by Kris Jayne
"If you reviewed our latest communication, you'll see that we noted the possibility of Midsummer making their own play. We discussed that rivals might include other venture capital firms or tech companies with complementary product sets. We had stressed the urgency of the situation," Bob said. Nick sighed to release a modicum of tension.
"They told us we needed to move quickly, Dad," Jonah offered, tossing Nick a sympathetic glance. Tom stormed.
"The mere hint of this kind of partnership will drive up the valuation at a minimum. The price could go through the roof. Not to mention that we have no idea how deep this relationship between Azur and Midsummer goes. This is something I should have been told—by our internal strategists and by you," Tom said, swinging his index finger between Bob and Nick.
Nick took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He sacrificed his conscience to give them valuable inside information. Now, Tom blamed Nick for his own fiddling around and waiting for the perfect way to line his pockets.
"Let's take a step back," Amos reasoned. "This changes the dynamics, but we can't get ahead of ourselves. It raises the valuation because the company will—in fact—be more valuable. Our advice to you remains the same, produce a bid for Azur quickly."
"I thought you knew someone over there, Nick. You didn't hear anything about this?" Tom asked.
"I heard they were preparing an announcement for their Paris event, and I shared that with you and your strategy team. That was the concern underlying my advice for an urgent conclusion to Moran Financial's internal debate," Nick explained, bolstered by his partners' backing.
"I'm not happy about this, Nick. Not happy at all. I want an emergency meeting with our strategy team at our offices this afternoon. I expect that you'll have some proposed solutions to this. I've said all along that I will not overpay."
Overpayment was relative, Nick thought, and if Tom didn't come to the table with a reasonable offer, there's no way his company could expect to acquire Azur.
"Of course, we can outline several options for you," Bob noted. "We can meet with you this afternoon. It's not a problem."
"I would hope that it weren't," Tom said, springing up from his chair. "I have another meeting. Jonah, settle the details this afternoon."
With that, Nick's almost-father-in-law sped out of the office. Jonah's mood was more conciliatory as they nailed down the time and location for the afternoon gauntlet, and he left soon after his father.
"I've got options for them, but they're not too much different from what we've already told him. I laid most of this out in our last briefing," Nick explained to Bob. A welcome feeling of defeat settled in his bones. The spinning of their wheels reached a highly predictable conclusion. Chasing this business had been nothing but a headache. Having his personal life and professional lives entwined proved a massive mistake. Midsummer had handed him an exit ramp of relief.
"Look, Nick, I know you've told him all of this before. That man is impossible to please at times. It's tough, but put a new spin on what we've suggested. We'll blow it by him again and hope he listens this time," Bob suggested. His disgust seeped through. "I'm sorry. I know he's going to be your father-in-law."
"Yes," Amos said and chuckled. "Good luck with that."
Despite the imminent trouble, Nick felt euphoric. No. Tom Moran was not going to be his father-in-law. Thank God, Jesus, the holy mother, Zeus, and whomever else might listen.
"What about your contacts at Azur? Any other information you might be able to dig up?"
"Not by this afternoon."
"How close is your friend to management?"
"Umm, they work with marketing and PR. That's how they knew an announcement was coming. I didn't have specifics. They know better than to offer any, and I gathered from some vague things they said that something was coming. I shared all the appropriate information I had with them already."
"Do you think you can find out more?" Amos questioned.
Nick's answer came quickly on the heels of the request. "Honestly, I believe I've pushed my friendship to the limit already to get the information I got. We're close, and to dig any further wouldn't be right. She has to work there. Besides, they're all in Paris now."
Saying it aloud gave Nick a sense of spine that he'd missed in his pursuit of everyone else's approval.
"When is she coming back?" Bob pressed.
"My friend?" Nick swallowed. "Not until next week. Several of them are staying over the weekend for a short holiday."
"If you're so close, you could join them," Bob suggested.
Regret surged through him, and it doubled when he saw squinted twinkle in Bob's eye.
"Good idea," Amos said, "Check things out. If there's any chance of salvaging this for Moran, we need to know what's happening in the next day or so."
"I don't feel right about this," Nick explained, slowly.
Bob eyed him speculatively. "You've already delivered to the best of your ability, Nick. I believe that. I don't see why that can't continue for a few more days. I'm not going to ask you to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing, but if we can get you there, no doubt you'll glean something. Whatever it is, you report back."
"This is your client, Nick. You brought in the business. Substantial business. Close it," Amos directed.
Nick tipped his head back and swept his hand down his neck almost as if he could hold off the imaginary hands closing around it. He had wanted to go anyway. The conflict of interest nagged at him, but it's not like he hadn't thought about taking the vacation. That's all it would be.
"I have some vacation days saved. How about I just take the time off? If I find out anything, I can report back, but I don't feel comfortable going over there as some kind of spy."
"Do what you need to do." Amos nodded and smiled.
"Of course, it would be great if we knew the depth of the relationship with Midsummer," Bob added.
"Sure." Nick choked out the word, beating back doubts.
It was a vacation. He'd learn nothing. He wouldn't even ask Micky or Taryn any questions. He'd just smile and do the jig he needed to do. They couldn't pressure him into betraying Micky's trust any more than he already had.
