Carl Bradman was a shrewd businessman in his early sixties with a thick head of black hair streaked with gray. Fit and tall,he stood only about two inches below me. His grip was firm as he greeted me. It was my first time meeting him, but I knew his type, and any show of weakness would be an opening for him.
“William. Do you use your father’s name or go by something else to avoid confusion?”
“William.” My response was sharp because that was expected with a man like Bradman.
I led him back to my office, discovering he was in town for a business meeting. We had a brief chat about his observations of city life before I closed my office door behind him.
“So, what brings you to see me, Carl?” I asked, unbuttoning my jacket as I sat and offered him a seat.
“I came to congratulate you and introduce myself in person. Since we share business interests, it seemed best to get off on the right foot.”
Bradman owned mostly commercial real estate and apartment complexes throughout the East Coast. To say we shared business interests was an oversimplification. He’d been breathing down my father’s neck for years, trying to buy the company while I’d been slowly dismantling it. I’d competed with him for most of the properties my father had divested, but he didn’t know that since my attorney always worked the agreements and closings for me. And I’d won every bidding war, my assets more profound than his.
“And to let me know your offers to buy the company still stand?”
He chuckled, looking entirely too comfortable. “Of course they do. You’ve acquired a failing company, William. You’ve been part of that demise, and now you expect to revitalize something you should have let die.”
I stood, fooling with my cufflinks as I came around the desk. “Let me make one thing clear, Carl. I do not intend to sell this company. I intend to rebuild it with the holdings I’ve collectedover the past few years.” His eyes grew large. “I don’t need an investor, nor do I need to know what you planned to offer me when you walked through those doors this morning. If anything, maybe it’s your company that’s in danger.”
He stood, his face muscles rigid. “My company is not for sale, and you’re a fool if you think you can resurrect this dying one.”
“My financials say otherwise. I’m happy to maintain a civil relationship as business acquaintances, Carl, but don’t threaten my company or disparage what my father built. He turned your offers down every time, as will I. You don’t have enough money to even consider buying me out, so next time you’re in town, let’s have a drink and talk about politics or the market, anything that doesn’t insult me like you just did with your assumptions and arrogance.”
His head went back, and I could see him weighing his options. Power was a coveted thing, and I had the power here. A shrewd business owner would keep me on his good side.
“I see your father taught you well.”
“Did you think otherwise?”
“I did, but I see you’re not the inexperienced, naïve pup I thought you were.”
“Never make assumptions, Carl. They’re bad for business.” I smoothed my suit jacket and walked toward the door. “I have a meeting, but let me show you out.”
“I’d like to stop by and congratulate Victoria before I leave.”
That instinct that had been nudging me about why she’d left, returned. With my hand on the doorknob, I turned to him. “I don’t know what happened to cause her to leave, but if I find out and I don’t like it, I can promise you’ll be hearing from me.”
Beady green eyes glared back at me. “She has an NDA, and if she breaks it, I’ll have her in court.”
“Which makes me even more curious about what happened to make a talented CFO leave just as she brought the companyfinancials into the best spot they’ve ever been. Bradman Holdings is thriving because of her, and you lost her when you should have been celebrating her. I suppose that’s my blessing since I now have her on my team.”
The clench of his jaw told me I’d struck a nerve.
“Let me show you to her office,” I said, opening the door for him.
His body language told me everything, and I straightened my spine to stand my full height over him as I walked him to Tori’s. Her door was open now, her focus intent on her computer. I had to stop my reaction at how fantastic she looked. She wore her hair up in a loose bun, a pen protruding from it, and I remembered how she would tuck pencils in her hair when studying for her licenses. The times she would sprawl across my bed, her ankles crossed and her feet in the air.
“Victoria,” Carl said before I could get her attention. Nothing could have been more revealing than her reaction: wide eyes, a sudden jump from her seat, knocking papers from her desk that she disregarded as they fell, the paling of her skin. I wanted to drag him from her office and ease her discomfort because it permeated the air.
Her eyes jumped to me, and I tried to read them before they returned to him.
“Carl,” she said, staying behind her desk. “This is unexpected.”
“Can we have a few minutes, William?” he asked me.
I continued standing in the doorway waiting for Tori’s approval. The tension coming from her body made me hesitant to leave her alone with him, and I decided then that knowing what had happened between them was more important than holding onto my secrets. She had hers, and I had mine, but it was time to come clean.
She gave me a nod, one that was too hesitant for Tori, and I debated saying no and staying right where I was.
