Part 41 (1/2)

The request had been sent late yesterday afternoon. Unsurprisingly, her father hadn't responded.

That continued to weigh on her.

To her knowledge, he hadn't been in the office since Tuesday. Even though Venessa had said he was absent, yesterday Lara had gone to see for herself. His inbox had grown by at least an inch and pink pieces of paper bearing phone messages littered his desktop. He still hadn't answered his phone or returned any of her messages.

Following her intuition, Lara asked April to drive to his house. ”Do you have enough time to do that before you need to return for Connor?”

”That shouldn't be a problem, Ms. Bertrand.”

Even though his car wasn't in the driveway, she still took the chance and went and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she tried the k.n.o.b to find it locked.

”Ready, ma'am?” April asked.

”Thanks, yes,” she said, getting back in the car. She felt relieved to know that he wasn't at home brooding. More likely, he was at his golf club.

Traffic was still light when she reached her office building, and she made a stop at the coffee kiosk in the lobby before heading upstairs.

A little after eleven, there was a knock on her door.

”Come in.” She pushed aside the revised marketing budget and looked up.

Pernell entered.

Shock kept her in her seat for a few seconds before she jolted herself and stood. ”Dad,” she said.

”Mind if I have a seat?”

She considered going over to the less formal area but changed her mind, opting to keep the desk between them. ”Please come in,” she said.

Uncertainty kept her on guard, but she forced herself to sit back in her chair rather than on its edge. Again taking a cue from Connor, she waited rather than fill the silence with nervous chatter.

”I've had some time for thinking,” he said. ”I despise your attempt to take over my board.”

She wanted to correct him, to tell him it was the BHI board. Then she realized that his words helped identify the problem. He thought of himself and the corporation as the same ent.i.ty.

In his place, perhaps she would have, too.

As a young man, he'd started working as a stockbroker. He'd done well enough that he'd left the large firm and started his own company, taking a number of clients with him. She'd heard that the beginning had been b.u.mpy, but he'd had the love and support of Helene. She'd worked a full-time job in addition to being his secretary, and they'd lived in a small, suburban one-bedroom apartment while he'd built his empire. He'd owned ten rental houses and two commercial properties, all of which had produced a nice income, before he and Helene had even considered buying themselves a modest place to live.

They'd continued to work hard and invest, and it hadn't been until he'd made his first two million dollars that they'd even discussed the possibility of starting a family.

”I've never considered that you wouldn't want to take over as CEO.” He held up his hand when she might have spoken. ”I know. You've said it a hundred times. I haven't listened.”

She nodded.

”You know, Lara, since your mother left, my heart hasn't been in it.”

Suddenly she saw him in a different light. Stubborn, yes. Curmudgeonly, even. But until now, she hadn't seen him as a lonely man. ”I'm not sure I understand.”

”Helene has a certain amount of energy. I had no idea how much I fed on it. Over the years, she wasn't as involved in the day-to-day, but every night, we talked about the business. I bounced every idea off her. But about seven years ago, she started talking about spending more time together, traveling, maybe buying a second home in Europe. She said I could run the business just as easily from Tuscany as Houston. I was still wanting to build and she wanted to start paring back.”

It occurred to her that her mother hadn't told her this much. But it explained a lot.

”The truth is, as your mother stepped back, I was looking for you to replace that enthusiasm for growth.”

For a paralyzing moment, Lara wondered if he was going to fire her. Technically that would be within his rights and his power, but it was an outcome she'd never considered.

”You're not focused on expansion or acquisitions. You don't have the risk tolerance I have. But you bring a steadiness that we need. It could be that both you and your mother are right. That it's time to look at the changing business landscape. There are times for growth, particularly into emerging markets, but there are also times to consolidate so that sustainable growth can occur.”

”And that provides the capital to invest elsewhere.” There was silence for a moment, then she continued, ”You know, Mother is right about other things, too. You can focus your energies where you want, maybe go play a round of golf in Scotland like you've always wanted. And technology can be taught. You can work from Tuscany-”

He shuddered.

”Or the UK. Or your club.”

He looked around. ”I'm not ready to step down as chairman of the board.”

”No one else wants that, either.”

”I'm clear on one thing, Lara. I can't allow you to sacrifice yourself for this company.”

She shook her head.

”Donovan,” he explained. ”The man's shrewd. Smart. And you're wrong about his communications offer. It was insulting.”

”It was a starting point. And if you look at it as part of the whole, as a chance to have cash to put into our global capitalization efforts, into energy, it's well-worth considering.”

”He stands to make millions.”

”And so do we,” she countered. ”Frankly, I wish them well. It's a compet.i.tive marketplace, and it's not in our sweet spot. We don't have the cash to execute on some of our patents. And we've lost some of our key talent to compet.i.tors. This is the time to divest ourselves.”

”It's not how I do business.”

”No. It's not,” she agreed.

”I'll agree to let you negotiate the sale.”

She nodded, not betraying the way her inner executive was jumping up and down. She realized what the decision had cost her father.

”But I won't have you marrying Donovan.”

Her shoulders sagged. ”I beg your pardon?”

”I had a lot of good years with your mother. It's my fault the marriage ended. But marriage is hard enough when you love someone. I appreciate the sacrifice you were willing to make. But it won't be necessary. We'll begin the search for a president, maybe a CEO. I lost your mother, Lara. I won't lose you. Marry him and I'll show up to fight you every step.” His jaw was set in determination.

”It's not like you think,” she said, her thoughts fracturing.

”Did he get down on one knee and propose to you? Tell you he would love you forever? Then it's exactly as I think. I didn't work my entire life for you to give up yours. Not having the support of someone you love makes life a f.u.c.king quagmire.” With that he stood and showed himself out.

As if frozen, she remained in place.