“There is that,” Stone replied.
Arrington finished her nap in time for cocktails, and Mike Freeman joined them at her invitation.
Manolo took orders and served the drinks, along with canapes.
Mike spoke up. “Rick Barron called me a few minutes ago and asked me to join the board of Centurion,” he said.
“I hope you accepted,” Arrington said.
“I did. Who could resist? Are you on the board?”
“No, I didn’t want that, but I’ve asked Rick to appoint Stone instead. He can represent my interests on the board, and eventually, Peter’s.”
Stone nearly dropped his gimlet. “When did this happen?” he asked.
“A few minutes ago,” she replied.
“Same here,” Mike said. “Something else: Rick has decided that, rather than leave his Centurion stock to his grandchildren, he’d rather sell and leave them cash.”
“Is Strategic Services going to buy it?” Stone asked.
“We already have,” Mike said, “pending board approval. As our counsel, will you vote for that?”
“I certainly will,” Stone said.
“Then the vote will be a formality.”
“Then you two gentlemen,” Arrington said, “will have effective control of Centurion Studios.”
Stone took a deep breath. “Whew!”
“Don’t worry, Stone,” Mike said, “it’s just a business, like any other.”
“Not like any other,” Stone said.
“You have a point, I guess. Now that the issue of the land sale is settled, I suppose the next big decision for the board will be who succeeds Rick Barron as chairman and CEO.”
“Rick wants to retire?”
“Do you blame him?” Mike asked. “The man is in his midnineties, and this fight took a lot out of him, I think. He and Glenna want to move up to Santa Barbara full-time.”
“I don’t blame him. Did he make a recommendation on who should succeed him?” Stone asked.
“He told me that Jim Long wants the job,” Mike said.
Stone shook his head. “That’s way too close to Mrs. Grosvenor for me.”
“Me, too,” Mike agreed. “Rick’s recommendation is a fellow named Leo Goldman, Jr. He’s a producer at the studio and a board member, and his late father, Leo Senior, was a very successful CEO.”
“I know Leo Junior,” Arrington said. “He’s smart as a whip and a hell of a producer.”
“I guess we just elected him,” Stone said. “By the way, Arrington, you have another decision to make.”
“Oh, no,” Arrington said, “I’m all out of decisions. I’ve just appointed you to represent me in studio matters. You decide.”
“It’s not related to the studio,” Stone said. “It’s about what to do with the property on which we now sit, sipping gimlets.”
“You decide if Prince should buy it,” she said.