Page 79 of Beck and Call

"What!" I shouted.

He grimaced. "You weren't moving forward. I saw you with Evie at dinner, and I knew how you'd react if I applied a little pressure. I never intended to tell the board. My idiot lawyer did that. Well I should say, former lawyer."

"What are you saying?" I demanded.

"I'm sorry, son. I was never going to split up the company. If my idiot nephew here had done his research he would have found there's no paperwork drafted to change the transfer of power of the company to you."

"The announcement was made, so surely there's a legal precedent to make it a reality despite no existing documents," Franklin pressed his lawyer.

His third-rate lawyer huffed and fidgeted in his chair.

"Stop, you're going to give yourself an aneurism trying to come up with an answer when there isn't one. It doesn't matter anyway." I held up my hand and showed my wedding ring to the board. "Paperwork or no, the company is mine either way."

"Well, nearly. There's still the matter of the board to contend with. Someone here thought it was a good idea to seek out my nephew and share the news my lawyer spilled to one of you," my father interjected.

"It wasn't me. You already know what I'd like to do with my shares," Harold replied.

My father looked intently at each board member. Some looked away, while others watched each other. "I already know who it was because everyone else has sold me their shares."

"Who was it?" one of the board members asked.

Maxwell Easton, Jana's father, burst into the room. "You called a board meeting and didn't tell me?"

"Ah, here he is now. Tell me, old friend, how's the new vodka doing?" My father chuckled at his own joke.

"Can we focus on your problems here, buddy? I heard Matilda Forsyth attended Beckett's engagement party. Guess that wedding didn't happen after all."

"You didn't hear? Evie and I got married last night," I said, flashing my ring again.

"Congratulations. I don't understand why we are all here though if you aren't going to announce how you are handing over shares of the company and what it means for the board."

"Actually, we are going to discuss the future of the company," my father continued. "First, I've regained all of the shares of the company except for your ten percent. So, let me ask you again, how is your new vodka performing?"

"Horrible! Okay? Are you happy now?" he shouted. "My idiot nephew used the entire ad budget to throw a party thinking he could make it go viral. It didn't work, and the product released without the public being aware at all. But, my daughter will fix it. She always does."

I walked away from the table and opened the door. "I'm afraid she isn't going to be able to this time. See, once my father told me who the lone holdout on the board was, things started to make sense."

Evie and Jana followed me back into the board room. "Gentleman, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Evelyn Anderson, and many of you know Jana Easton."

"When are we going to get around to what is happening with the shares!" Franklin pounded on the table.

"You aren't getting any. Tell Aunt Adela I said hi, and never show your face around any of my property again," I dismissed.

I pushed the intercom button at the head of the table. "Mrs. Janek, can you please send in security to escort out my cousin?"

Franklin stood abruptly, toppling his chair over. "No need. I'm going." He stormed out of the room, and his lawyer scurried after him.

"He was a nuisance, but you, Mr. Easton, were the problem. You sought him out and filled his head with fantasies of reclaiming his family's fortune. I paid a forensic accountant to look into everything when my cousin first came seeking to take over the company. It seems he'd followed his father's lead and developed quite a debt through failed businesses and gambling.

"He was an easy mark," I continued. I refocused my attention back on Maxwell. "I didn't learn until this morning who issued him the loan that bailed him out. It was buried under shell companies, but when you knew where to look it was easy. My guess is you expected he would be awarded enough shares that you could then take them yourself when you called in the loan."

Maxwell grew red in the face, but otherwise remained silent.

"What I don't understand is why you pushed your own daughter out," I thought aloud.

"What use are girls? My nephew could have learned the job from her and managed just fine. Which is what you are going to do," he said, pointing at Jana to punctuate his message.

"See, Jana is the head of our newest business venture. She's starting Imagination Marketing with Anderson Global backing. We're also going to be her largest client."

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