Nick begged off in the late afternoon, only getting a pass from continued meetings about Azur because he told Tom he promised to meet with Vivienne.
At four thirty, he hurried to the sushi restaurant and got a seat near the giant aquarium. The largest fish in the tank swam in swirling lines while some of the smaller fish clustered together on one end. Maybe they were just feeding, but he wondered if there were any species where the little guy ever stood a chance.
"Nick."
Jonah's voice startled him. Had the older Moran sibling followed him here?
Nick gaped as Jonah sat down. "I'm waiting for Vivienne."
"I know, but she has clients to attend to, and I'm handling things from here."
"Do you know what our meeting was about?" Nick couldn't believe Vivienne had a sudden change of heart and told her family about the photos.
"Trevor Sitges."
"She was vehement about not saying anything to anyone else. What happened?"
"Oh, she didn't want to tell me, but I finally got it out of her. Thank you for helping her. Under the circumstances, I'm amazed that you would."
Nick supposed his rapid ability to move past his feelings for Vivienne looked odd from the outside. Maybe he would be upset if meeting Micky hadn't shown him the superficiality of his relationship with Vivienne. Emotionally, they had only ever been friends—nothing more.
"She's been distraught. The situation turned her into a completely different person—skittish and passive."
"I know, but you don't need to worry about that anymore. I've handled things with Mr. Sitges."
Nick got a nervous flutter in his stomach. "How? I spoke to him. He was resolute about extracting money out of your family."
"I know. That's why I paid him."
Nick leaned closer and dropped his voice. "Are
you fucking crazy? What makes you think he'll stop with one payment when he knows there's more water in that well?"
"I talked with him myself. We came to an understanding about the finality of the one-time payment. Two hundred and fifty thousand."
Jonah leveled his grey eyes on Nick, calm as ever. The steady gaze, the relaxed posture, the light of humor in his eyes as he talked about such a vast sum of money—all of it showed Nick the power of growing up wealthy and self-assured.
"You got him down by half?"
"I explained to him that he had to be reasonable. Getting together more money than that would send up red flags, which wouldn't be good for either of us."
"Still that's a huge sum of money. I can't believe you paid." Nick shook his head and tapped the table with both hands.
Jonah shrugged. "He had a specific reason for his request. I felt for him. He got what he wanted, and so did Vivienne. You know how it goes. We can always make more money."
Nick supposed Jonah could, and that attitude probably had started this trouble. "Did he tell you what he had against your family?" Nick's curiosity only grew with every word Jonah spoke.
"He didn't have to. I knew when you mentioned that name a while back something was up. I had a feeling I knew what it was about. It's a private family matter, and no offense, but you're not family. Vivienne never should have involved you in the first place."
"I think she trusted me more than you and your parents," Nick pointed out.
"Yes. She did. Hopefully, now she knows that she can trust me as well. I promised that I wouldn't speak of it until she was ready—just like I've been doing for the past few years."
"You knew?"
Jonah nodded. "Once she broke things off with you, I figured her second coming out party would only be a matter of time. I'm sure it will—eventually."
"You couldn't have warned me?"
"She's my sister, and it's none of my business. If you didn't know, you have to ask yourself a few questions."
Nick couldn't argue with Jonah on that front.
"Do your parents know?"
"I have no idea." Jonah dismissed Nick's question with little interest.
The Morans' ability to avoid speaking truth to one another marveled Nick. He wanted to shake Jonah and find out exactly what was going on, but his will to fight waned. Despite his reticence and his curiosity about how Jonah solved the problem with Trevor, Nick dropped the subject. Instead, he reveled in being shown an exit from the situation.
Now, if only he could extricate himself from the Azur business, his life might be complete. The trip to Paris overshadowed his current joy.
"We don't even need to continue with this meeting then, and I have some issues to resolve."
"We can at least get something to eat." Jonah opened the menu.
"You know, I'm not hungry, but you stay." Nick took some cash out of his wallet. "Have your late lunch or early dinner or whatever this is on me."
"Don't think that I won't take your money. I'm a little light these days," Jonah smiled, and then Nick chuckled.
"I wouldn't expect anything else."
Chapter Thirty-Five
Conflict and worry nagged at Nick the rest of the day, but by that night, he had found absolute clarity. He had a very expensive, last-minute ticket to Paris for the next day that he paid for it out of his own pocket. He'd logged his time off as vacation. This trip was all pleasure, no business. Thoughts of being with her in Europe and sharing that experience made him smile.
The only remaining detail was how to surprise her once he was there. He couldn't just stalk in the hotel lobby looking for her. The only way this was going to work was if it was an inside job. He knew just who could help. He called Jeff to get Taryn's number and dialed. Micky might say she didn't like surprises, but he was certain she would like this one.
Nick tapped his pen on the desk. It was 11:45 p.m. He needed to catch Taryn early before she headed out for the day. He figured 6:45 a.m. would be early enough, but not too early. He'd only met her once, but he gathered he should avoid pissing Taryn off—or at least, not waking her.
