Rise of the Notorious Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t make him superior or smarter.
    “I have already asked Uncle Marshall to make the rounds to the various military veteran functions. As a veteran himself, he should be able to showcase our family’s history of strong support for the military and convince them that our grandfather’s actions do not represent every Vasser, living or dead.” One of her eyebrows rose as she eyed him coolly. “Does that answer your question?”
    “For now,” he muttered, turning back to the paperwork before him and flipping through the pages absently. “And what about the op-ed piece in the New York Times proclaiming you are too young and inexperienced to run such a large company?”
    Her eyes narrowed, though it was the only sign of irritation she showed. “The day I start running my life based on op-ed pieces will be the day I grow a beard and join the circus, Duke. It isn’t going to happen.”
    Grant cleared his throat, eyeing his sister. “Can we move on, Mads?”
    “Gladly.” She pulled out copies of the list of instructions from her grandfather and passed them to Linc and Grant to hand down the table. “This is the list I mentioned before that Cyrus gave to me. I want you to have it so we can all be on the same page. My first step is going to be the first thing on that list.”
    “Corporatize?” Marshall gaped, brows furrowed as he turned to look at her. “Surely you aren’t serious?”
    “We will need the additional capital and investments that will come from incorporation if we are to implement the second item on the list,” Madison informed him, looking at Linc as he pored over the list. “Your idea wasn’t so awful, after all.”
    Linc let out a slow, disbelieving breath before glancing up at her with a quick grin. “Well, damn, there it is. Expand into the middle-class market with three- and four-star hotels. Revamp the company image to be inclusive of this market. I already have all of this figured out, Mads. I can show you.”
    “You don’t need to,” she replied, a spark of pride shining in her eyes. “I want you to take charge of this. I’m trusting you with it.”
    He nodded, looking more excited than she had seen him in weeks. “Great, I won’t let you down.”
    “I know.” She looked down the table at the other men, noting the agitation in their expressions as they read over the rest of the list. When Cy let out a sharp, bitter laugh, she knew he’d read the worst of it.
    “Trim the fat?” he asked, shooting her a nasty look. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “Exactly what it says,” she replied smoothly, not missing a beat. “From here on out, any member of the Vasser family not directly involved in managing or running the hotels will be bought out of their interest in the company. We will no longer put up with leeches like my father draining our company of money.”
    “And who gets to decide who gets bought out, your highness ?” Cy demanded, his hands clenching into fists on the table.
    “I do.” Madison held his gaze, matching his intensity with cool reason. “The fact that you gentlemen are here means you will not be on that list.”
    “And Walter and Lyndon? They will not be bought out,” Marshall declared stubbornly, looking to his brothers for confirmation.
    “Your other brothers will not be included in the list either, Uncle Marshall. But some of their children, and their children’s children, will be.”
    “This is bullshit! ” Cy shouted, nearly jumping out of his seat. If Duke hadn’t grabbed his arm to hold him back, he might have crawled over the table to throttle Madison then and there.
    “Stop it, Cy. It’s done,” Duke growled, forcing his cousin back into the chair. He glared over at Madison himself when Cy managed to calm down. “You understand, honey , that this is all just a bit more than we can handle right now. Cyrus is barely cold in the ground and here you are barking orders at all of us about trimming the fat and corporatizing. I