In a serious tone Seth said, “I’m not Gareth.”
“Shit. I can’t believe this.” His mind was racing. Timing of this really couldn’t be worse. “You said rumor. But they’re not sure are they?”
Seth said, “So far the news said the jet was last seen on radar a few days ago. Since they did not show for their dinner engagement yesterday, they assumed something must have happened.”
Charles wouldn’t put it past Maxwell to do all this for the media blitz. “Don’t believe everything you hear. Until they find the jet and have a positive ID, I’m not buying it.” It was more likely he figured out what Charles was up to, and this was his way of avoiding the Feds. He couldn’t mention that to Seth, because he didn’t want to instill panic in the family for no reason. If it looked like the two were connected, he’d update them.
“I know you don’t like the guy, but damn, you sound kind of cold.”
“No. I’m just not going to feed into the media frenzy until I know there is a reason to. Besides, we’re talking about Maxwell Grayson. You don’t think he’d pull a stunt like this? You read the file yesterday.”
“He is one fucked-up individual so nothing is off limits. But as a company we need to prepare ourselves. I’m sure his clients are going to feel that way. They are already in a panic. Some have called us to know if we can fill their orders if, in fact, Maxwell’s dead.”
“Wow. And you thought I was cold. But that’s business. There is no time to stop some of these major projects. There’s billions of dollars on the line. Maxwell’s clients aren’t going to sit back and mourn his loss, not if it means they are losing money. Because in the long run, we know why he got their business in the first place.”
“Undercut the competition. Undercut us.”
“Exactly. And now they are panicking. Desperate.” And we’ll be happy to take their business too. Charles would like to think Lawson Steel was prepared to meet the demand. He’d confirm personally that was the case. Charles never wanted to make a commitment to a client which he couldn’t deliver on. There was so much prep time, and everything needed to be coordinated months in advance; they couldn’t ask a client to wait. If it was true, and Maxwell was gone, that was a game changer and not just for Lawson Steel.
“Seth, I need you to make sure any of Grayson Corp clients are treated with kid gloves. They are probably testing the waters to see if we would take them on. But if Maxwell is alive and shows up tomorrow, they might drop us once again.”
“I’ve got it. And I’m going to see what Gareth can find out too. Maybe one of his connections can find out what really is going on.”
“Good. Hey, I’ve got to go. Can we talk about this tomorrow?” Charles needed to check on Rosslyn. If she had heard the news, she might be panicking about her job. Of course he might be the last person she wanted to see, but he had to try.
“Tomorrow? With everything I just told you, you’re okay with stepping out?”
He could see the concern on Seth’s face. “I need to check on Rosslyn. She works for Maxwell. She might know more than we do.” It provided an acceptable answer, which wasn’t a lie.
“Someone on the inside. That’s a change. Okay. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
As soon as Seth was out of his office, he tried calling Rosslyn. It went directly to voicemail. So he dialed Grayson Corp and that also went to voicemail. If she was in the office, she probably didn’t want to answer in case it was the media.
There had to be so much going through her head right now. Rosslyn already was concerned about money. Maxwell signed her paycheck after all.
He could always drive there, but that would cause questions if the media snapped his picture there. He chose not to leave her a message. If she needs me, she knows she can call me.
The problem was, he wanted her to need him. Not that he hoped she had issues, but he wanted to be the one she turned to. If he didn’t hear from her today, he’d go to the apartment building at seven as planned. He hoped she would be there and happy to see him.
Charles needed to get out of there. He opted to take a drive. Between Rosslyn not speaking to him and Maxwell pulling this shit, his day was fucked. He needed answers about both of them. Oddly enough, what was going on with Rosslyn mattered a lot more to him.
I don’t care if I have to drive all the way to her parents’ house, I’m going to talk to her again. This isn’t over.He’d spent the last few years fighting for revenge, now he was going to fight for love.
He’d never said that word to a woman. It was the only explanation for how he felt. It was all happening too fast, and that was why he’d screwed up last night and tried paying for an apartment for her. Charles replayed it over and over in his head. She had every right to be pissed at him. The fact that she stood her ground only made him love her more. She was a proud, strong woman. He should’ve known and respected that. And when he saw her next, he was going to make sure she knew it.