“Miss Harte. It’s me. You missed our meeting yesterday. Everything alright?”
It was my lawyer.
I looked around for Christian, trying to see where he was. I was not about to have this conversation where he could overhear, especially since I was about to tell my lawyer to forget it. If he heard me say that, he would wonder what I was talking about, and I wasn’t ready to have that conversation with him.
I wasn’t ready to tell him I had contemplated taking the company from him.
I saw him dart into the bathroom, so I pulled over into a corner to wait. My hand was trembling, and I could feel my heart racing, and all of a sudden the confidence I had from yesterday morning drained through my toes.
“Hey there,” I said. “I, uh, can’t really talk right now. We had a last-minute business trip that took us to New York. I’m so sorry. Can we reschedule?”
“That won’t be an issue. I figured you’d probably want me to set things in motion, so I went ahead and solidified the paperwork. Once you start liquidating your father’s assets, you can begin legally purchasing the stock he had in his name that hasn’t been delegated to anyone.”
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“That was the loophole. Your father mentioned everything about his estate except the stock he still had in his name. It can be hung up in the courts to be settled years from now, which means you now have the time to liquidate the assets you do have control of and purchase the controlling stock of the company legally. Your father’s property. His remaining bank accounts. The excess money from his life insurance. All of that is within your control, according to his will. Which you would’ve known had you stayed for the rest of the reading that day. With the stock he’s already given you in the company naturally, purchasing the 10 percent that still has his name on it will give you the controlling share. Then, you can do whatever you want with Mr. Gunn.”
“Okay, but that will take time, right? I mean, I obviously can’t start liquidating now,” I said.
“No, but I can get a stay. The 10 percent stock that can’t be allocated properly ties up the transition of the company in court. Because this 10 percent isn’t settled, the company can’t be given over to Christian. Not yet. Which means it defaults back to the remaining living family. Which is you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. My father isn’t alive to do anything with that stock,” I said.
“To the courts, that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it's 10 percent of stock he still has input on. I argued that point all weekend to a judge. I argued that because this stock can’t be settled without his input, and since he isn’t alive with to give his input, that the company cannot be transferred over to Christian until it’s legally settled. He either owns 100 percent of the business or none of it at all. Until it can be settled, the business defaults back to the family.”
I was so stunned I couldn’t even speak.
“Stella, Christian will be out by the end of the day. The company will default to you while he fights you in court for it, and by that time you can do whatever you please. You can liquidate or purchase controlling shares. You now have time to take back what’s rightfully yours. That’s what you told me you wanted. I don’t give a damn what you do with it, all I did was fight for what you said you wanted me to. I’m headed to your office now to slide th
e paperwork under the door. All you have to do is sign it.”
I saw Christian come out of the bathroom and begin looking around for me. I didn’t have time to explain to the lawyer that I’d changed my mind, so all I did was hang up the phone. I shot the lawyer a text message saying I would be back in town today, and we needed to talk. I could feel the vomit rising in my throat as Christian turned his beautiful, loving stare on me, and I felt like the most disgusting person in the world.
I picked up my bag and walked toward him, taking deep breaths as I tried to calm myself, but I could tell by the look on his face that he could sense something was wrong.
“Stella, you alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, just a little nauseous,” I said.
“Do you need some water or anything?” he asked.
“No, no. I think I need to sit down. Yesterday was such a huge effort, and I’m taking time to breathe now.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him what was going on with the lawyer. Not when we were supposed to sit next to each other on the plane. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, no doubt a message back from the lawyer, but I settled on the fact that I could talk to him when I got into town. I could snag the paperwork he was taking to the office before Christian saw it, and I could tear it up. Then I’d place a call to my lawyer and tell him the usurping of the company was off.
That we worked better as a team, just like my father probably understood we would.
We got onto the plane, and Christian helped steady me on my feet. We sat down, and he flagged someone down to get me a drink, and he even opened it for me and brought it to my lips. He was being so kind and considerate, and the only thing it did was reinforce what a terrible person I was at the beginning of all this.
He held my hand as we took off, my heart thumping in my ears as we made our ascent into the sky, and I could feel him rubbing soft circles on my palm. I felt my eyes lull shut occasionally. Every time I was jolted awake, there was something new to Christian had done.
The pillow against my neck.
The hot blanket wrapping me up tightly.
The refilling of my drink.
A light kiss pressed to my sweating forehead.