“What I know is that it appears Dad had more faith in his eleven-year-old daughter than in anyone else in this organization. News flash. I’m no longer eleven years old.”
A knock came to the door, and it opened. Jen stepped inside. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Vee, but Cammy Wilcox is on line one.”
“Thank you, Jen.” I turned to Grant. “I’ll see you soon.”
Exhaling, he turned and walked past Jen.
“Is Cammy really on line one?”
“She is,” Jen said.
“Thank you.”
“Can I get you some coffee?”
I sighed. “Yes. That would be great.”
Exhaling, I scooped my skirt beneath my legs and sat back on my chair. After another cleansing breath, I picked up the receiver of the telephone on my desk. “Cammy, hi. Vee here.”
“Thank you for taking my call.”
“We’re still meeting this afternoon, aren’t we?”
“We are. I debated about talking to you before then.” She sighed. “I decided that my job is as legal counsel for the Coopers, not individuals.”
She had my attention. “Is there something I need to know about the Coopers?”
“During the night, I justified that by calling as someone concerned about the future of the Coopers, ergo, I had the right to make this call.”
Nibbling on my lower lip, I replied, “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
“Vee, I recommend you seek your own legal counsel.”
The feeling of dread returned to the pit of my stomach. “Joseph Eads?”
“This is off the record.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“After you left Mrs. Hubbard’s home last evening, there was a discussion. It seems that there are various opinions on your ability to take over as CEO.”
“I just had a visit from Grant.”
Cammy exhaled. “So you know that they want to stop you from being CEO?”
“I do now. Can they?”
“The long and short of it is they can try.”
Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back.
Cammy went on, “I don’t think they will succeed.”
My mind swam with the meaning behind Cammy’s information. My own family was plotting against me. I’d told Dad I wouldn’t cut out family. It seemed they wanted to cut me out.
“How can I stop them?”
“This isn’t about you stopping them. It’s about them trying to stop you. I read case law and have concluded that the Coopers have one owner. That owner is now you. If the drafted will had gone into effect, the structure would be different. It didn’t. A drafted unsigned will is about as binding as an agreement written on a cocktail napkin.
