane stood. “Great. Let me invite the rest of the board in.”

“Oh, God.”

Andrea patted her on the back. “Most of them are Texans. Treating women with respect is way high on their priority list.”

Trina’s stomach rolled. “You better not be lying to me.”

Diane opened the door, and the room flooded with boots, hats, and a whole lot of testosterone.





Chapter Twenty-Three




“Change of plans,” Lori announced when she walked into the room at the hotel.

“You finally decided to try skydiving?” Reed teased. He was sitting by the window, his laptop open.

“You wish. No . . . but horseback riding might come into play.” She moved to the closet and removed her suitcase.

He closed his computer. “Horses include luggage?”

“You’re a funny guy.”

Reed moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I crack myself up all the time.” He kissed her neck.

Her spine chilled. “None of that. We’re going to Trina’s.”

“Across the hall?”

“That would be a bit crowded. No . . .” Lori rolled out of his arms and into the bathroom to gather her toiletries. “Alice left a ranch to Trina.”

Reed moved to the doorway, leaned against it. “Let me guess, one of those houses is right here in Texas.”

She picked up her makeup bag and patted Reed’s cheek as she walked by. “Funny and wise.”

“I take it today’s visit to the oil company went well.”

“It did. Trina is finally starting to absorb all of this and has decided to spend the next few months here to see if she wants a part of Everson Oil.”

Reed continued to watch her as she bounced around the room, packing.

“What does Trina know about oil?”

“Nothing. But she’ll learn.”

“You sound very sure of her talents.”

She paused. “I think anyone who has been through as much as she has this year and isn’t rocking to the voices in her head in a corner somewhere is capable of just about anything.” Lori zipped up her suitcase, turned, and placed her hands on her hips. “What are you just standing there for? Pack.”

Reed moved to the table where he’d placed his laptop and grabbed his suitcase from the closet. “Ready.”