Page 8 of Acquiring Ainsley
“You’ve been busy,” I added.
“I’m glad you’ve kept up with me,” Trevor replied, as if what I’d just said didn’t bother him at all. Instead, he kept his expression totally unreadable. “It’s flattering.”
“Don’t kid yourself.”
Trevor grinned. “I like this fire inside of you. It’s better than I remembered.”
“I don’t care what you like.” I remained fixated on him, ignoring his handsome features and the way a single lock of his thick hair fell over his brow… just like it had that night. “I care about what you’re going todo. If you think you can buy this company and sell off the pieces…”
“Ainsley, stop.” Ashton held up a hand. “Stop.Please.”
“Fine.” I propped my forearms on either side of my chair and settled further into it. I’d hurled enough insults at Trevor, anyway. “I’m listening.”
“Good.” Ashton motioned to him. “Yes, Trevor has decided to help our company stay afloat. He’s offered to take on Ross Publishing and pay off the outstanding debt in exchange for becoming the controlling partner and de facto owner.”
My eyes widened. Ashton didn’t react to this. Instead, he got up from the table, walked over to the long console desk on the side of the room, picked up a bulky file folder, and came back to the table with it. The thick stack of papers made a hard thud when he plopped it in the center.
“Just a few of the many documents we’ll have to file for this to happen.” My brother sat in his chair again. “Trevor has offered twenty million for the company, as well as a guarantee to pay the outstanding fifty in debt.”
“Twenty million? Twenty million.” The number was so insulting, and so low, that I knew this all had to be a joke. “You’re kidding. Dad always said this company was worth three hundred fifty, even on its worst day. And just before he died,Forbesgave us a five-hundred-million-dollar valuation, remember?”
Ashton shook his head. “Dad was lying. He often overstated things—you know that. He had a knack for acting more important than he was, and when people gave our assets an overstated value, he never bothered to correct them.”
“Ross Publishing is behind, and by quite a bit,” Trevor said. “That can’t be denied.”
I gaped at him.Oh, god, he’s not joking, is he?
“This company failed to understand the meteoric rise of social media and independent publishing. Instead, the business model relied on a few bestselling authors with large social media followings and marquee titles to prop up the crashing sales.” Trevor spread one of his wide, tan hands. “It worked for a while, but that was a long time ago. The name doesn’t go as far as it once did.”
I sniffed. “Plenty of people would beg to differ on that.”
“Oh, really?” He locked his stare with mine. “Is that so?”
“But what about the praise for all our newsletters? Our social media campaigns? The success of our authors? We’ve published all of those bestsellers.”
Ashton shrugged. “Inflated accolades.”
“Much of what has been said in the news about this company over the years has been incorrect. It’s not nearly as solvent as the public thinks,” Trevor said.
“And you have the solution?” I spat out the words and drew my arms closer to my body. Suddenly, the room seemed cold. Very cold.
It might warm up ifhe’dmake his exit.
“Nothing is guaranteed in life, but I’ve made enough good deals to know when I can repair something, or when it’s a worthy investment,” Trevor said. He fixed me with a steely, hard stare “And this is.”
“Well, I’m so glad to hear that.” I coated every word with sarcasm. “I’d hate for the Ross family to be an unworthy investment. Especially for someone like you.”
Trevor chuckled under his breath. “What you really need is someone to wipe out all those millions of debts. You all have no way to pay for that. None. Whether you want to accept it or not, you need me.”
He was right, even though I didn’t want to admit that to him. But when I looked at Ashton, he nodded in agreement.
“This is our best option,” Ashton said in a low voice. “I don’t see any other way out.”
“And after the debts are clear, we can sell off the skyscraper and split what remains.” Trevor scanned the room. “You can walk away with nothing hanging over your heads, and you’ll save the family name.” He rubbed his eyebrows. “That’s not such a bad offer, is it? In fact, I’d say it’s a very generous one.”
Now, Trevor gave me a full smile, one that showed off whiter and straighter teeth than I remembered. In fact, his jaw was squarer, too…
And yes, in a way, it was an attractive offer. Trevor had a reputation built on a steady diet of company acquisitions, real estate purchases, and rotating dates with Hollywood starlets. He’d graced more than one magazine cover, and two years earlier,International Entrepreneurhad called him the most eligible bachelor in American business under the age of forty.
