After returning to the hotel, William took a comfortable bath, changed into his pajamas, and lounged on the sofa. He picked up his phone, debating how to explain the day's events to his mother. His mother, Lena, had called earlier, but after only a couple of rings, she hung up, probably realizing that calling William at that moment might cause trouble. She then prompted Sunday to have him call her back.
Bracing himself, William reported his safety to his mother, reassuring her with kind words for a good while. Finally, after a video call where she saw he was safe and in a hotel room, Lena let him off. He then checked in with Ambrosio and Abigail, who were much easier to appease, and with some sweet talk, he quickly settled things with them as well.
He ordered a seafood feast, enjoyed it, and took a nap.
By four in the afternoon, still in the middle of a deep sleep, he was awakened by the doorbell, followed by Sunday's report, "Sir, Ms. Catherine, Attorney Anthony, and the financial advisors from Masterson & Co. are here to see you."
"Oh, have the suite butler take them to the living room to wait a moment."
Hearing that Catherine and Anthony were here, William groggily got out of bed, freshened up, changed into casual clothes, and emerged from the bedroom.
"Good afternoon, Catherine." He greeted the newly appointed CEO of the defense company with a light hug.
"What brings you all here so quickly? Hasn't Washington already implemented air restrictions?"
As for Anthony and the financial advisors, he simply nodded in acknowledgment, which they took without any complaint.
"Good afternoon, Boss," Catherine replied with a smile, her usual serious demeanor softened now that she had left her role as Home Secretary. "When we heard about the incident, and couldn't reach you by phone, His Majesty Philip sent me over urgently. I feel relieved seeing you safe."
She added, "As for the air restrictions, it depends on whose plane it is. His Majesty's private jet was allowed to land in Washington with some limitations."
"Thanks for your concern," William laughed, shaking his head. "If it weren't for rescuing a sweet little girl, I'd have already left the White House by the time of the attack. And you can keep calling me William as before; don't forget you're also a shareholder in the defense company. So, how's it been, settling into the CEO role?"
"May I speak frankly?"
William nodded, "Of course. I know the state of the company, so say whatever's on your mind."
Reassured, Catherine squinted slightly as she said, "Honestly, I've been regretting taking on this role. The company is basically a hollow shell—there's no headquarters, and I've had to personally recruit staff over the past ten days. Furthermore…" She glanced at Anthony for a few seconds before continuing to William, "I don't even know the cost of raw materials or the location of the production base."
Seeing Anthony shrug at him, William chuckled, "It's normal that Anthony didn't tell you; he doesn't know where the production base is, either. As for the raw materials' cost…"
After considering it, William, mindful of his agreements with Philip and Duke Grosvenor, decided he couldn't be too secretive. Testing her response, he asked, "Catherine, how would you feel about the raw materials being half the selling price?"
"Half? That would be £2.5 million." She paused to think for a moment. "William, is this price fixed at £2.5 million, or will it always be half the selling price?"
"Half of the selling price. This way, if we ever need to lower prices, we can avoid disputes over minor profits."
"Sounds good," Catherine sighed with relief. "I don't foresee any objections from His Majesty or Duke Grosvenor on this point."
William smirked to himself, seeing how relieved Catherine looked. It seemed his reputation for being a tough negotiator had made Philip and Grosvenor cautious, leaving Catherine pleasantly surprised by the favorable terms.
After discussing further details, William invited Catherine, Anthony, and the advisors to join him for dinner at the hotel restaurant.
As soon as they entered, the hotel staff appeared thrilled to see him, and a few guests gave him thumbs-up. When others noticed the commotion and recognized William, they, too, began applauding, until soon the entire restaurant was clapping. William nodded in acknowledgment, smiling politely at everyone around him. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't too busy, and after a few minutes, he had greeted everyone.
Once seated, Catherine, who was next to William, laughed, "William, you might be the most famous person in the world right now."
"Probably," William shrugged, looking unbothered. "Why, are you hoping I'll act as the company's spokesperson?"
"I wish," Catherine chuckled, "but as long as you're the owner of Masterson & Co., there's no need for us to spend on advertising. Still, if you were willing, luxury brands would probably pay over a hundred million dollars for your endorsement."
"Thanks, but if it were actually a hundred million a year, I might not mind being someone's billboard," William joked, though he knew that wasn't realistic.
"No, seriously," Catherine insisted. "If you said yes, Burberry might very well come knocking with a check. You're the only hereditary duke of the past century, and you've saved multiple heads of state, resolved crises in the financial world, and are handsome and wealthy to boot. I doubt any woman on the planet could resist your charm."
"Thanks," William said, grinning as Catherine's compliments pleased him.
In a generous mood, William ordered two bottles of Château Latour priced at $25,000 each, prompting Catherine to shake her head. Still, considering his wealth, a bit of extravagance was only natural.
They discussed live testing of the bulletproof suits during dinner, and time slipped by until it was nine o'clock. William asked the hotel concierge to arrange suites for everyone.
After personally escorting Catherine to her room, he returned to his suite with Anthony. Pouring two glasses of whiskey, he handed one to Anthony and sat down.
"So, how's the bulletproof gear company doing?" he asked.
"Quite well, actually," Anthony replied after a few seconds of thought. "Ms. Catherine is every bit the capable leader she was reputed to be as Home Secretary. She's managed to organize all the departments in just ten days, except for finance and legal, which our firm oversees. However…"
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [www.p@treon.com/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]