Stuck-Up Suit
Page 41
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“I’ll survive.” He motioned to a seating area. “Come. Sit. Have breakfast with me. I actually haven’t eaten anything since last night.” The other side of the office had a long leather couch with two wingback chairs across from it and a glass coffee table separating the seating. Graham sat, and I pulled out the bagels and unwrapped them.
“I got you what I like since I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
“I’ll eat whatever you feed me.”
“In that case…”
A dirty grin crossed his face. “Don’t think I won’t hold you down on this couch and feast on you until my entire staff knows you’re a religious girl.”
I shoved my bagel into my mouth to stop myself from daring him. The minute it took to chew and swallow also let me get my libido somewhat under control. “So…were you able to ward off the bad guys?”
“I am one of the bad guys, Soraya.”
“You know what I mean. To stop people from taking advantage.”
“Yes. And no. It’s complicated. In our business, there are many layers of ownership. I’m working through those layers now. But it seems Liam had established a poison pill to deter a takeover from an unwanted party. That poison allows existing shareholders to purchase additional shares at a discounted price, which would dilute the value of shares and make the acquisition less attractive to prospective takeovers.”
“So, he had an escape plan.”
“Exactly. And it would have worked well had he granted those rights to a corporation that was trustworthy.”
“I take it he didn’t.”
Graham shook his head. “No.”
“Sounds complicated and messy.”
“It is.”
“How are you handling the non-business stuff?”
“The non-business stuff?”
“You lost a friend.”
“An ex-friend.”
I nodded. “An ex-friend. But he must have been someone you cared about for a period of your life since you started your business together.”
“At one point. Yes. But as you know, things changed.”
“I saw on the news this morning that it was a heart attack.”
“Happened in the car. He swerved off the road and hit a tree. Was dead by the time the police arrived. Luckily, no one else was in the car. Genevieve said he was supposed to have had their daughter in the car, but she wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home. Otherwise…”
He saw the look on my face.
“I spoke to her this morning. She called for help with the business issues, but I was already working on it.”
“I didn’t realize you were friendly.”
“We aren’t. It was a business call. She knew I would help, and there would be a benefit for both of us to stop others from devaluing the company.”
I nodded. It made sense. And it was ridiculous that I was jealous of a woman who lost her husband yesterday. “How is your grandmother?”
“She told Cambria to let me know she was cutting me out of her will if I didn’t break her out of the hospital.”
“Oh, no.”
“Actually, that’s good. It means she’s feeling like herself again. When she’s agreeable and compliant, it scares me.”
The relationship he had with his grandmother was fast becoming my favorite thing about him. You can tell a lot about a man by watching how he treats the matriarch of the family. “Is she still at Westchester Hospital?”
“I had her moved to the Hospital for Special Surgery.”
“That’s on 70th, right?”
“It is.”
“It’s only a few blocks from my office. Why don’t I stop in at lunch and visit her? You’re swamped here, obviously.”
Graham searched my face. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“Will you stay with me tonight?”
“At your place?”
“Yes. My driver can pick you up after work and take you out to Brooklyn to collect your things and then take you to my place. I’ll meet you there after I’m done here. The doorman will let you in if I’m not back yet.”
“Okay.”
We chatted for a while longer while we ate. After we finished our bagels, I gathered our garbage. “I need to get to the office, or Ida will come up with a list of things she needs to be done, that she really doesn’t, but will keep me in the office until nine o’clock.”
Graham kissed me goodbye, and I stopped it before it got too out of control this time. “Does this mean you’re going to take a train since I’ll have your driver?”
“I got you what I like since I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
“I’ll eat whatever you feed me.”
“In that case…”
A dirty grin crossed his face. “Don’t think I won’t hold you down on this couch and feast on you until my entire staff knows you’re a religious girl.”
I shoved my bagel into my mouth to stop myself from daring him. The minute it took to chew and swallow also let me get my libido somewhat under control. “So…were you able to ward off the bad guys?”
“I am one of the bad guys, Soraya.”
“You know what I mean. To stop people from taking advantage.”
“Yes. And no. It’s complicated. In our business, there are many layers of ownership. I’m working through those layers now. But it seems Liam had established a poison pill to deter a takeover from an unwanted party. That poison allows existing shareholders to purchase additional shares at a discounted price, which would dilute the value of shares and make the acquisition less attractive to prospective takeovers.”
“So, he had an escape plan.”
“Exactly. And it would have worked well had he granted those rights to a corporation that was trustworthy.”
“I take it he didn’t.”
Graham shook his head. “No.”
“Sounds complicated and messy.”
“It is.”
“How are you handling the non-business stuff?”
“The non-business stuff?”
“You lost a friend.”
“An ex-friend.”
I nodded. “An ex-friend. But he must have been someone you cared about for a period of your life since you started your business together.”
“At one point. Yes. But as you know, things changed.”
“I saw on the news this morning that it was a heart attack.”
“Happened in the car. He swerved off the road and hit a tree. Was dead by the time the police arrived. Luckily, no one else was in the car. Genevieve said he was supposed to have had their daughter in the car, but she wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home. Otherwise…”
He saw the look on my face.
“I spoke to her this morning. She called for help with the business issues, but I was already working on it.”
“I didn’t realize you were friendly.”
“We aren’t. It was a business call. She knew I would help, and there would be a benefit for both of us to stop others from devaluing the company.”
I nodded. It made sense. And it was ridiculous that I was jealous of a woman who lost her husband yesterday. “How is your grandmother?”
“She told Cambria to let me know she was cutting me out of her will if I didn’t break her out of the hospital.”
“Oh, no.”
“Actually, that’s good. It means she’s feeling like herself again. When she’s agreeable and compliant, it scares me.”
The relationship he had with his grandmother was fast becoming my favorite thing about him. You can tell a lot about a man by watching how he treats the matriarch of the family. “Is she still at Westchester Hospital?”
“I had her moved to the Hospital for Special Surgery.”
“That’s on 70th, right?”
“It is.”
“It’s only a few blocks from my office. Why don’t I stop in at lunch and visit her? You’re swamped here, obviously.”
Graham searched my face. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“Will you stay with me tonight?”
“At your place?”
“Yes. My driver can pick you up after work and take you out to Brooklyn to collect your things and then take you to my place. I’ll meet you there after I’m done here. The doorman will let you in if I’m not back yet.”
“Okay.”
We chatted for a while longer while we ate. After we finished our bagels, I gathered our garbage. “I need to get to the office, or Ida will come up with a list of things she needs to be done, that she really doesn’t, but will keep me in the office until nine o’clock.”
Graham kissed me goodbye, and I stopped it before it got too out of control this time. “Does this mean you’re going to take a train since I’ll have your driver?”
