Page 85 of Enticing the Fixer

“I’ve heard you’ve gotten yourself into a bad situation.”

“Where did you hear that?” His voice is tight as if he’s either not pleased that people are talking about him or anticipating I’m here to collect for the loan shark waiting for his bill to be paid.

“It doesn’t matter.” I march to the liquor cabinet, open the door, and pop the cork off a bottle of whiskey. The dust on the cork is a sign it hasn’t been opened in some time. I pour a liberal amount of the amber liquid into a tumbler.

“What matters is you have something I want, and I have something you need.”

****

Ten Minutes Later

Arrangements have been made for the payment and transfer of his stock options at 20% less than he would get if the company was sold. He wanted more, and I would have paid more, but I wouldn’t be the fixer if I was the kind of guy who made things easy. He caved in seconds.

While I can’t remove him from the suspect list until we have the culprit in cuffs, he’s moved down the list.

Now onto Preston Quinn. My next mark. He’s proving to be harder to deal with. A smile curves up the corners of my mouth. These are my favorite kinds of deals. My heart thuds in my chest.

“I’m not interested in selling.”

“I hear your son is in a bad spot.”

“Don’t threaten me.” The words are hurled into the phone. I roll my shoulders and close my eyes. I’m ready to take all the time in the world. My stomach clenches as I snap open my eyes again. Or at least that’s the impression I’m giving.

“I would never dream of threatening you. I don’t have to. Your son is facing up to thirty years in a state penitentiary. Wouldn’t it be wise to secure him a solid defense attorney and get him into a facility to address his addiction needs versus getting roughed up daily?”

“The company is selling tomorrow, and I’ll have the money I need.”

Tomorrow? Fuck.

Sweat pops on my forehead. I have less time than I thought. My open hand balls into a fist. I was too busy mooning over Kinsley to focus on what was important. Saving her company.

“I wasn’t aware that the company was for sale. I’ll save my money and move on to one of your competitors. One that has a stable history and a solid, secure future. Or I’ll wait until the company is sold and offer a new stockholder twice as much. Thank you for the heads up.”

“Wait!” The desperation crawls through the airwaves.Gotcha.

“I don’t want to waste your time.” I take a sip of the alcohol, letting it burn my throat, and return it to the counter.

“You aren’t wasting my time. How much are you willing to offer per share?”

I offer him 30% more than I did Curtis, which is 10% more than the shares would earn him tomorrow.

“I’ll take it.”

I would have gone higher, but he doesn’t need to know that. Clearly, a small piece of him worries the hostile takeover might not work. And he has good reason to fret about the outcome.

Once I have Preston’s shares secured, I hang up and shift my head from one side to the other, letting my neck pop. With 20% of the shares added to Kingsley’s shares, there’s no possibility of a hostile takeover.

“Valeria?”

“Yes, Sir?” Valeria steps inside Kinsley’s office with her hands clutched together in front of her.

“It’s done.”

“What’s done?”

“I have 20% of the shares in the company.”

She lifts her arm and stares at her wrist. “In 15 minutes?”

---