by Holly Rayner
“You’re not causing anything. This is all his doing. Well, his and mine. I take responsibility for my part, I do. But I take no pleasure in it, unlike my loving father. I want to make this right and I want to regain your trust. Can I tell you the full story about Liz and her company?” Adele nodded and I continued, “Years ago, before I took over the company… I think I was maybe twenty-one or twenty-two. I was in my last year of school and Dad and Rick, Liz’s father, decided merging the two companies might be a good idea. I’m not sure who came up with the idea of merging the families as well… my suspicion has always been Rick. That’s just because I assume that like everyone else, he doesn’t trust my father and he hoped if we were family, Dad would be less apt to screw him. I don’t know why my father would agree to it… even if he wasn’t thinking of me. He’s always despised Rick. I assumed he had some other plan in place to get rid of him eventually. Then, I’d be stuck with Liz, but that wouldn’t matter, because he wins. Anyways, I came home from school after graduation to a dinner that was arranged by our fathers. Liz was there and we talked and I thought she was interesting…” Adele raised an eyebrow and I knew what she was thinking. She was right. Keeping with the honesty pact I said, “Okay, I wanted to sleep with her. I was a playboy… you know that, I hope you don’t hold it against me. It’s not what I want anymore…”
Adele smiled. “I know that, Seth. Go on.”
“So,” I said, letting out a big breath that I’d been holding. “We started dating.” It was more like having sex… a lot of sex, but that detail had no bearing here and would do nothing but hurt her, so I left it out. “I had no idea that anyone was talking about marriage. After about a month of attending events together and going out I decided that I didn’t even really like her. It took me that long to get to know her because we never talked about anything important at all. She was so superficial. I knew it was going nowhere, so I told her. She burst into tears and told me she had already ordered a wedding dress. She had this crazy fit and I told her that I must have completely missed the part where I proposed.”
“Weird,” Adele said. She was knitting her brows together trying to imagine it. It was one of those things you had to be there for and I was sorry I was there.
Wow was a good word. That had been my exact thought. Liz was an attractive, wealthy woman. It wasn’t like I was her only choice. I suppose the personality had a lot to do with her single status. “Yeah, it really was weird. When I got her to calm down, she told me about the plans our fathers had. She had bought completely into it. She thought it was a done deal.”
“But you two never talked about it?”
“Never, but like I said, we rarely talked. Anyways, I confronted my Dad and he confirmed it. He said that I needed to do what was best for the company. He told me then that he’d made “great sacrifices” that I knew nothing about and now it was my turn. We had a big fight and in the end, I refused to marry her. I knew he couldn’t make me and I wasn’t committing to a lifetime with that woman to keep him on my good side. It was one of the few times I’ve stood up to him and it was almost a year before my father and I could be in the same room together after that. Rick pulled out of the deal and Liz did everything she could to slander my reputation in the circles we ran in.” He smiled then and said, “It’s a good thing I never had much of one.”
Adele looked stunned as she said, “Your father really expected you to marry a woman you didn’t love because it was good for the company? I mean, he told me that but in his version, you thought it was a good idea too.”
I nodded, “He really did expect me to and I’m so sorry he made you believe otherwise. The lines between business and family are very blurred for him. Adele, I don’t want it to be that way for us. I don’t want this company to be more important than us, ever.”
“I don’t want that either. They have to be separate and that will be hard, but doable, I think. But Seth, when it comes to the company, we have to be able to make decisions together. We can’t hide things from each other.”
“I know that, I really do. I cow down so much to my father that I begin to lose my own sense of self. My self-esteem is not as good as it appears to be and I constantly worry what you think of me. Adele, I love you. I am prepared to defend you with my life even against insurmountable odds. I will comfort you in bad times and rejoice with you during the good ones. I will never betray you. I’ll never give up on you. I will find that fire inside of me when you are threatened and I will defend you with all I have. I’ll forgive you when you make a mistake and I’ll apologize when I do and try to never make the same one twice. I won’t ever abandon you and I’ll do whatever I need to do in order for our company to succeed. The company that means so much to you… with good reason. I love you, Adele. Please don’t ever forget that.” I’m not sure where all of that came from, but I meant every word.
