A Fool’s Game
Prologue
Richard Davenport sat off to the side of The Beaumont’s rooftop restaurant and silently waited. The day was beautiful to him; it was a perfect day to make a huge deal with the one and only Micheal Beaumont. One that could better him and his chain of hotels in so many ways. His eyes glanced down to the Rolex that ticked away from his wrist and wondered where his twit of a son actually was. He’s thirty minutes late! Sawyer was obviously still the good for nothing son he’s always been. He was stupid to think that he could actually count on him in an important time like this. Hell, he was stupid to believe he couldn’t count on him at all.
What could he say though? Sawyer had always been a little twit, ever since that slut of mother and wife left us for the pool boy. He didn’t have a care in the world. Well, hopefully over the seven years he’s been gone, that had changed. As of right now, Richard thought, Sawyer was his only hope in bringing The Alluvian back to its normal rank. As much as it pained him to say or think, Sawyer would sooner or later take over the hotels. If it weren’t for his favorite son and supposed heir to the hotel, Parker, wanting to marry someone under his status, he wouldn’t be in his rut. At least he could say that Sawyer was a lot like him in many different ways. He was harsh and cruel. He most definitely took what he wanted, when he wanted it with no questions asked; and that was more than he could ever say for Parker.
Every time Richard thought of Parker’s name he cringed over with resentment and disgust. He had blown everything wanting to marry that girl! What in the hell had he been thinking? Parker always knew how his father felt about poor people and now he is running off and to be married to one? He had completely thrown everything away even his title of heir to the hotels and that only meant that Richard would have to pass it down to his youngest son that made him cringe with even more disgust.
Where had he gone wrong? The only son that he loved more than anything in the world was letting him down in so many ways and he wasn’t getting any younger. Sooner or later, he would have to publicly announce that Sawyer would be the one to take over his precious company when he retired. Richard figured he would wait as long as he could because that would take his hotels even farther down the ranking because everyone knew how Sawyer was-irresponsible.
Sweat beads began forming on his forehead and the anxious feeling that had been stirring in the pit of his stomach for the past week began rolling again. Richard never liked making deals, especially ones that could possibly fall through but right now he had no choice but to make a deal with Micheal Beaumont. It was crucial for his great, great grandfather’s masterpiece-The Alluvian Hotels.
He had always been told that failure was unacceptable in every way and that meant losing The Alluvian was not going to happen anytime soon-no matter what the cost. Richard would simply do anything-he’d even kill- to keep The Alluvian in the top three best hotels in the country because it was the only thing his father asked of him on his death bed. He refused to turn out like his sons even if his father wasn’t there watching.
He had to admit, his plans weren’t completely planned out yet but he figured he would go with the flow. His first and most important step was to get Sawyer into the Beaumont family permanently. Then he would take it from there, maybe even strike a deal with Micheal about colliding the hotels into one huge one. That plan right there would bring in the big bucks and Richard knew it because as of right now, The Beaumont is the number one chain of hotels in the country. In the end, he knew that he could find some way to get Micheal Beaumont out of the picture and get Sawyer in there. And as much as it pained Richard to admit, Sawyer would be a force to be reckoned with if he stepped up and took over.
As far as Richard knew, Micheal Beaumont didn’t even have a heir. Well, he had his promiscuous daughter Camilla but come on now, the only thing she was good at was partying at the most popular clubs in the city while letting all of her junk fall out and spreading her legs wide to every man that walked past her no matter what their status. Richard knew because on more than one occasion he had seen her plastered all over the covers of every important business magazines and there was that YouTube video posted of her puking her guts up and cussing her father to hell and back in front of their hotel. If they could somehow arrange something between Sawyer and Camilla everything would be brought into action. Richard would hardly have anything to worry over and that’s what he needed.
That is what he intended to do.
For the tenth time in a matter of minutes, Richard glanced down at his watch and then back to the entrance of the restaurant where he could see Micheal Beaumont standing through the glass double doors. He was just about to shut down completely as he started intently at Micheal. This would never work if Sawyer wasn’t here. What did he have to go on if he couldn’t show his son off to Micheal? Of course, Richard knew Beaumont’s daughter would love Sawyer as a play thing but Micheal didn’t. Richard leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath as he heard voices approaching from behind. Shit, shit, shit! What is he supposed to do now?
Voices got clear and footsteps became louder and he posted his best smile as he turned to see Micheal Beaumont already standing there with smug looking Sawyer. Richard’s guess was that he was just as excited to see him as he was to see Sawyer which was very little. As much as Richard disliked Sawyer, Sawyer disliked him just as much. Richard stood from the chair and shook Micheal’s hand after giving his son a disapproving nod.
