"You better gauge your eyes out first, because that's the only way you're going to avoid your fate. He looks fucking del-"
Suddenly, she noticed the sour expression I couldn’t quite conceal and, quietly, she came over and began to help me fold.
"Don’t mind me, Lena. I’m just being a silly ass. Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"Don’t worry about it. I don’t know why I’m being like this myself. I guess I'm just so worried that the trouble of this whole mess will be much more than I want to deal with, but I also joining Standard Rock can help my company expand more. We're lacking in so many aspects that Standard Rock can provide. Distribution channels, an entire new department that can focus more on developing scents and fragrances for a much wider populace. Especially since I want to go mainstream, and they already have a textile and home goods division, which means they're the perfect boost I need."
"Do you have an idea for a solution?" she asked.
I nodded. "I think I'm going to turn down the offer of being bought out."
"Really? Why?"
"There has to be a reason he's offering to buy me out, I just have to hear it from him first to figure it out."
"Yeah," she agreed. "There should be a reason; otherwise, he doesn't have to. Or maybe it's because he's trying to get you to work for him and become involved in operations? I mean, you gave them the impression that you weren't going to abandon your company for theirs, so maybe he's trying to kill two birds with one stone. Buy you out, gain the company, and the owner."
This made a lot of sense to me, but some knots still remained loose.
"Sure," I replied. "But what benefit is this to him?"
"No clue. Maybe he needs an ally?"
I stopped at her words and considered them.
"Makes sense, doesn't it?" she asked, and I nodded.
"Yeah, but why would he want to make me an ally when he has his sister?"
"True," she said. "Is their relationship good?"
"I have no idea, but I don't think it is," I replied and continued with my packing.
"How much is Kane willing to offer, by the way?”
“Ten million.”
She gasped!
“Now it really sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?” I asked and she nodded.
“Of course, it does.”
“Well, hence why this trip to New York worries me.”
“There’s sure to be a catch,” she said.
I nodded. “Most definitely.”
2
Kane
I ignored the ringing phone for as long as I could, and then I eventually had no choice but to pick it up.
“Sir,” Elias said.
“Yeah,” I replied, and he relayed his report on Lena’s scheduled arrival.