"David Richardson, please. It's his father calling."
"One moment please." Cal waited long enough to identify the tune on the muzak.
David answered. "Hi Dad, what's up?"
"Are you available this afternoon?"
David's voice became suspicious. "Why?"
"I think it's time for the president of Richardson Holdings to meet with you."
"Are you bringing a cheque?" David was almost pleading.
"Only if I get the answers I want."
"Then no."
"Okay then. I'll send you a notice that I'm converting all my shares to common because you deferred the preferred dividend for the second year along with a notice for a shareholders meeting."
"For crissakes, Dad, can't you trust me to manage my own business?"
"From the financial statements the accountant just sent me? No, I can't. Besides, your mother left me a note to say that I was to help Judy as much as possible. Watching you flush a very profitable company down the toilet doesn't help anyone."
Cal could hear David sigh. "All right, Dad. I'll clear my afternoon for you."
"I'll see you at one-thirty."
Cal was ushered into the small boardroom where David was pacing. "I don't know what the hell you want, Dad. I've been trying to keep the company afloat but no one wants to invest."
Cal put a stern look on his face. "Anyone who looks at the financial statements would see the same thing I do; that you're bleeding money faster than you're making it. Now, I can't see anything radically different from one year to the next, except for your consulting fees. I want to see those contracts."
David stopped pacing and slumped into a chair. "You can't see them."
"Do I have to take control of the company? I can't see them or you won't let me?"
"You can't see them, Dad. There are no contracts."
Cal pondered and let David sweat. "So what are you getting for the money?"
David fell silent for a while. Cal suggested, "Is it a gambling habit or is it a mistress?"
At the word mistress David reacted. "It's not a mistress."
"You didn't react to gambling and I know you don't do drugs or drink to excess and you say there's no mistress, so what's going on David?"
David hung his head in shame. "It's Erica."
Cal asked, gently, "Who is Erica?"
"My other daughter."
Cal sat back in shock. Then he looked at the consulting fees line on the financial statements. "You're being blackmailed?"
"Sort of."
"And the increased travel?"
"I fly down to Richmond once a month to spend a few days with Erica and to check up on the antenna factory. She lives with her grandmother, Grace Humbolt."
"So does any of that money get to Erica or Grace?"
"Some."
Cal closed his folder. "Okay. Here's the deal. You are going to call Judy and let her know. You'll call Erica's mother and tell her that she has a choice between receiving a fair child support or letting Erica come to live here. Depending on what Judy says, you may need to go into counselling or maybe get a divorce lawyer. And Erica may have to live with me if Judy can't take her in. And last, you'll give Phyl all of the pictures and negatives."
David had been nodding until that last. "No way. If I have to go through all this shit you have to stop seeing that bitch. I'm surprised she told you about the pictures."
Cal stood and said in his best officer on duty voice, "I was not negotiating with you, I was offering a take it or leave it deal. If you want to keep this company intact with you running it you will start by picking up the phone and calling your wife. Otherwise, I've bought myself an entry back into the workforce."
David sat back and glared at his father. Cal asked, "How did it happen?"
David fiddled with a pen for a while, then began. "Jeanine Humbolt was working in the marketing division for the manufacturing concern near Richmond that I deal with when I went down to pitch the new antenna to them. She was obviously invited to all the meetings to try to distract me from making a good deal. Well, I got a good partnership deal from them, but I had too much to drink to celebrate and one thing led to another and we spent one night together." David's voice was very quiet. "Just one. Though we did spend a lot of time together during the negotiations."
Cal prompted. "Go on."
"About two months later Jeanine called to say she was pregnant and that she was keeping the baby and she wanted support. I flew down to see her when she was three months pregnant. I gave a blood sample for the paternity test and witnessed the CVS procedure. It was all right and tight. We each witnessed the samples being put into the lab envelope with instructions to fax the results to us at the same time. About two weeks later I got the fax."
