Part 4 (1/2)
”Not surprised,” the Colonel said.
”When was this?” Erin asked.
”Yesterday.”
”I had dinner with Lara.” Erin scowled. ”She didn't mention it.”
”Conniving b.a.s.t.a.r.d,” the Colonel added. ”Nothing good comes of a.s.sociating with the Bertrands.”
”That's a broad brush,” Erin objected. ”Lara's one of my best friends.”
”Erin's right.” Connor tapped the top of his pen against his agenda. ”I don't get the sense she's much like her old man.”
”How would you know?” Nathan asked.
”Erin introduced us a few weeks ago. And I ran into her last night. She was getting off the elevator after I met with Pernell.”
”And?” Erin prompted.
”She obviously knew nothing about the meeting.” Her wide-eyed reaction to seeing him had been real. No doubt about that.
”You could call her,” Erin said.
”I gave her my card.”
”Oh?”
”If she wants more details, she can contact me.” He was surprised, and more than a little disappointed, that she hadn't. Loyalty ran deep, perhaps. Most times, that was an admirable trait. But when it was blindly given, it bordered on an emotional reaction rather than a strategic choice.
”What's our next step?” the Colonel asked.
”We wait.”
”I like it.” The Colonel nodded. ”Vultures will swoop in eventually.”
”There's a danger in that,” Kathryn said.
”Oh?” Connor leveled a glance at her.
”If the rumors are true, BHI is making some bad decisions. There may be nothing worth saving if Pernell does something stupid.”
”The patents make it attractive,” Nathan said.
They were the game changer.
The five of them spent the next hour discussing other interests. Kathryn outlined her plan for Erin to fill in at the foundation while she was on her cruise.
”You are planning to come back?” the Colonel demanded.
Kathryn was slower in responding than Connor expected. ”It's no surprise that I'd like to cut back on the time spent at the office.”
”But?” Connor prompted.
She looked at him without blinking. ”I'd like Erin to start looking for someone to take over more of the day-to-day responsibilities.”
Until now, he hadn't thought much about his aunt's hopes and aspirations.
”I want to travel more. But don't misunderstand. I'm not resigning.”
”It's the influence of that youngster,” the Colonel insisted.
”Perhaps.”
Was it? She'd never married, had never had children. Until now, Connor hadn't wondered why. She was certainly still young. Fit. Trim. Obsessed with eating well, taking vitamins. She often said she had no intention of aging gracefully. She was going to fight the temptress at every turn. So far, she was doing a h.e.l.l of a job. ”Erin, get with Kathryn offline.”
Erin nodded.
The meeting wrapped up shortly afterward. Erin hung back for a private word.
”What did you think of Lara?”
”Meaning?”
”I've known her for a very long time.”
”And?”
”She knows her father is not making the best decisions. Convincing the board is another thing. She needs a friend. An ally. Even better, a mentor.”
”I don't plan on eating her for lunch, if that's what you're worried about.”
”I was rather hoping you would. Call her, at least?”
He shook his head.
”Aunt Kathryn is right. Waiting for BHI Communications to implode is risky. Maybe we should be more strategic? Talk to board members. Some of them have to be sympathetic. There's no doubt they've heard the rumors. And so have our compet.i.tors. There's no guarantee we'll win the battle. You need to gather support, make a preemptive strike. I know for a fact that Lara's an excellent place to start.” With that, she left.
He rapped his knuckles on the table before gathering the discarded agendas and feeding the pages into the shredder.
Erin made a good point. Perhaps part of his hesitation was from Pernell Bertrand's lunacy. Pus.h.i.+ng aside the unwelcome thought, he went back to his office, returned a few phone calls, responded to a dozen emails then opened up a preliminary month-end financial statement.
When his mind kept returning to the topic of BHI and the best way to approach the problem, he opened a drawer and pulled out the file Nathan had provided on the company.
Connor found the section detailing the biographical information on each individual board member. He spent the next hour reading through the profiles, but he skipped the one on Lara.
Overall, there were few surprises.
The board was comprised mostly of Pernell's a.s.sociates. With the exception of Lara, he was surrounded by people of a similar age and thought process. Nothing new. No innovation. No bold moves.
He'd read the information on Pernell before but he reached for it again, just the same, wondering if his run-in with the man would give him new insight.