“Lizzie, what in God’s name haven’t you told me?”
Maria knocked and came back in with a bottle of orange juice and a glass for Lizzie. While Lizzie poured it, Brock helped himself to a cup of coffee. Maria left quietly, Lizzie took a fortifying drink and faced her father.
“A few weeks ago Mark Baker came to me with some information. It wasn’t anything too serious, just something to keep our eye on.”
“I know you don’t trust Mark.”
“I don’t like Mark. There’s a difference. I do, however, think he’s very good at his job. We dealt well enough together.”
Brock gave a short nod.
“It was expected that our stock would take a dip, both after the lost contract and then when you had your accident, so seeing those numbers wasn’t a surprise. What was a surprise was the level of activity following that dip. Not alarming, but it was something that flagged for Mark and he came to me about it. We agreed it was something we’d keep an eye on.”
Brock’s face looked concerned. “And? I take it that’s not all.”
“And that takes us to part two, which was a meeting I had yesterday.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of this.”
“I received a document by courier first thing yesterday morning, and the sender had already called to set up a meeting to follow up. It was someone from AB Windpower with a merger proposal.”
Brock’s coffee cup came down on the table, a little of the liquid sloshing over the side. “A merger? Over my dead body.”
Lizzie smiled weakly. “I knew you’d say that. And I pretty much did, as well. It seemed strange to me on a lot of levels, actually. I mean, we’ve taken a hit lately but our position isn’t that vulnerable. And it’s odd for an alternative energy company to look to join with oil, don’t you think? Nicole Bennett—that’s who I met with—said part of the reason is to strengthen their market position. We’re a publicly traded company, they’re not.”
“But they could approach any number of companies if that was their main motivation.”
“I agree.” She took a deep breath. “Dad, I think I might have prompted this without even realizing it.”
“What do you mean?” He grabbed a paper napkin from the coffee tray and mopped up the spilled brew.
“I’ve mentioned before that I wouldn’t mind exploring alternative energy solutions, perhaps as a subsidiary. I swear to you, I haven’t breathed a word of that since taking over, because I wanted to keep Baron as strong as possible during the transition. At least, I haven’t said anything...publicly.”
Brock’s eyes were keen on her. “What do you mean, publicly?”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I might have mentioned it a few times...in private.”
Brock was uncharacteristically quiet, which was much worse than the expected tirade.
“Dad...I said a few things to Christopher in private. I never thought anything of it until yesterday when Nicole was here. Chris works for AB Windpower, Dad, and just got a nice transfer and management position. It’s all a little too neat and tidy.”
She slumped back in her chair. She felt so stupid and...gullible. And now she felt like a disappointment in her dad’s eyes.
“Did you ask Chris about it?” Brock asked, more calmly than she expected.
“He denied it. But then he would, wouldn’t he?”
Brock sighed.
“Lizzie, darlin’, I’m not saying he did or didn’t do it. But this is the man you’re having a child with. The man who, by all reports, has basically moved into your home. Now, I don’t know all that’s gone on between the two of you, and I don’t want to. But if there’s that much feeling between you, maybe you owe him the benefit of the doubt.”
Nothing her father could have said would have surprised her more. “But if he did do it, he’s betrayed me. And you. And hurt the company...”
“Honey, he hasn’t hurt the company. It was a merger proposal, nothing more. We’re not that vulnerable.”
“But the stock... I asked Nicole if they were planning on using the back door and attempting a reverse takeover....”
He chuckled. “And she said she didn’t know anything about that. Lizzie, Mark came to me after he spoke to you. We looked at the volume and decided it’s not enough to really be concerned about. Not enough to attempt a takeover or even voting shares. Plus our stock price has started to bounce back. We both think people are taking advantage of the low price knowing it’s going to climb and show great returns. You’ve been doing a great job here.”