Page 23 of Merging with the Billionaire

“We’ll figure it out, Kari. Is my brother here?” Tiffany hoped Roger was there so he could help her figure out a strategy to stop the company from hemorrhaging customers.

“Yes, he just arrived a few minutes ago. He’s in the main conference room with the other executives.”

That was good. For once her brother was taking this seriously. They needed to pull together if they were going to keep from losing everything their father had built for them.

“Tell my assistant to hold all my calls until the meeting is over.”

Kari nodded, jotting down the information before rushing towards the back of the office building. Tiffany hurried to the conference room, knowing there was no time to waste.

“Roger, I understand why you think that would work, but a simple email won’t fix this,” Harry Stine argued. “We’ve already tried that.”

“But if it was from Tiffany and me personally, wouldn’t that make a difference?”

“No, it’s not going to make enough of a difference to stop customers from leaving,” John Wen pointed out. “We need to figure something else out.”

“What if we do a video?” Tiffany suggested, entering the room. “We can send it out to all of our customers, along with a detailed plan of how we guarantee to meet production and demand.”

Harry rubbed his chin as he tilted his head in contemplation. “That could help. Not sure if it will be enough on its own, but it would be a step in the right direction.”

Tiffany pulled out her phone and sent a quick text. “I just told my assistant to handle the details. We’ll have a crew here within the day to prep and shoot the video. What else can we do?”

“Maybe the company should consider hiring a public relations expert. I know we have a regular P.R. Rep that handles day-to-day situations, but I’m talking about one specifically trained in handling problematic situations like this,” Roger suggested. “Didn’t Dad know a few reps that we’re really good at it?”

Tiffany frowned, then shook her head. “He probably did, but I never came across the information when I went through his files.”

“How do we find one then?” Roger probed with frustration.

“I can help with that,” Conrad said from the door, coming into the conference room. “I have a couple I’ve worked with over the years. They’re the best in the business.”

“What are you doing here?” Roger asked, folding his arms across his chest. “We aren’t working on the solar division until we get everything else settled.”

“I came here to offer my help,” Conrad explained.

“That’s not necessary,” Roger rejected his offer firmly.

“Hold on, Roger, it couldn’t hurt to get his opinion on all of this. He’s seen companies in this situation before. He might very well be the best person to give us some insight,” Eli Smith countered.

“Before we get into all of that, is there any way I can talk with Tiffany and Roger,” glancing around the room, he added, “alone.”

Roger looked over at Tiffany, who nodded her acceptance. The other dozen people left the room.

“What is it that you want to discuss, Conrad?” Tiffany asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs next to her brother.

“I came here to warn you about something,” Conrad said, placing his briefcase on the desk. He opened it and pulled out a stack of papers. He slid it across to the siblings.

“What’s this?” Roger asked, flipping through the documents.

“It’s proof that one of your executives, Daniel Maddox, has been working to undermine and then takeover your company.”

As Tiffany skimmed the contents, the one thing that stuck out was that the name of the other sender/recipient of the emails. Her eyes snapped up at Conrad in anger. “Your name is all over these secret emails. You wrote several of them and helped make the plans to take over our company.”

Conrad nodded. “I could have tried to keep myself out of it, but I want you to know the validity of what I’m telling you. Daniel Maddox wants to destroy both of you and take what’s left of Boswell Oil for himself.”

“And let me guess, you were more than willing to help him,” Roger seethed out in rage. “I get that you and I didn’t get along in college, but to resort to trying to destroy my family’s legacy as retaliation seems a little extreme.”

“Says the spoiled bully who never had to fight for anything in his life,” Conrad countered. “I earned my spot at Yale, but you were handed your spot because of your daddy.”

“Typical, someone who doesn’t come from means resenting someone who does. You want to blame all your problems on me.”

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