He wasn’t wrong either, but part of me still wanted to put a fist through his face for saying what he was. Thayer Steelworks was a damn fine investment, and if he wasn’t so worried about me, he would see that.
Plus, I happened to know that he hadn’t exactly been thinking with his head when he’d saved his own wife’s little company a couple years ago. It was fucking rich that he was coming at me with this shit now, knowing what he’d done for her not so long ago.
Yeah, but her company didn’t cost nearly as much,a logical voice reasoned softly from the back of my mind.
I sighed, lifting my chin and clenching my fingers into fists in my lap, but I didn’t let them fly. Harlan turned to me again, his face a mask of that cool, collected calm that my family was known for in business. “Let me ask you something, Alex.”
I met his gaze. “Go on.”
“What happens if the board convenes to vote on the ouster of the current CEO, and Nora Thayer doesn’t vote in your favor to install her daughter in that position?”
“That’s not even a remote possibility,” I said immediately, frowning as I wondered where this was even coming from. “Nora would definitely vote in Jane’s favor.”
Harlan didn’t look convinced. At all. His head tilted and he studied me like I was a chessboard he’d been staring at for decades. “Are you certain about that?”
“Yes,” I said, but then after a beat, I knew I couldn’t just leave this. Neither my dad, nor my uncle, nor my cousins just floated random possibilities when billion-dollar deals were at stake. What-ifs weren’t their style. Not unless it was relevant. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“Because Nora stands to get a massive payday if Thayer sells out in its entirety,” Harlan said, his expression solemn. “We’re talking about a lot of money here, son.”
My jaw tightened. “Is that confirmed?”
Harlan nodded. “According to Zach’s research, yes. Nate has corroborated it. What interests me is that she hasn’t disclosed that little tidbit, has she?”
“No,” I said. “Not as far as I know.”
And I would’ve known.
Jameson frowned, sitting up a little straighter now, as if he was only just joining the meeting for real. “The board wants a sale?”
“Eventually,” Harlan said. “All of you already know that they want to keep Thayer functioning just well enough to pad their own pockets while they look for a way to sell the company piece by piece. It leaves them with clean hands clutching big checks, the biggest of which will be in dearest Nora’s hands.”
Sterling exhaled. “That could be a real problem.”
My spine felt like someone had replaced it with a boiling hot broomstick. “Jane doesn’t know about this.”
“Of course, she doesn’t,” Harlan said, blowing out a breath before taking another sip of his drink. He swallowed it slowly, real empathy in his eyes when he looked at me again. “They don’t want her knowing, Alex. Right now, she’s the obstacle.”
“Understatement of the fucking year,” Jameson muttered. “She’s an actual, living brick wall blocking their plans.”
Harlan inclined his chin at his son, but he spoke mostly to me, only glancing at the others every so often. “If the boardvotes her out and pushes for a sale, Nora’s vote becomesveryvaluable.”
I shook my head once. “She won’t do it.”
Harlan’s voice softened, which somehow made it worse. “You’re thinking like a husband, not a board member.”
Sterling set his glass down. “Okay, so if this is a real issue, why don’t we just offer to buy out Thayer as is? That solves the problem cleanly.”
I gave him a sharp look. “It would also permanently plummet Thayer’s production value and its standing in terms of future contracts.”
Jameson nodded slowly. “Hostile buyouts poison the well, bro. You know that.”
“Not to mention that I’d be handing my wife a rotten fruit. One she spent years trying to save. I’m not doing that.”
Harlan watched me closely. “You’re loyal.”
“Yes,” I said. “I am.”
Sterling sighed after studying my face for a beat. “You’re in deeper than I thought.”
