“Because I was in deep and I didn’t want to drag you into my mess.” Sighing, I run a hand through my hair, messing it up slightly.
“I’m always going to try and help you, no matter what. You are like a brother to me after my own family stopped all contact with me.”
Chase’s family was very conservative, and his moving away from his family home in Montana was a big deal for them, especially when he told them he wanted to move to a large city to pursue his dreams.
So, his saying that I’m his family truly means a lot to me. He was all I had for a long time after my father passed. “Thank you, man,” I reply.
“The company is not going to crumble if you decide not to buy Ethan’s company. It’s one of the biggest construction companies in the city, but more will come along. Just trust your gut and talk to him when he gets here. I’m sure he’ll understand,” Chase continues. “From the times we spoke with him already, he seems to be an understanding man.”
Nodding, I take a quick sip of my coffee as the doors to the conference room open and Lizzy enters, bringing Ethan behind her. “Mr. Ethan Jones is here for the meeting,” she announces with a half-hearted smile and shows him to his seat before taking her own seat to the left of me.
Standing, I shake his hand, welcoming him to my business. But before he sits, I walk over to him, asking him if he minds if we have a moment to talk before the meeting starts. He agrees, and I pull him to the far corner of the room, away from other ears.
“I first want to thank you for coming down today. Can I ask you why you want to sell?”
“Of course,” Ethan replies. “Well, I’ve had the company for thirty-plus years, and I’m an old man now. My dream was to give my son the company and retire somewhere warm all year round, but life had other plans for me.”
With an arched eyebrow, I urge him to elaborate. “My son, Marcus, moved to California to pursue some dreams, and he doesn’t want anything to do with the company I spent my entire life building from the ground up. While I don’t blame him for wanting something different for himself, I’m ready to sell and to slow down a little bit.”
I admire his determination and drive. He knew what he wanted, and he made it happen for himself, much like my own father. I felt as if I didn’t know any other life than this company, so that’s why I stuck around.
After hearing his side, I feel more comfortable telling him the pickle I’m caught in. “The reason I wanted to speak with you privately,” I begin in a low tone so others can’t hear, “is because I seem to have a dilemma of my own.”
Curiously, he looks at me and crosses his arms as he leans up against the wall. I begin spilling everything to him as if he is my own personal journal, and his attention remains stuck on me.
Surprisingly, he is more interested than I imagined he would be.
I begin with finding out about Lizzy’s family ties to his company, and he looks stunned, saying he knows them very well; Karl is like a son to him. When I’m finished speaking to him, he nods at me. “Trust me, I think I know what to do. Let’s get this meeting started, shall we?”
His determination as he walks away is admirable, yet I worry about what he has planned since he didn’t fill me in beforehand. As I take my seat, I immediately notice the defeated look on Lizzy’s face. Understandably so, since a lot is riding on how this meeting plays out.
Ethan knows I don’t plan on buying his company, but I’m not sure what else he has planned. “I think we are ready to begin,” Ethan says. “Are you ready?” he asks me.
We all take our seats, and I gesture for Ethan to begin, since I don’t know what he has planned.
Lizzy glances at me, confused about the personal conversation I had with Ethan just moments before. She has every right to worry because what happens next will change the life she has always known with her family.
“I want to first thank Jon for having me here and for having an interest in my company. It’s nice to know that someone other than myself sees the potential.” As he opens his mouth to continue, the doors to the conference room fly open, causing us all to shift our attention.
To my surprise, Karl and Luke, Lizzy’s brother and father, stand in the conference room with stark looks on their faces as they breathe heavily, looking around at the people sitting at the table.
Sherry rushes in behind them, wearing a concerned look. “Sir, I’m so sorry. They rushed past the desk, and I couldn’t stop them.”
Raising my hand, I dismiss her. “It’s quite alright,” I announce. “You may go.”
She leaves the room with a disheveled look, and all of our attention now shifts back to the men.
In all honesty, I’m not upset they barged in. Having them here may help things go smoother since Ethan knows them and is now aware of everything going on with them and Lizzy. I remain silent as Ethan eyes them.
What is about to happen?
28
ELIZABETH
What the hell is going on?
The nausea I’ve been feeling since finding out I was pregnant has now doubled. The tension thickens, and it feels as if all the air is sucked out of the room.