Adele had tears in her eyes when I finished. She suddenly hugged me and for the first time all day, I had real hope that we would be okay. “I love you too,” she said.
Reluctantly, I let her go and held her back so I could see her face. “Will you trust me? Will you believe that I only want what is best for both of us and the company?”
Her tears were spilling down her cheeks now as she nodded. “Yes, we’ll figure this out together. What’s most important is that we do it together.”
~
CHAPTER TWO
~
ADELE
Seth and I went back to work that day after our long talk with a new resolve. We would work together to save the company and we would do it without putting our relationship at risk. The first thing we did was to call a meeting of the shareholders and executives. We made it mandatory and made sure they all knew that it was urgent.
Once all of the players were gathered, Seth and I stood side by side and told them all of the threat of the takeover. Once that word was put out there, we had everyone’s rapt attention. When we finished laying it all out, one of the shareholders named Russell said, “I’ve learned something over the years. Saying “no” to a payoff when it comes to a hostile bid is not always in my financial best interest.” He was already thinking of giving in and walking away. That wasn’t good.
“So what are you saying, Russell?” Seth asked him. He was finally back to his confident, commanding self in the boardroom. I was happy about it and excited by it at the same time. He was even more attractive when he exuded that self-assuredness he had when I first met him.
“I’m saying that we need to see the numbers before we are going to be willing to actively resist. How do I know that I won’t be better off in the long-run if I take their buyout?” Russell asked.
“That’s an excellent question,” I told him. I was prepared for it. I put a slide up on the screen that showed our profit and losses for the last quarter. In spite of all that had been going on with James and Seth and I, the company had still turned a profit. It wasn’t anything phenomenal, but it was profit. I didn’t say so, but I believe it would have been even more had they not resisted my every idea.
Next, I put up a slide with the numbers on it that Taylor Corp. was offering to buyout Seth and I and the shareholders stocks. They wanted us out completely and were willing to pay us to leave. We could refuse and stay while they held the majority share, or we could take what they were offering and split it ten ways. What was left was less than my salary last year before I became CEO. The other drawback to that would be that we would simply be their employees. It would obviously be a significant demotion for Seth and me, and our employees could very well lose their jobs.
“Who drew up these numbers?” Russell asked.
“We did,” Seth said. “With Harlan and the rest of the finance guys’ help.”
Harlan cleared his throat then and said, “Seth do you mind if I address them?”
“Not at all,” Seth told him. We both sat down while Harlan said, “Taylor Corp’s offer grossly undervalues what this Corporation is worth. I think that’s obvious. O
ur last quarter numbers that you see there on the screen far exceeded the expected numbers based on all of the changes this company has gone through in recent months.” He looked hard around the table and then said, “As well as the opposition that Adele has faced from those of you who didn’t believe she had a right to be here. I think you should all take that into consideration.” I loved Harlan for saying that. I could actually see visible signs of guilt cross some of their faces. “Adele and Seth are both very dedicated, competent CEO’s. I imagine that so is Liz Taylor. The difference is that this company means something to both of them. It’s in their blood. What you need to decide is if you’re willing to trust the tried and true… or walk away with a few bucks in your pockets. I emphasize the “few” in that sentence,” he said.
“So is today our chance to get a formal say? Is this a done deal as far as the offer goes?” Bob asked. He was surprisingly civil today and actually addressing his question towards me.
“No Bob. Today was giving you fair warning this is in the works. When Seth and I finish putting together our alternative solutions, we will reconvene then and have a vote.”
Bob was nodding. Sherry, one of the two females on the board said, “I think it was commendable of you two to bring this to our attention right away. I already know what I want to do. I have a significant financial stake in this company, but it’s not all about money. I appreciate the way that this company is being run and I would like to see it continue that way. I think the combined efforts of both of our CEO’s will lead to nothing less than stock prices being driven higher.”
Seth smiled at her, “Thank you, Sherry. I appreciate that as I’m sure Adele does too.”
