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CHAPTER ONE"Marriage, merger, what's the difference," Bill Drummond grunted. He gave a shrug and placed the rocks glass in Matt's hand then perched the bottle of Jack Daniels on the end table beside him.
"The difference?" Matt Conner gave himself a mental shake, but there was nothing else he could think to say. Of all the scenarios that raced through his mind when Drummond summoned him to his penthouse on the Upper-East Side, marriage to Drummond's daughter didn't come close.
That Drummond might suggest raising the price had occurred to him. He even considered the possibility of a delay in merging their two companies. That would have made sense. After all, Drummond was still young. From the outset, Matt had been surprised that he was planning to retire.
Matt sucked down the rest of the liquor in one long toss before placing his glass down with a thud.
"Drummond, you're crazy."
"Aw now, Matt, think about it a minute--"
"I don't need a minute." Matt gave a laugh. "I don't even like your daughter."
His friend winced. But before Matt could take it back, Drummond gave him a half smile. He shook his head. "I've always liked that about you. Honest. Brutally honest." But then he sank his bulky frame into the leather wing chair opposite Matt and ran a weary hand over his face, suddenly looking every bit of his 58 years. "Okay, then how about I'm asking you as a friend."
"A friend, huh? Kind of a lot to ask."
Matt's best fantasy when he took the elevator up to the sixteenth floor was that Drummond was turning the reins over to him in preparation for the merger, making him CEO of the company Drummond had built from the groundup. Although the men were competitors now, in many ways Matt considered Drummond his mentor, certainly a friend.
"Listen, I could parade a host of men before you who would jump at the chance. Allison's beautiful--"
"Sure, I'm not blind, Bill, but I'm not crazy either. Now, what's this about?" Matt stood abruptly, agitated by this whole turn of events and hoping Bill had some reasonable explanation for it. At the same time he pictured Allison the last time he saw her, tearing around the corner on two wheels in her flaming red Jaguar convertible, missing his meticulously restored Mercedes by a hair. He stripped off his jacket and threw it along the leather sofa. "Where did this come from? Last week things were about wrapped up." Matt rolled back his sleeves and poured himself bourbon, motioning to Drummond's glass.
His friend nodded. "I've been going over my papers," he said, an exhaustion in his tone that Matt had never heard before. "Personal and financial. Getting things in order."
A sense of unease stole up Matt's spine. He studied his friend for any signs of illness but could detect none. When Drummond took the glass Matt offered, his grip seemed steady and his eyes sharp. "Why personal papers?"
His friend grimaced. "There lies the problem." Drummond tilted his glass and took a long swallow. "My family lawyer seems to think I've forgotten the clause in my company's charter. He's right. The damn charter was drawn up 33 years ago. I was just a kid, what did I know?"
"What charter?" Matt was sure he wasn't going to like the answer.
"You know that I started my company mostly with my wife's family money. Well, my wife was sentimental. She made me promise that the business would always stay in the family, controlled by family. Even if it went public, a family member was to retain the controlling shares."
"Shit!" Matt dropped into the easy chair facing the large stone fireplace. Old photos in ornate gilded frames cluttered the mantle. Mostly old people, rigidly posed, chins held high with scowls probably meant to pass for smiles. "Crap," he said. It was unnecessary for Drummond to finish. He wasn't family so the merger opposed the charter on which the company was built. One solution was to buy out the family seed money, but with compounding interest that could come to millions.
"There's got to be some way around this," Matt said.
"There is. I turn my company over to my daughter--"
"Allison?" Matt choked. "She'd have it bankrupt and the money spent in two months flat." When Drummond started to protest, Matt held up his hand. "Okay, sorry, continue."
Drummond waved an impatient hand and came from around his desk. He paced before the dormant fireplace. "You marry Allison and our merged companies become marital property."
"Jesus," Matt groaned. "Like I said. You're crazy."
"You got any better ideas?"
"What about forming divisions--"
"Can't."
"Then a partnership, keeping shares separate--"
"No and no. I looked into that, too. Believe me, I've turned every stone." He stood before Matt, hands shoved in his pockets. "I've had a team of lawyers on it. They've come up with zilch."
"Well, I'll find something." Matt opened his collar and rubbed down the front of his neck. He'd missed his afternoon shave and already the itch of stubble was irritating him.
"Good luck." Bill turned and headed toward his desk. He said over his shoulder. "When you find it, let me know."
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