Cameron shot the man another forced smile. “Yes, he was my grandfather. He had worked for your company for over forty years, and right before he was to retire—less than a year before, in fact—you had him fired. That was almost twenty years ago.”
“Twenty years ago! You’re getting back at me for something I did twenty years ago? Hell, I was in my late thirties. Whatever I did then was because I was following my father’s orders. What else was I to do?”
“Have a conscience. That year you released six men from your employment, men who had given Global Petroleum their blood, sweat and tears, yet you fired them without any compensation or benefits. And when they tried banding together to take your company to court, you and your father paid people to harass them and their families, scaring them to the point where they wouldn’t fight the big corporation that had done them wrong. They barely had money to eat and live on, and you and your father made it impossible for them to afford to fight you any longer by deliberately dragging things out in court.”
“If we fired them, then there had to be a reason for it,” McMurray snapped.
“Oh, you had a reason all right. You and your old man didn’t want to give them what they deserved after working for you all those years. But now I will. For the first five years, any profit I make from Global Petroleum will go to those men and their families. Of the six, four are still living, almost impoverished. So as you can see, McMurray, I’m trying to right a wrong that you and your family did.”
Cameron nodded to Xavier who slid a manila envelope over to McMurray and his attorney. “I suggest the two of you read those documents, ponder them,” Cameron said. “If I’m forced to expose them, I will. I have sworn affidavits from Samuel Myers, as well as from the woman who was your father’s secretary, Hannah Crosby. Ms. Crosby claims she was paid to falsify documents, and Samuel Myers has confessed to being one of your father’s henchmen. He’s provided us a list of all the bad deeds that your father paid him to do. If you’re willing to have the press dig into history and dishonor your family’s name, then go ahead, keep doing what you’re doing, in other words, basically the same tricks your father pulled years ago.”
Cameron leaned over the table and his smile was gone. Instead his face was a mask of pure anger. “The only difference is, your henchmen don’t bother me, McMurray, and I’m not going anywhere. Do you and your family a favor, accept your loss and take an early retirement. Otherwise, you leave me no choice but to send a copy of what’s in that envelope to every newspaper in Texas.”
McMurray jumped out of his chair, almost knocking it over. “You won’t get away with this, Cody.”
“I already have. You don’t own Global Petroleum anymore. I do. Accept it. And let me give you a friendly word of warning. If there are any more mishaps to my company that I trace back to you, instead of spending your remaining days in retirement, I’ll going to see to it that you rot in jail. Count on it.”
An angry John McMurray stalked out of the conference room with his attorney—who’d taken the time to grab the envelope off the table—following right on his heels.
Xavier shook his head and glanced over at Cameron. “That man is bad news.”
Kurt nodded in agreement.
Cameron released a deep breath as he leaned back in his chair. He had a feeling they hadn’t seen or heard the last of John McMurray.
Chapter 16
Cameron walked into the kick-off party for Morgan’s campaign with two purposes in mind. He wanted to show his support for his friend and he needed to see a certain woman again.
It had been two weeks since he’d last seen Vanessa at the small gathering in Chance’s home and now he was in a bad way. And no matter what it took, he was going to make sure she was in a bad way, too, by the time the night was over.
“Cameron, it’s good to see you.”
He smiled when he was approached by Jocelyn Mason Steele. She was the woman he had chosen to run his construction company based in Charlotte. Already nearly one hundred people were on payroll, with several lucrative projects lined up to keep them busy.