Nodding, I gave Julia’s hand one more squeeze. “I’ll see you after you meet with your parents.”
Janie smiled. “I was given a list of what you’ve requested, Julia. I’ll be happy to help you once I return.”
“My parents?”
“They’ll be along shortly.”
Julia nodded.
Janie led me through a few doors and hallways until we came to double smoked-glass doors. The nameplate on the side said Marlin Butler, Vice President of Operations.
Titles were overused. Vice-presidents multiplied in most companies like mice—litter after litter—making companies top-heavy. Ironically, most vice-presidents were as equally useful as mice, scurrying about and shitting all over the place.
After the greetings between Janie and Marlin’s secretary, I was led to a set of solid double doors.
“Mr. Sherman, may I get you anything while you wait? Coffee? Water?”
“No, thank you.”
Having me wait in Marlin’s office was no doubt a power play, an attempt to impress me with some self-perceived sense of superiority. Glancing at the view of Chicago through his floor-to-ceiling windows, my mind went to something else. A grin and a shake of my head were the telltale signs of a pang of sympathy for Gwen Butler. With the size of his desk and square footage of windows, Marlin was obviously compensating for an inadequacy. Maybe a life of unfulfilled sex added to her earlier negative attitude.
Thankfully for Julia, when I found her on the side of the road, I not only saved her life, I also rescued her from a lifetime of sex with a Butler. From what little Lena had shared about Skylar’s uncle and Marlin’s brother, Logan was nothing to write home about either.
If Marlin Butler wanted me envious of his position, he had a fucking far way to climb up the corporate ladder. No, when it came to the Butlers—Marlin, Logan, and even Skylar—the green-eyed monster had changed companions. I was no longer a twenty-something determined to make a difference.
I’d long ago left the Butlers in my dust.
Envy was their constant companion, not mine.
I didn’t give a fuck how Logan saw me nearly two decades ago. Times had changed and so had I. I had more money, more power, and now Skylar’s fiancée as well as their key to Wade Pharmaceutical.
I had no doubt that Skylar told his father that I’d offered double their worth for their stock in Wade. That was why Marlin wanted to meet in person. He was wise enough to avoid a paper or electronic trail of this conversation.
What Marlin didn’t realize was that I was now the master playmaker. This meeting was merely agreed upon to drop crumbs leading him and his family to exactly where I wanted them. One day I’d have Butler’s shares of Wade, but when that day arrived, I sure as hell wouldn’t be paying him a substantial sum.
The door behind me opened.
“Have a seat, Mr. Sherman,” Marlin said as he entered, closed the door, and gestured toward the chairs opposite his grandiose desk.
I took the seat, leaning back and unbuttoning my suit coat.
Marlin settled behind the desk, busying himself with straightening the blotter. Finally, he broke the silence. “I wasn’t sure you’d make the trip.”
“You asked and I was curious.”
Marlin’s back straightened as he sat forward. “You cost me millions, Sherman.”
My lips quirked into a grin. “If that’s why you asked me here, it really wasn’t necessary. I’m well aware of the consequences that my acquisition of the Wade shares created. You were right. I didn’t need to travel three hundred miles to personally witness your defeat.”
“Always so arrogant even when you didn’t have a pot to pee in.”
I smirked. “By the way, Damien Sinclair informed me that you also invested in Sinclair Pharmaceuticals.”
Marlin shook his head. “It was just for show. A leap of faith, showing Sinclair that I trusted him. I didn’t do it for any other reason.”
“You didn’t believe that the merger would increase Sinclair Pharmaceuticals’ value and you’d benefit from both sides?”
“The merger was a good opportunity. Wade was also approached by Zax Drugs.” His head shook. “They’re currently in the middle of litigation regarding opioids. It’s not where Wade needs to be.”