‘Oliver,’ she said, putting her hand out to him.
He shook it and opened the door wider. ‘Do we have another problem?’
She let out a tinkle of a laugh. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘Good news comes via a PowerPoint presentation in the boardroom; bad news is delivered here with paper evidence.’ He indicated the file she was clutching to her chest.
She smiled.
‘Know who sold me out to theNew York Times?’
‘I’m still working on it.’ Delaney smiled at Clara. ‘Hey, Clara.’
‘Hello, Delaney.’
Oliver returned to his seat, putting his hands behind his head as Delaney sat in the chair next to Clara, crossing her slim legs. ‘So, go on, tell me what devastation is about to fall on the company.’
He watched Delaney’s expression change. The confident smile was wavering a little, her pupils sharpening. He swallowed and waited.
‘I got a tip-off from my contact atBusiness Voice.’
This wasn’t going to be sugar-coated. Delaney had on the voice that had delivered uncomfortable news many times before. Oliver coiled his fingers around the arms of his chair.
‘Andrew Regis has done an interview. It’s going to press tomorrow.’ Delaney uncrossed her legs. ‘He’s going public on the collapse of the deal and he’s using sound bites like “the end of an era for the companies’ relationship” and “a bond destroyed by Drummond’s fears for the future”.’
Oliver tightened his grip on the chair as his heart began an uncomfortable beat. He hadn’t been expecting this. With whateverwas going on between Regis and his mother, he hadn’t anticipated an attack on the family name being on the cards. What was the idea behind that? What would his mother think about the Drummond name being dragged through the dirt? The thoughts circled around in his mind, colliding, smashing together, weaving and interlocking until they were one horrible mess.
‘Now, we have a couple of options,’ Delaney said, opening up the file on her knee. ‘We can?—’
‘Let it run,’ Oliver said. He cleared his throat, trying to remove the emotion.
‘Oliver, I’m not sure that’s the right choice,’ Delaney responded quickly.
He stood then, taking a deep breath and trying to quell his rapid heartbeat. ‘How confident are you with your source? Because I don’t believe it.’
‘We’ve worked together for a couple of years now.’
‘How do you know this isn’t a test?’ He looked to Clara. ‘What if all this is a fabrication to cause me to make a knee-jerk reaction?’
‘That isn’t really my source’s style. He’s passed me considerable information in the past – all accurate.’
Oliver put his hands to his forehead. ‘He wouldn’t do this. He’s dating my mother.’
‘What?!’ The word came out of the women’s mouths at the very same time.
‘Is that true?’ Delaney followed up. ‘Is that why the merger isn’t going forward?’
‘No,’ Oliver shook his head. ‘That would be an emotional decision and not a business one.’
He saw Clara toy with her necklace out of the corner of his eye. She knew all too well how emotion could cloud his judgement. Was it all about not being able to cope with this change in circumstance? Or was there real foundation to his pulling out of the deal?He’d had enough suspicion to employ Daniel Pearson. Didn’t that alone say enough?
He picked up the stress ball from the desk and palmed it from hand to hand, the eyes of the women on his every movement.
‘Do nothing, Delaney. If it’s true and that article is anything like you say it’s going to be, his union with my mother is going to be very short-lived.’ He launched the ball across the room and watched it hit the framed infographic.
32
THE DRUMMOND RESIDENCE, WESTCHESTER