Micheal laughed, “Look who I ran across on the elevator!” He said, nodding towards Sawyer. “I knew I was having a meeting with you, but I didn’t know this was a father child thing, if I had I would have drug Camilla out of the bed!”
Richard chuckled, trying to hide the anger that was radiating off of him because of Sawyer, “Nonsense, let that beautiful daughter of yours sleep, I’m sure there will be another time to get acquainted with her. Sawyer and I, both, would like to deal with you.”
The man sitting across from Richard at the table raised his eye brows and almost looked bored, “Deal with me? Do you actually know how many offers for deals I get a day? Well, I’ll tell you! Too many and I don't have time for them.” Micheal Beaumont said as he laughed out.
Richard hated this man with a throbbing passion, but to be honest, that was just the way the business world went around here. Every major business man hated every other but would never admit it out loud. Mostly because they never knew who or when another could help them out in some way. He cleared his throat and laughed along with Micheal, “Of course, I know how you feel.” He said leaning up and stealing a glance at Sawyer, who was staring off to only God knows what. “Hear me out though…” Not giving Micheal anytime to protest, Richard began talking. “I think that we should combine The Beaumont and The Alluvian and make an even bigger empire of hotels.”
Micheal Beaumont sat there in silence wondering where in the hell all of this was coming from. His guess was that The Alluvian was going down and Richard Davenport needed the help and well, he had always been the one to help someone out with a helping hand. His father and always told him that it was one of the biggest problems he had because it made him gullible. And being gullible was never promising in the business world.
As soon as he heard the words, we’d like to make a deal with you, Micheal wanted to politely stand and refuse their offer but Richard Davenport didn’t make that possible for him. However, he could say that he heard Richards thoughts on colliding their two hotels, interest sparked somewhere inside him. The Alluvian had everything that The Beaumont needed and wanted. For instance, international business. Being around for over fifty years, The Alluvian had a chain of hotels all over the world and Micheal wanted that for The Beaumont. But he knew that Richard was sneaky and malicious. Micheal also knew that The Alluvian was slowly going down and it was Richards fault.
Micheal took a deep breath and got comfortable in his seat, he would more than likely be here a while. “Say I like this deal you have come up with, but what is in it for me?”
Richard looked to him and then to Sawyer and smiled victoriously, “I’ve seen your daughter around…In all the business magazines and YouTube.”
Micheal knew exactly where this was going and for once, he was going to actually agree with Richard. Camilla had indeed put a scandalous name on The Beaumont and our whole family. “Your point?” Micheal asked, with an annoyed smile.
“Say we…Make an arrangement between your little Cami and Sawyer here. I know for a fact that you don't have an heir. Well we all know that Cami only finished through high school where as my son Sawyer graduated from one of the finest schools in the U.K. Oxford, to be exact. His degree is in International Business as well.” Richard said lightly.
His eyes glanced over to Sawyer, who was sitting there looking bored and amused. Had Sawyer really agreed to this? An arrangement between him and my daughter? For the first time in ages, Micheal actually agreed with someone other than himself and it annoyed him to an extent. His daughter was nothing but trouble and he needed a way to settle her down and if he did take this deal, he would have a heir. But how stupid would he be to take up a deal without even knowing the boy?
Micheal leaned up in his seat and looked at Sawyer, “International Business, huh?”
Sawyer looked as if he was being pulled away from another world as he stared at Micheal, “Yes, sir. I graduated in the top five of my class.”
“That’s exceptional!” Micheal told him feeling that Sawyer could indeed be a great help to The Beaumont.
Suddenly, Richard chimes in with a broad smile. “So, what you do say Mr. Beaumont? We can get my people and your people together and set it up?” Richard almost sounded too excited and victorious.
“Wait one minute, what exactly is in this for you?” Micheal asked, with a feeling of uncertainty.
Richard sat in silence for a moment obviously trying to figure out what to say, “Well, I know you have heard; everyone has. The Alluvian has gone completely down and I would rather save it than lose it completely and go bankrupt. Mr. Beaumont, I think we both know that pulling our hotels together can help us both significantly. Don't you?”
Micheal sent him a standoff nod and silently agreed, “I leave for Chicago for business for two months, and I’d like to hold off until then. Plus, I don't exactly feel comfortable throwing my daughter into an arranged marriage with someone she doesn’t know. So, I will advise them to see and get to know each other for these next two months and then we will see how that works out and go from there.”
