Before he’d left the office yesterday, Noah had checked his granddad’s schedule. He was sure he should have been overseas. “Aren’t you supposed to be in New Zealand?”
“I had a change of plans.”
“Is everything all right?”
Patrick didn’t reply.
With his heart pounding, Noah held the phone tight against his ear. “Did your doctor tell you not to go?”
“Darn fool man thinks he’s got a hotline to God. I keep telling him nothing will happen to me, but he won’t listen.”
“Why was he worried?”
“My blood pressure is a little elevated. I told him a change of scenery would do wonders, but he didn’t agree. So here I am, stuck in New York City, twiddling my thumbs and looking for you.”
Noah doubted his grandfather would be doing nothing, but he understood his frustration. Patrick enjoyed traveling. It didn’t matter whether he was going to an exclusive resort in Italy or a mud hut in the Amazon rainforest. His sense of adventure was as strong as it had ever been.
“Who’s meeting with the suppliers in Auckland?”
“The manager of our Asia-Pacific marketing operation. When will you be back in the office?”
“I’ve booked a seat on the Sunday morning flight out of Polson. If my flight is on time, I’ll call in and see you on Sunday night. If it’s too late, I’ll meet you at work on Monday morning.”
“Jack told me you’re visiting the jeweler who won our award. I thought you saw her two weeks ago.”
“I did, but she didn’t want to come to the presentation.” His grandfather’s silence wasn’t reassuring. “Jack discovered more information about her life. It explains why she doesn’t want anything to do with our company.”
“Don’t worry about her. There are plenty of other jewelers who would sign the contract.”
“Her father is Tony Harper.”
A heavy silence fell between them.
Noah knew how much the trial had upset his grandfather. “Cassie creates some of the most exquisite jewelry I’ve ever seen. I want her collections to be the anchor products of the prestige store.”
“Does she know we paid Emanuel’s legal fees?”
“It’s not relevant.”
“Maybe not to you, but she might not agree.”
Noah sighed. He didn’t want to tell Cassie because he knew what she would say—and it would destroy everything he’d been working toward.
“Have you told her about your plans?”
“Some of them.”
“And she isn’t interested.” The resignation in Patrick’s voice wasn’t lost on Noah.
“No, but I’m trying something different.”
“You haven’t got a lot of time. The board wants a concrete plan before they commit more money to rebrand the company. If you don’t get back to Manhattan soon, you might not have a job to come back to.”
Noah’s jaw clenched. “The board can’t fire me. I own fifty-one percent of the company.”
“Don’t put anything past them. No one is indispensable.” And with those final, ominous words, his grandfather ended the call.
Noah wasn’t leaving the company he’d built without a fight. He wanted to sell products that no one would forget. And, if he had anything to do with it, Cassie’s jewelry would provide the catalyst he needed to attract a new wave of clients.