“I do,” I told her. “More than you know. This business… this very building is in my blood. Harlan was right when he said it was in Seth’s blood too. It doesn’t matter any longer how it went from my father’s hands to his father’s and back to ours again. All of that is what is tearing us apart from the inside out. The fact of the matter is that we are both invested in it wholeheartedly and we plan on working together to ensure its success. We hope that you are all willing to stand by us… but if you aren’t, it won’t stop us from continuing to work towards a common goal.”
We went on then to discuss what the legal department had found out while investigating from our side. Taylor Corp. had apparently been circling for almost six months. During that time they had done what is known as “due diligence.” That meant they had collected data on almost every aspect of our business to decide if it was worth their time, money and risk or not. They collected a lot of public files, but in most cases like this, they likely had someone on the inside, sending them private files as well. They filed a pre-merger motion, which were the papers that Seth received the day I found out about it. This was all discouraging news, but as we discussed it I looked around at them all with their heads together and I had to smile. No matter what happened with the takeover, I would have to say we were already successful. The air somehow seemed lighter in the room than it had in weeks. We were finally united as one team and we would sink or swim together. I was proud, of all of us.
The feeling of buoyancy lasted through that day, but when I came into the office the next morning and Seth informed me that more paperwork had been served by Taylor Corp., I felt myself deflating. We sat down and pored over the documents together and then again with the attorneys. The final word from the legal department was that Taylor Corp. was doing everything right and the most deflating news of all was that the takeover was in motion and would happen thirty days from the first day we were served. That entire day was one grueling meeting after the other. We met with the executives and the shareholders again. We met with more lawyers; we talked to Taylor’s lawyers. When the day was finally coming to an end, I was sitting with Seth in his office and feeling like the weight of this very building sat on my shoulders, literally. I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck with my hand as I poured over one more document. He got up and came over behind where I sat and put his hands on my shoulders. As he massaged them, he said, “You’re so tense, baby. I wish I could fix this and make it all go away for you.”
“Me too,” I said. “It doesn’t fix anything but my tired muscles, but what you’re doing right now feels so good.”
He kept massaging, and I enjoyed the feel of his palms and fingers against my skin as I thought back over the day.
“We can’t do this, can we?” Seth broke the silence, finally speaking the words aloud that we’d both been avoiding.
I turned to look up at him and with a lump in my throat I said, “No, we can’t.”
He knelt down next to me and said, “I have one more idea… but I’m a little reluctant to share it.”
I patted the seat next to me and said, “Sit.” He got up and took the seat and then I said, “I thought we were going to share everything.”
“We are,” he said. “I’m not saying that I’m not going to share, I’m just reluctant because I’m sure you won’t like it.”
Wondering what that could be, I raised an eyebrow and said, “It doesn’t involve you courting Liz Taylor, does it?”
He laughed, “No way,” he said. “It does involve my father.” I made a face and he laughed again. “The lesser of two evils, right?” I didn’t know about that, but he went on, “My father and Rick have known each other for over twenty years. I wouldn’t say they were friends; actually it’s to the contrary. They don’t like each other much… but they have done business together many times. If there is anyone on this earth who can help us figure out how to stop this merger before it’s too late it’s him. Besides, he said something to me the other day that made me think maybe he had already made a plan to take the company from them if they had merged with us. If he knows a way, maybe he’ll share it with us.”
I wanted to say no. In fact, it was on the tip of my tongue. I wanted as little as possible to do with James Hunter. I was wary of the fact that Seth thought he was coming around. I didn’t try and dissuade him from believing it, because it made him feel better. But I was still wary. I doubted very strongly that even if he knew a way, he would be willing to help us. The problem with saying a flat out “no” was that Seth was right. We were out of other options.
“Okay,” I said at last. “Let’s go talk to him.”
Seth looked surprised. “No argument?” he asked.
“No. We both promised to work together and do what was in our best interest and the best interest of this company. I don’t have to like something to know that it’s the right thing to do. Just promise me not to get your hopes up.”
“It’s the only hope we seem to have right now. Thank you,” he said.
I smiled, “Don’t thank me. You’re the one who thought of it. Trust me; it would have never crossed my mind.”
He laughed and said, “Fair enough. Let’s go.”
~