Page 18 of Cocky Counsel

“We’ve spoken about it, I just wanted to see where you were at with the information and if you had any questions.”

He waited a few minutes, tapping his fingers against each other before speaking.

“Eva went over the options and explained that the white knight would produce the most favorable outcome at this point. Given that other investors are looking at a hostile takeover, it would make sense to approach them with a gentler option.” He paused for a moment and closed his eyes, the frustration on his face starting to build. “However, after I attended the wake last night, there are some new developments that we need to take into consideration before I make a decision.”

A lightbulb in my head went off as I remembered her mentioning to me this morning before I left that Graham wanted to discuss Genevieve. I made a quick note to thank her for passing along that information, so I didn’t look like a complete ass in front of Graham.

“Eva mentioned that you wanted to speak to me about Genevieve,” I said as he nodded in agreement. “I’m guessing that she wants to merge Gainesworth Investments with Morgan Financial Holdings?” He stayed silent, a subtle nod the only confirmation that I was on the right path.

“From a business standpoint, it would make sense to merge them. But from a personal…”

“It would be a fucking disaster,” he finished for me. It was my turn to nod.

From the research that I did on Tuesday, I knew that Genevieve was going to be the decision-maker for Gainesworth since she held the majority of the shares. There was no way to avoid having to deal with Genevieve and I knew that when I reached out to the two board members with the next highest number of shares and planted the idea of the white knight defense in their heads. I needed them to start discussing it amongst the team and to form a solid wall that Genevieve couldn’t get around.

“What exactly does Genevieve want from the deal?”

“She wants us to merge the companies and run them together. As a team” he gritted out. “I’ve already explained to her that it’s not an option that I’m interested in, but you know Genevieve, she won’t stop until she gets her way. She scheduled a meeting for us to discuss Gainesworth tomorrow.”

I leaned back against my chair and waited. Something else was weighing on Graham’s mind and I knew it was more than just Genevieve wanting to merge the companies. He was a smart, powerful man who didn’t care what others wanted. Graham took what he needed and moved on. But something was holding him back and making him reconsider, and I couldn’t do my job until I knew what that was.

“So, what’s the real problem?” I asked, pushing him to break free from his trance and look at me.

“There’s a child involved.”

“A child?” I pulled my head back in confusion, my brows furrowed. “Whose child?”

“Mine.” His eyes locked onto mine and I felt the weight of his problems shift to my shoulders. Fuck.

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