David looked defeated. "Erica was mine. So I paid for the prenatal and hospital bills and promised child support. I put Jeanine on the payroll as a consultant, but she got greedy after I said that there was no way she could get in touch with you and Mom."
"That's it in a nutshell. In a way I'm relieved that you found out. Now I can tell Jeanine to go to hell." David folded his arms across his chest.
Cal pointed at the board room telephone. "Call Judy."
David looked hesitant. Cal said, "I'm not leaving. Call her."
David let out a long sigh and dialled home. "Judy. I have some news that you won't like...No. The company isn't bankrupt...Oh, God, this is hard. Judy, I have another daughter..." Cal could hear Judy's gasp on the other end of the phone. "Her name is Erica. She's five... I've been paying her mother off...I don't know. Dad found out from the financial statements and he made me tell you...You're what?...Okay, I'll give him the phone." David looked at his father. "She wants to talk with you. I hope you're happy."
"Judy?"
"Cal, is it true?"
"I'm afraid so, Judy."
"I'm going to need some time to figure this out. Can I stay with you for a while?"
"Yes, you're welcome to stay with me." David looked daggers at his father. "But I'm not going to be a referee. If you want one of those I'll insist you see a counsellor."
Judy paused. "I guess that's fair. Are the kids welcome?"
"Always."
"Okay, I want to talk with David again."
Cal handed the phone back. He could hear the anger in Judy's voice as David listened, his shoulders slumping as the tirade went on. Finally he said, "I understand. You'll be at Dad's and you'll call when you're calm enough to talk. You do know that Dad wants us to try counselling?...Okay. Judy, honey, I hope you can forgive me...Fine. Whatever...Bye, Judy."
David hung up and crossed his arms. Cal said, "That went about as well as I expected. David, Mark and Vivian went through something similar a while back and they got through it. Granted, Erica makes it more complicated, but if you and Judy still love each other you have a chance."
"Right now, I'm so pissed off at you that you should be glad I don't have a weapon handy."
"And you should be glad it happened now instead of after you lost the company and Judy both. Because the way you were fighting, it wouldn't have been long before she left you."
David lost his belligerence again. "I know that, Dad, but I'm still mad."
"David, you've been angry about something for most of your life. I'm amazed that Judy's put up with you for so long."
David thought about that. "Maybe I am, too."
Cal said, "Now, you have to make another call."
The second call was somewhat noisier. Jeanine was not at all happy about having her gravy train cut off, but because David had kept the emails and there was enough evidence to make a blackmail charge possible, Jeanine eventually backed down.
Cal spoke up toward the end. "I want to see Erica and have her visit us."
David spoke for a while longer and ended with, "My lawyer will be in touch."
David looked halfway normal for the first time in an hour. "No decisions today, but she agrees that I don't owe her any more
child support for this year. If it was up to me she would get nothing more but that will depend on Erica."
"Erica is a really sweet girl, Dad, and the last thing I want to do is hurt her. So Jeanine said that you can visit with her later this month and, if Grace agrees, Erica can come for a visit. Then we can get the lawyers involved."
"I'll be interested in what the lawyers have to say about everything." He fixed David with a stare. "There's one more thing."
David looked like he was back in a fighting mood. Cal said, "I don't know why you are so obsessed with Phyl. Hopefully when you go for counselling you can work on that at the same time." Cal held up his hand to stop David from interjecting. "I have one last question. Did all of the consulting fees go to Jeanine?"
David said, "Yes. Except thirty thousand last year for the engineering work we did to refit the lab."
"Okay. I'm heading to my lawyer to have him draft another preferred share agreement. I will invest $500,000 in the company to get your cash flow back in order. You can afford to pay me a ten percent dividend per year and still pay a reasonable child support. You can buy back the new shares on any quarterly payment date after you catch up the dividend payments but I'm keeping the first set of 6% preferred shares. With Jeanine off the payroll you'll be back in the black and your head should be clearer so you can do better research to design the next great antenna."
