Page 38 of Why Not Us?

I’m at work early the next morning, sitting in the meeting room with a cup of tea. Derek comes in, taking the seat beside me.

“Any idea what this is about?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No clue. It can’t be something bad, can it?”

“I doubt it. Everything has been running smoothly. Maybe something about wedding season coming up?”

We can’t speculate more because Spencer and Vic come in. Vic closes the door behind her while Spencer takes a seat, a folder in front of him.

“Hey,” he says.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, because I don’t like the look on his face. He doesn’t seem upset. More like he’s been thinking about something serious. And Spencer is not usually the most serious person.

“Everything is fine,” he says. “What I want to talk to you guys about will either change nothing or change things for the better.”

Vic takes a seat as well but doesn’t say anything. Apparently, this is Spencer’s show.

He takes a breath.

“My father came to see me yesterday.”

My mouth drops open. Spencer and his dad are basically estranged. After a shitty childhood, he’d gone so low contact with his father that it’s almost no contact at all.

“What did he want?” Derek asks.

“He wants Lis to sign a prenup before we get married. She agreed. But in exchange, he has agreed to give me control over my trust fund.”

Spencer’s dad had originally withheld the trust because he wanted Spencer to work at his business, Cole Enterprises, one of the biggest private companies in British Columbia.

“Lis got him to agree to that?” I ask.

Spencer smiles. “She did.

“So are we taking her out for drinks?” Derek asks. “I mean, she deserves something for getting that asshole to loosen the reins a bit.”

Spencer’s smile grows. “Don’t worry about Lis getting something. I’ve already started thanking her for this.”

“We don’t need to hear about your sex life, Spencer,” Vic says dryly.

He laughs then opens the folder he’d brought with him, sobering again. “To business. When we started Blue Vista, Vic used her trust to purchase things we needed. The building, initial materials, staff salaries. I would like to invest an equal amount of money into Blue Vista, which would allow us to expand to that second location this year.”

He hands a piece of paper to me and one to Derek.

Before I read it, I say, “So you’re going to buy shares from Vic?”

Because she had invested the initial money, Vic owns 70 per cent of Blue Vista, while Derek, Spencer, and I each own 10 per cent.

“Yes. Vic and I drew that up with the lawyer last night.” He gestures at the papers in front of me and Derek. I haven’t started reading, but Derek has, and he looks up, his brows drawn down in confusion.

“You’re going to purchase shares from Vic and give them to us?” he asks.

I gasp, finally reading through the contract Spencer has given me. The gist of it is that he’s purchasing 45 per cent of the business from Vic, keeping 15 per cent for himself and distributing 15 per cent each to me and Derek. Added to our original 10 per cent, this would make us equal partners.

“That’s the plan,” Spencer says. “If it makes you guys uncomfortable, we won’t go through with anything, and we’ll stay as we are. We don’t need the additional money to keep growing Blue Vista. It’ll just make the growth faster.”

“But why give us the shares?” I ask.

“This business is not one without you,” he says. “And the idea of me and Vic owning the majority together.” He grimaces and shakes his head. “It would feel wrong for us to hold 80 per cent while you guys hold 20. It would be unbalanced. This business only works if we work together. Equally.”

---