He does it with pleasure. After all, he bills clients, in this case, my grandpa’s estate, at five hundred dollars an hour, so he’s in no hurry at all.
As he drones on, I start tapping my fingers on the table.
Finally, he gets to the dreaded part. He clears his throat and gets it out, “In order to inherit your grandfather’s shares and gain full control of the company, you’ll have to marry Ashley Winters, the granddaughter of Walter Winters, who co-founded the company with your grandfather.” Andrew stops and watches me over the top of his silver framed glasses.
This had been the point I had walked out of the room before… in furious shock.
“And if I don’t?” I ask quietly.
“Then the shares go to the board, being shared equally between them, giving you no voting rights, although your job as CEO will be safe, of course.”
My grandpa knew how I would view this. What’s the point in being the CEO of a company if you can’t make any important or risky decisions? I had gotten the company this far because I’d made decisions other men wouldn’t. This deal would suit some people, but I am not one of those people. And Grandpa knew this.
I had begun to take the company in a completely new direction, one my grandpa allowed to happen, but it was clear the board seemed wary. They still are. Given half the chance, they would crash all my hard work and just keep the company ticking along at its present state. They don’t understand that if the company doesn’t grow now, it will be a dead duck in today’s digital world.
Andrew looks at me calmly.
The choice is simple. Marry Walter’s granddaughter or stand back and let all of the work be for nothing and watch from afar as the company slowly disintegrates until there’s nothing left of it. “And this Ashley. She’s agreed to this?” I ask.
“Not exactly,” Andrew mutters, looking uncomfortable for the first time since he arrived here in his expensive car and his expensive suit. “Ms. Winters has no idea she is part of this clause.”
“What?” I explode.
“You’ll have to… um… talk her into it.”
“I don’t fucking believe this,” I mutter and shoot to my feet. “So what’s in it for her?” I demand. “Why would she agree to this—this— madness?”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that one, Finn. Your grandfather’s answer when I asked him the same question was that you’ll use your natural charm.”
“Oh well, that should be easy enough then,” I say sarcastically.
“Financial inducements do help,” Andrew suggests delicately.
The truth is, he could be right. If I agree to this, and get this Ashley girl to agree to it, then I can make Ashley the sort of financial offer she won’t be able to refuse.
“Mr. Garfield,” my mother burst out, ever formal, even though Andrew has told her to call him Andrew a hundred times. “This is completely ridiculous. The terms are archaic and are just a sign of that old fool trying to control not just Finn’s life, but the life of this poor girl’s too. It’s not realistic and there must be some way around it.”
“There isn’t,” Andrew says. “I’m afraid Finn’s grandfather made this particular specification watertight, Helen. He’s even closed the senility loophole by getting a certification that he was of sound mind from a psychiatrist.”
“We’ll go to court. Fight it. No court will uphold such a silly clause,” my mom fumes fiercely.
Andrew looks a little surprised, although he hides it well, covering the tiny flash of emotion by clearing his throat and pushing his glasses up his nose. “You could try it, but I guarantee you will lose. The will is clear and has been through all of the correct channels. And even if you do win the case, there will be nothing left to win.”
“What do you mean?” my father asks.
He’s been silent throughout the rest of the meeting and we all turn to look at him.
“The terms are clear,” Andrew explains. “If the will is contested, the company is to go on the market immediately and be sold for one hundred thousand dollars and it cannot be bought by any of the family or by any proxy of this family.”
“What?” my mother cries in disbelief.
“But it’s worth three hundred times that,” my father exclaims.
“Actually, it’s worth three hundred and seventy nine times that.” Andrew nods. “And that’s the point. The company will be sold for one hundred thousand dollars, and by the time the fees and taxes are paid, Finn will stand to inherit around two thousand dollars.”
“Well damn,” my father says, shaking his head. He tries to hide it, but there is grudging admiration in his voice at how truly wily the old man was. “He’s really got this sewn-up, hasn’t he?”
“So it would seem,” Andrew replies.