"When Phyl informs me that you've sent her the pictures and negatives, I will have the bank wire the money to you. And if I find out you kept any pictures back you'll lose the company." Cal held out his hand. "Deal?"
David looked at his father's hand like it was venomous. After a small pause, he clasped Cal's hand and said, "Deal."
As Cal was leaving he turned and said, "I don't know how this will turn out, but I'm glad that you've cleared the air."
Cal got home from the lawyer to see a puzzled Felicity helping her sister-in-law bring suitcases in from the car.
Judy saw Cal and ran forward to get a hug. Felicity's puzzlement grew. Cal called over his shoulder. "Judy and your cousins are going to stay with us for a while. We're not sure how long. I'll tell you about it in a bit." He turned his attention to the crying woman he was hugging. "Don't worry, Judy. You can stay as long as you need to, but I hope that David has already made the appointment with the counsellor. He definitely needs help and I think he needs you, too."
"He can go to that woman."
"That woman was blackmailing him, Judy, to keep Erica secret from us. There is exactly one night of stupidity between them. Unfortunately, that's all it took."
Judy wiped her eyes and stood up straight. "But he lied to me for how many years? He should have trusted me."
"You're absolutely right about that. He should have trusted you, especially with all of the money problems that resulted. But you'll have a chance to work on it, if you want to. Now to practical things. You and Brenda will be in the guest rooms upstairs that share a bath. Jason and Duncan will have to share the bedroom in the basement that has the bunkbeds unless they're willing to help me sort all of the junk that's piled in the other bedroom downstairs."
"Felicity already figured that out." Judy looked up nervously. "What are you going to tell her?"
"That she has another niece and because her stupid brother forgot to tell you about her, you left him because he's a liar and a cheat."
Judy asked, "Is that wise?"
"It's the truth. Oh. In return for all of this truth, I agreed to put more money into David's company but I'll be taking a more active role in overseeing the business. From what I can tell when I spoke with my accountant this afternoon, Antenna Solutions should be in good shape now that David won't have to pay Ms. Humbolt for her silence."
Judy gave Cal another hug and said, "I'd like to know what David told you and what he plans to do about Erica."
"We'll talk after supper. Now I have to go speak with Phyl."
Cal walked over and Phyl opened the door to let him in. Eyes flashing with curiosity she asked, "What's going on?"
Leading Phyl to the kitchen he sat down and began to tell the story of his day, ending with, "So, you should expect a call from David shortly."
Phyl sat back and tried to absorb all of the information. "Okay, I'll let you know when I have the pictures. But what about Erica?"
"I have Grace Humbolt's phone number and address in Ashland, Virginia. I'm going to call her tomorrow to arrange a visit and maybe bring Erica here to introduce her to her relatives on the weekend of the girls' birthday party. It will probably be a big shock to her. She's the only child of a single mom being raised by her widowed grandmother. When she gets here she'll have three half siblings, four uncles, five aunts..." Cal caught Phyl's raised eyebrow and continued, "Tim and Lydia, and a huge number of cousins."
Phyl said, "The poor girl won't know what hit her. And none of us are Americans. Although she's young enough that it shouldn't matter that much." They were silent for a bit then Phyl asked, "Is David going to tell Mark, Elaine and Jeremy?"
"I don't know. I forgot about them. I think I'll email him to ask then say that I'm calling them on my usual schedule."
Phyl took Cal's hand. "Thanks."
"It's the least I could do. David thought you were crazy to tell me how much of a loose woman you were in high school."
"Well, he seems to like keeping secrets from people he ought to care about." Phyl drew Cal closer. "You're a good man, Cal Richardson."
Cal swallowed at the combined respect and longing he saw in Phyl's eyes. "You're a good woman, Phyl Schuyler." Then he straightened up, and with an effort, said, "I have to get back to my guests."
