Page 34 of The Exposed Heiress

Emma took a sip of coffee and then said, “This is a stressful time. Let’s not debate the past and point fingers. We need to face the future and move forward.”

Leo stood and said, “I agree, but something came up recently about his will.”

She held up her hand. “No. I don’t want to get bogged down in discussions about his will. He isn’t dead. Every time he became enraged about something, he changed his will. I don’t care what it says, it won’t affect the meeting that we’re about to have with our employees.”

John nodded his head. “I agree.”

“I don’t agree. You should know what it says and his intentions.” Leo stood still for a moment. A slippery knot tied itself low in his gut.

Placing her coffee cup down, Emma said, “I don’t want to discuss his will. It’ll distract me from the task at hand. Let’s go to the studio.”

He followed Emma to the stairs and John said, “I’m taking the elevator.”

Leo reached out and touched her elbow, “Are you okay? I know that you’ve been in touch with your mother and the doctors.”

Emma met his gaze. “I’m fine. It’s difficult not seeing much improvement, but there are signs that he’s getting better.”

He looked into her eyes and he wanted to take her into his arms. Making himself regain focus on the issues facing them, he said, “I heard from the real estate developer today, and he offered the amount of the bank loan.”

She blinked a couple of times. “Is that a fair offer?”

Peter Lake had given them a gift. “The bank had exceeded the appraised amount the last time they allowed additional money to be cashed out.”

Emma took in a deep breath. “We should accept. Is that what you think?”

He nodded. “I’ll have our solicitor put together the contract.”

They walked down the staircase together.

Before going into the studio, he said “Do you want me to introduce the larger issues and then you speak on the changes?”

She said, “I should speak to the larger problems. Maybe you can answer questions at the end?”

“That’s fine.”

Emma stepped into the room and was greeted with silence.

Claire handed her a small step stool. She placed it in front of the mirrors and stepped onto the small platform.

“I appreciate everyone coming in early. My father is holding his own and this meeting is not about him.”

There was a murmur that went thought the forty or so employees gathered in the room.

“This meeting is about finding ourselves in a very tight spot and what we plan to do about it.”

Leo stood in the back and watched Emma speak to the group of employees. She spoke slowly and the employees remained silent.

Claire handed her a bottle of water.

“Thank you.” Taking a sip of water, Emma delayed a moment while she screwed the cap back on the bottle.

“It’s not going to be welcome news. Before I outline the changes, I’d like to say that I’m joined by Leo Bloom and John Blatchly, the chair of the board. If needed, questions can be addressed to them at the end of my remarks.”

She met Leo’s gaze and he nodded.

“We find ourselves about to fall into bankruptcy.”

A collective gasp filled the room and then silence returned.

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