"Hello?" The remnants of sleep in Taryn's voice traveled easily across the Atlantic.
"Taryn. Hello. This is Nick Halden. Sorry to call you so early, but I wanted to catch you before you left for the day."
"Oh, Nick, hi. I was wondering who on God's earth would be calling this early. I'm just glad it's not some work emergency."
"Really sorry. I hope it's not too early."
"No, no, I'm up. Struggling, but up. I'm due downstairs to meet Micky in half an hour for breakfast. What can I do for you?"
"Micky's been so excited about the trip and having a few extra days. But you will have Jeff there, and she's still thrilled, but I…" Nick smacked his forehead as he stumbled around. "I thought I'd come out and spend those few days with her. I don't want to get in the way. I know you're there for work, so I'm calling to see what your schedule is. Would it be a problem if I arrived Wednesday morning?" Nick knew that was the final day of the event, but it would give him time to relax and have a full day of sightseeing the next day.
"Really? Yeah, that works. No, not a problem at all," Taryn assured him. "That's really great that you can come. We'll have so much fun as a foursome. Does she have any idea that you're doing this?"
"No. It should be a total surprise. I don't know when, though. I thought I'd catch her as soon as the event is over, or maybe meet you guys at dinner? Like I said, I'm not sure of your schedule."
"Hmm. It'll be a mess at the end of the day. No. You should meet up with her earlier. Here's what you do," Taryn began. Nick smiled. "I have a lunch meeting at 12:30 p.m. at the hotel to go over the accounting with our event company and the hotel manager. Micky is supposed to be at the conference center working the VIP lunch. I'll get her to switch with me. You be in the hotel lobby by one. You know which hotel we're at, right?"
"Yeah. Micky told me. Are you sure you'll be able to switch with her? That's not going to cause a problem, will it? I want to be conscious of not interfering with her work. I know this event is a big deal."
"No. This is great. I swear. We split duties, so we can just switch. She should be done shortly after one, maybe as late as one thirty, but I doubt it. Are you calling me on your cell phone? I can text you at this number if anything happens. The restaurant isn't that big, and there's only one exit through the lobby so you'll spot her if you keep your eye out."
"Perfect. Thank you for your help, Taryn. This is exactly what I needed, and I can take it from there."
"You don't have to thank me. I love nothing more than being in on a plot," Taryn assured. "I'm rubbing my hands together."
"I'll see you on Wednesday." Nick loved nothing more than a plan coming together.
The next morning, he arrived at his office early and made himself extra busy to avoid having another conversation with his managing partner. After the meeting at Moran Financial the afternoon before, he had his marching orders. They were trying to salvage the deal. Nick had nodded and gone along as if the whole thing weren't wonderfully doomed.
He went over his calendar to push his meetings off to other associates and clear his schedule. Getting out of town for three working days and a weekend would require lining up their assignments and getting the ball rolling on research and drafting discovery documents for their next deal. Block after block of meetings greeted him, then a happy hour get together with Vivienne. She'd called him over the weekend wanting to get together, but he put her off. She'd just have to wait until he got back. Obviously, Tom Moran still had no idea they weren't getting married, or by now, his ears would be blistered from another dressing down by his almost-father-in-law. Unease tightened his chest. When he got back, he was getting everything on the table with Tom—even if he had to tell the man himself. He needed to cut these loose threads in his life before everything unraveled.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The CEO of Micky's company dropped his voice dram
atically and then let it rise again. "I want to thank you for your attendance and your attention this morning. Behind your good work, I know that we'll make next year one of our most successful ever. We have staff to direct you to lunch, and I look forward to seeing many of you in our workshops this afternoon. Thank you!"
Micky turned over her wrist and looked down. It was 12:22 p.m. They could easily absorb the seven-minute overrun into the hour-and-a-half lunch. She spotted the CEO's admin who was in charge of getting him to his meeting with a key industry reporter before escorting him to do the business equivalent of shaking hands and kissing babies at the VIP luncheon.
The woman grabbed her boss by the arm and led him away to meet Taryn who was on the opposite side of the ballroom. Micky shook the other woman's hand with a smile. The control of an executive assistant should never be underestimated.
Micky rushed out of the room along with a throng of conference attendees. Taryn hated dealing with the CEO. As good as she was at her job, she had little tolerance for schmoozing an empty suit. The man could command a room, but up close, he could be arrogant, dismissive, and didn't project the same levels of competence. The emperor wasn't exactly naked, but he was in his underwear. Micky hadn't been surprised when Taryn had begged to switch assignments.
Once she handled the CEO, Micky hurried across the street to meet the manager of the hotel and settle their accounts thus far for the hotel room block, breakfasts, and the executive cocktail reception from the previous evening. The break on the attendees room rates depended on a certain food and beverage consumption from the group.
Micky had to make sure they were on track. If not, she'd have to fill the gap. She and Taryn discussed delivering some executive gifts to customers' rooms. Something they could easily take on a plane or something that could be shipped. They would need to decide.
The meeting took longer than Micky expected. First, they'd eaten a light lunch. Then, they conducted their business. Reviewing the bill, she noticed some charges that weren't in line with their contract.