She sighed and said, "I suppose you do, irritating man."
"What have I done now?"
"It's what you haven't done and before I tie you to a chair and have my wicked way with you, you should get back home."
Cal smiled and said, "Duty calls."
Phyl sighed and muttered about stubborn old men as she watched her handsome man return to his house.
Later when all was quiet, Cal sat in bed trying to read. What did she mean by tie him to a chair? He thought she knew and accepted his objections. He'd have to try to be clearer. And she called him stubborn.
Chapter Fifteen – July
With some trepidation, Cal rang the doorbell of the small two story wood frame house. An older grey haired woman answered. "Y'all must be Cal Richardson. David favours you."
"And you must be Grace Humbolt."
"Come in. Erica is playing in the sandbox in the back yard. I'll call her in after we've had a chance to talk. I didn't tell her you were coming."
Cal nodded and said, "That's wise. I've only had a week to get used to the idea."
"So how did you find out?"
"Your daughter was on payroll at David's company and as I'm a major investor I get the financial statements. I asked some questions and David confessed."
"I wondered where Jeanine got the money for that executive MBA program she just finished."
"She kept asking for more money and David gave it to her. I've seen the emails she sent. It wasn't quite blackmail, but David felt like it was."
Grace sighed. "My baby daughter got pretty wild after my Fred died. I thought I'd raised her better."
"I thought my David knew better, too."
"Well, sir, folks have been making these kind of mistakes since before King David and Bathsheba."
Cal laughed. "You are surely right, Mrs. Humbolt."
"Call me Grace, please. Well, now my Jeanine has a fancy job in Raleigh and a fancy boyfriend who doesn't fancy our Erica."
"And my David already has a wife and three children and they didn't know about her."
Grace looked Cal in the eye and said, "I didn't agree that he should keep her a secret from you, but he's been a big part of her life so far. I'll give him some credit for supporting us and visiting regularly."
"I only wish my late wife could have seen her." Cal cast his eyes down.
"But then you wouldn't have Erica."
Grace smiled broadly and began a gentle interrogation of Cal and his intentions. After about a half hour, a small voice called into the house, "Nana, I'm thirsty."
Grace studied Cal and said, "I think it's high time you met your granddaughter, Cal. Especially if you're taking her to Ottawa for the family reunion."
Grace called back, "Come inside, sweet pea. I got someone I want you to meet."
The screen door slammed and there was a sound of slapping feet on the hardwood floors. A small girl with a round face, curly brown hair and the Richardson green eyes came racing into the living room to stand next to Grace. She looked curiously at Cal and said, "Hi. My name is Erica, what's your name?"
Cal was dumbstruck by the resemblance to Felicity and couldn't say anything right away. Grace filled in the silence by saying, "Erica. This gentleman is your Daddy's Daddy, your grandfather Richardson."
Erica studied Cal intently for a while and said, "He does kinda look like Daddy, but I thought Daddy's family didn't want to know about me."
Cal seethed internally at that but answered calmly, "We did want to know about you Miss Erica but your Daddy was just scared he'd get into trouble with his wife if we found out about you. But we were way more mad that he didn't tell us."
"So I'm not his special secret anymore?" Erica looked confused.
Cal leaned forward to look her in the eye. "You are still very special, Erica, but you aren't a secret any more. And I know that at least four of your aunts and three of your uncles can't wait to meet you."
She crossed her arms and looked at Grace. "Is this really true, Nana?"
"Yes, sweet pea, it surely is. Your Grampa would like it if y'all would go to your aunt's birthday party with him today. You'd have to fly on an airplane to get there."
"An airplane? Really?" Erica's eyes got very wide.
Cal smiled fondly. "Yes sweetheart. We'd be flying to Ottawa this afternoon." He turned to Grace. "Would you mind? David could bring her back next week. He has to be in D.C. for some meetings with the FCC and the patent office."
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