“This is my brother, Jack,” Walter said. “He heads the Holbrook Foundation and sits on the board of Holbrook Enterprises.”
Grant shook his uncle’s hand.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to finally meet you, Grant,” Jack said. “My wife, Nancy, will have you over soon, I should think. For now, let’s concentrate on business.”
“Yes, I’d like to involve Grant in the company,” Walter said, unbuttoning his suit jacket and taking a seat.
“Are you sure it’s wise?” asked Jack. His expression made it clear how he felt about it.
“What do you mean?” Walter asked, scowling at his brother.
“Well, everyone heard about the incident at your estate last night,” Jack replied.
“A misunderstanding,” Walter said, looking at his brother coldly.
“What’s he going to do at the company?” Jack asked. “He doesn’t even have a college degree.”
“Neither do I,” said Walter.
“Dropping out of Harvard to grow a company that was already doing a billion in revenue is a far cry from a Marine who was demoted for aggressive behavior. Executing men in cold blood. It’s unseemly,” Jack snapped.
“How do you know about that?” Grant practically shouted. Kate felt her pulse race.
“My brother-in-law is on the armed forces committee,” said Jack, steepling his hands. “And now we have this…incident. I’ve been fielding calls all morning. People are horrified. There is no scenario where Grant is given a position he is not qualified for.”
“He is my son!” Walter said, banging a fist on the table.
“I know,” Jack said, “but this smacks of nepotism. It would be one thing if he were competent. He wasn’t even a commissioned officer, just general infantry. I understand that you are still grieving, Walter, but it is my job as a board member to keep you from making rash decisions that affect shareholders.”
“This is not a rash decision. He is well qualified,” Walter countered.
“Right now, he’s a liability. He is inexperienced and uneducated and clearly crazy. Find him some help for his PTSD, maybe?” Jack sneered.
“Fat lot of good education and experience did foryourson,” Walter hissed.
“Don’t you dare!” Jack said, jumping up.
Kate was afraid the two men were about to come to blows. Grant had stood up and was in a fighting stance. Kate wondered if he would jump in to defend his father. Hoping to dissipate the masculine aggression clouding the boardroom, Kate inserted herself smoothly in the confrontation.
“Why don’t we put him to work at the Holbrook Foundation?” she offered. “If he proves himself there and maybe enrolls in an Ivy League school, then maybe we can explore transferring him here.”
“That’s fine with me,” Walter said.
Jack glowered then said, “We’ll have a trial run.”
After Jack headed to the elevators, Grant said dryly, “So that went well.”
Walter shook his head. “I shouldn’t have had Stefan call the police. News travels fast in this community.”
“Maybe I should just leave,” Grant said.
“No. The foundation is probably a better fit, anyways. Maybe you can do some sort of veteran-based initiative. Everyone likes that—if it’s even moderately successful, people will get on board with you.”
“I’m not sure if I can,” Grant replied.
Walter looked at him quizzically.
“Like legally. I’m still in the Marines. I’m on leave, but I have to go back to finish filing all my EAS paperwork. After that, then I could be more involved.”
