“That’s why you saw him leaving,” Wes interjected, although Parker still ignored him.
“But how did you arrive at a figure of twenty?” That part interested me. After all, this man probably knew far more about the recent company finances than I did at this stage. I usually only saw them once per year, and maybe Parker could help me play catch-up. “And do you really think that someone known for gobbling up companies is going to offer us what he thinks is an inflated rate?” Because that was really what it come down to, right?
I needed to know how Parker had arrived at his figures and judge for myself how Patrick would see them.
Parker sighed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. The company valuation will easily reach that by the end of the year.”
“And what plans do you have in place to achieve that?” Dad had never mentioned any massive company-wide growth, and he often discussed tidbits of company business here and there.
Flickers of what Charmaine had said about unexpected spikes in profits teased at my mind.
Parker laughed and waved a dismissive hand. “Well, I’m being optimistic of course.” His voice took on a jovial tone. “But Gold Moon is definitely worth more than the ten mil that fucker offered, right?”
I nodded, my brain ticking over. He was backtracking now, but it wasn’t worth challenging him. Instead, I made a mental note.
“But I’ll tell you what. You keep Apex away, and I’ll bring a serious buyer to the table. Once Patrick Crenshawe sees that someone else is willing to stump up the twenty million Gold Moon is actually worth, he’ll soon crawl his way back with something decent to offer instead.” He strode from the room, leaving the odor of cheap cologne trailing in his wake.
Wes shuddered. “You know what? I really don’t like that guy. His eyes are so shifty.”
I shook my head. I hadn’t decided fully yet. Perhaps I was jumping to conclusions about him. “Maybe he’s just sore about not being promoted after Dad died. I mean I, what, just appeared out of nowhere? He probably thinks I know nothing about the company and don’t really deserve to be here.” That was how I could read my misgivings of him, anyway. It was unease in reaction to his negative feelings.
“Plus you’re a woman,” Charmaine said, and I nodded.
Yeah, that, too. I was a women in a very male-dominated industry. It could take a while to earn anyone’s respect under normal circumstances, without just inheriting the position due to family connections. Some would simply see that as nepotism without skill or any other justification for my sudden rise.
“Anyway.” I sighed. “I need to start sorting through Dad’s office. It’s not exactly a job I can put off if I want to hit the ground running and prove I’ve got everything under control.”
I gathered the paperwork Patrick had left. If I did nothing else this morning, I could at least file it straight into the trash, right?
“You need any help?”
I smiled at Wes but shook my head. “No thanks. I’ve got this.”
“Come on. I’ll show you where all the important stuff is and where I hide the good coffee.” Charmaine led him from the conference room, and I walked down the hall to the offices.
“Got any good gin instead?” It was meant to be a joke, but the words came out sounding pretty grim.
I opened the door to the office I’d visited many times over the years and paused before approaching the desk. Well, shit. There were files piled on every available surface and still more stacked in messy, uneven columns on the floor. I’d never seen it look quite like this.
After picking my way to the desk, I stopped again. Dad had a picture of the two of us on here, and it was a recent one. I couldn’t remember the reason why I’d done it, but I’d hopped on his back, and the photo Mom had snapped had captured an expression of pure joy on Dad’s face as he half turned to look at me.
My chest tightened at the reminder of exactly what we’d had, and my eyes prickled. But at least we’d had it. No one could ever take that love away.
But there were so many times we wouldn’t have now.Couldn’thave because his early death had stolen our future. I let the tears fall in an unbridled act of private grief, taking the quiet time I didn’t expect to find here, before I got control of myself once more. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and tried to smile at Dad in the picture.
He’d probably tell me off, though. He wouldn’t approve of the way I’d spoken to Patrick, even though Patrick had deserved it, in my opinion. Dad had always been old-fashioned, treating everyone the way he wanted to be treated in return, never expecting people to be duplicitous because that just wasn’t the way he operated.
And for the most part, that strategy hadn’t failed him. His reputation was everything to him, and he did nothing that reflected badly on our family or the family business.
Only now he’d probably think I had. I needed to remedy that.
Patrick had left me a business card with his crappy proposal, although it wasn’t like his number would’ve been hard to find. Apparently, everyone knew about the man but me. That said, I’d been pretty busy running away and keeping my head down.
I stroked my thumb across the card surface. It was matte and almost soft. Clearly good quality. Like everything else he’d shown me about how he lived.
He didn’t strike me as a man who wanted for anything. If he wanted it, he took it. If he liked it, he probably bought it. Or took that, too.
I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number on the card. The handwriting on here was graceful and delicate. Like very little else about such a commanding man…except his touch. I shivered at a sudden memory of the way he’d touched me, and my body responded like someone had issued an instruction.