Julia
Silence settled over the boardroom as I completed my presentation. The information was out, Van had bought Wade time with the balloon payment. As the upcoming largest shareholder, I wanted information, all of it.
As of yet, I’d felt less as if I’d been ambushed and more as if I were being dismissed.
Marlin Butler glanced my way and back to the rest of the board. “If this is done, I move that we proceed with other items on our agenda.”
“Second,” Gwen said. She’d yet to meet my gaze.
“It isn’t done,” I said. “I want access to the information regarding my family’s company.”
“The motion was seconded,” Marlin said.
I turned to Van, seated to the side of the room. There was something in his casual demeanor that calmed me. There wasn’t a trace of anxiety anywhere from his tantalizing green stare to his handsome and fit body. Wearing a custom-made suit that fit him perfectly, he looked as if he were watching a tennis match, leaned back with one arm outstretched over the back of a neighboring chair.
It hit me.
Van’s demeanor was the manifestation of the secret he’d told me. People instinctively gravitated toward calm. There was no doubt I wanted to go to him, wrap myself around him, and settle into his orbit.
I grinned as our gazes met.
Van didn’t want me to come to him, not now. He was showing me what I needed to do. I took a deep breath. My realization had taken only seconds as Marlin spoke.
“Thank you, Miss McGrath.”
“Thank you for listening,” I said with all the tranquility I could muster. “As I mentioned, I’m not done. Take a vote.” When no one spoke, I added, “I motion that a vote be taken on my proposal to release the requested information to me.”
“You are not in a position—”
My father stood. “As co-chair, I call for a vote.”
I let out a breath, concentrating on Van’s encouraging words. ‘When you speak with the board and hear their concerns, reassure them with your words as well as your demeanor.’
I lifted my hand. “Before the vote, I would like to hear concerns. I’d like to understand any obstacles that any one of you may see with my having the information I’ve requested.”
Gwen cleared her throat.
I feigned a smile. “Please, Gwen, share.”
“I can’t believe I’m being made to say this,” she began, “but it’s the obvious elephant in the room, Julia. You can’t be trusted to use good judgment. You flew off the handle over a misunderstanding with Skylar. You committed to being his wife and changed your mind. Thousands of dollars wasted. Who is to say that you won’t do the same with Wade. Just change your mind. Last I was told, you were setting Wade aside to write a memoir. Now I assume you’re setting the memoir aside to concentrate on Wade. Or are you managing both? I really don’t know. I do know that your track record doesn’t instill confidence.”
I licked my lips and took a deep breath. “Thank you for your honesty. This isn’t, however, the time or the place to rehash what occurred regarding my broken engagement. This is the time to concentrate on Wade. The memoir isn’t a topic for this board either. Wade is. I was raised to fulfill my grandfather’s wishes, to be an involved and integral part of the company his father founded. If you truly have the best interest of Wade at heart, you’ll see that Donovan Sherman saved your asses. He’s presented on a silver platter an opportunity to save this company, to make it more. He also exposed the vulnerability of our shares. We are now down to fewer shareholders. Once Donovan and I combine our shares, we’ll hold a number that surpasses the majority.” I relaxed my shoulders. “This is my legacy, and I’m not willing to let it go without a fight.”
“Perhaps,” Gwen said, “if you’d shown better judgment in the past.”
“She’s twenty-four years old,” my father interjected. “She hardly has an extensive track record.” He smiled my direction. “Julia has made some decisions that on the surface seemed rash; however, upon learning the circumstances, I admire her fortitude.” He shook his head and turned toward Donovan. “I don’t know Mr. Sherman.”
Van nodded.
Dad went on, “But Julia is right. Making the balloon payment has given us a reprieve we wouldn’t have otherwise had.” He nodded. “I’m grateful to Mr. Sherman. Whether he and Julia marry isn’t the issue, nor should it be pushed. What matters is that Mr. Sherman has shown this board that he’s sincere about helping Wade Pharmaceutical.”
“For what purpose?” Gwen asked.
“I don’t care,” Dad answered. “I’m tired.” He reached over to Mom and squeezed her hand. “I’m not a quitter and neither is our daughter. I vote to give her the information.”
“How do we know,” Marlin asked, “that she won’t share it with the competition?”
“I won’t,” I said.