After more talking and planning, Micheal decided to stand because he was suddenly bored of the conversation. He knew that he had gotten a lucky break; well, actually they both did and he was happy for that. The only thing he had to worry about was getting his daughter to agree and settle down with someone. That itself was going to be an ongoing battle for the next two months; hell, it had already been one for the past three years ever since she turned twenty one. Now, at twenty three, she was still the same promiscuous woman that loved to have a good time and it was starting to get out of hand. This was a time that he would just have to put his foot down and make her obey him for once because buying into The Alluvian and expanding The Beaumont internationally would make all of his problems disappear.
Camilla Beaumont stepped out of the limo that had just dropped her off at the Beaumont estate and she suddenly felt rejuvenated. A full days worth of shopping to most people would be tiring and boring but to Camilla, it was a stress reliever. Besides, she practically had all the money in the world, why wouldn’t she shop and spend it? Though, she didn’t understand why she had been interrupted by her father in such an important time. He had called right in the middle of trying on a new pair of hot pink Louboutin platforms that she just had to have for her trip to but Paris for the summer but didn’t have time to buy because her father said it was urgent.
She slowly made her way up towards her father’s office and slowly opened the door to see him sitting there calmly at his desk. “Hello daddy.” She said, perfectly cheerful.
Micheal Beaumont smiled and Camilla could almost immediately tell that there was something she wasn’t going to like on his mind by the look in his eyes. Quickly, he stood from his chair and began walking towards her. After giving her a hug and kiss on the forehead, Micheal sat Camilla down on the couch and took a deep breath. “Hello Cami. There are some important things we need to talk about.” Micheal said, quietly.
Almost immediately, Camilla cheered up and started bouncing on the leather couch. “You got me in at Fashion Week didn’t you?!” A loud squeal of excitement escaped from Camilla’s mouth as she clapped away knowing that this summer was going to be the absolute best. What could she say? She was going to Paris with all of her best friends and her daddy all got them front row seats at Fashion Week.
Suddenly, a full on grin formed on her father’s lips and she watched as he began shaking his head, no. The cheerful look that had just been splattered on her face began to wither away, “What do you mean, no?” She asked, trying to contain the anger that was boiling in her body because she wasn’t getting her way.
Micheal Beaumont began laughing, “I got you something even better.”
A small smile again began to form on her lips, and she wondered what it would be this time. She had already gotten all the sports cars she wanted, and the cloths and jewelry. What could else could she possibly want that she didn’t already have? “Ooo, I love surprises daddy. What is it? Tell me!” She asked, excitedly.
“A future husband.”
Camilla sat there on the couch, dumbstruck. What in the hell did he call himself doing? Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out because she was so angry that her father took it upon himself to find her someone. She knew all too well that he didn’t agree with how she had gone through so many dead end relationships, but it was supposed to be her life, right? She stood from the couch and began walking towards the door to the hall way, still unable to speak any words.
Her father cleared his throat, “Cami, where do you think you are going my dear?” He asked, still acting extremely calm.
“We’ll talk about this later; perhaps after Paris? I have handled all I can for one day.” She spoke, clearly and bluntly. "I'm tired and famished." She hated to be so dramatic, but she needed to get out of that stuffy office and she needed to do it quick
“There will be no Paris this summer, Camilla. You will stay here and get to know Sawyer Davenportand you will get married to him in a year’s time.” She cringed at hearing that name because she had heard about him many times before. He had been attending Oxford University for the past couple of years and was still the same. Immature and arrogant with no future ahead. Well, at least that’s what she had heard. I mean come on; he isn’t even the heir to his own father’s chain of hotels.
Instead of walking out like she had planned to do, Camilla whipped around quickly and scolded her father. “Have you gone completely nuts?” She accused, letting her voice rise so high that it was close to breaking every glass mirror in her father’s office. “First you are throwing me off on someone I don't even know to marry…Sawyer Davenport none the less and now…You are telling me I can’t go on a trip that I have planned for the past fucking year? You could have at least gotten me the cute brother.” She said, hastily.
Her father laughed at her selfishness, “Well, he isn’t available. Sawyer seems like a good boy.”
Camilla shrugged, there was absolutely no way that she was going to let her father get away with stripping her of the most important part of her year. She had planned and planned and there was no way she was giving that up. Camilla was a smart girl and she had tons of tricks up her sleeve. Surely she could figure one out for the next two months.
Okay, so....I know that i have been bad about beginning a story and then stopping it lately BUT i promise to keep on going with this one!!!
Also, this whole story will not be in third person i was just experiementing with it and was trying to see if i was any good at it! Please give me yalls feed back if yall think its good or terrible.
pic of Sawyer----->
PS- please vote and comment and i know the prologue isnt too interesting but i promise!!! If i get a couple of votes and comments i will go ahead and post the first chapter that is already written!!!! :)
AGAIN- IF YOU LIKE IT THEN VOTE FOR IT!
-AMICHELL