“I thought we settled them.”
“We get that you’re not interested in that startup idea,” said Carter. “We get that. You’ve made it clear. But remember what’s coming up? Remember thatTrip to Bountifulyou’ve got to make to Kennebunkport? Remember the monumental decision your father said he’s going to make that would change the course of not only your life, but our lives too?”
“It’s major,” said Archie.
“We can’t stress how major,” said Dalton.
“Stop the pile on. I get it.” Then Harrison exhaled. “What’s the gameplan because I’m certain the three of you have decided on one.”
“It’s the same one I told you about a week ago. You need a woman,” Carter said frankly, and Harrison laughed.
“Is that plain enough for you? And you need one fast. Because if your father does it right and select you as his heir, then stocks will soar in Bainbridge Oil, of which we are all stakeholders, and more riches than we ever thought possible will flow our way. But more importantly, BCT’s stocks will soar too, which we are even bigger stakeholders. It’ll be a win-win for all of us. Because let’s not pretend on this issue. We’re having challenges and you know it too, Harrison. Our profit margin keeps getting thinner and thinner and pretty soon we’re going to be running in the red. And when I say soon, Harrison, I’m talking in a matter of months, not years. But imagine if you got your hands on your father’s company? On the granddaddy of them all Bainbridge Oil? In that sphere, only ExxonMobil is more powerful than your father’s corporation. But if you get it in your hands and under your control, you know how massive your fortune will become? All of our fortunes! But if your father goes in a different direction, we will have to start thinking about unloading assets just to stay afloat. It’s that stark. It’s that real.”
It was a sober reminder of the capricious nature of venture capitalism to every one at that table. Including Harrison. He’d seen good days. He’d seen bad days. But nothing like now.
Carter continued. “Every word I’m hearing is that the only reason you haven’t gotten his full and complete blessing yet is because you haven’t settled down. Your father’s old school. A man your age should have been married long ago and had children by now. He’s wondering what’s wrong with you. And since you two don’t talk anymore, you’ve got to show your worth. If you at least show up with a woman on your arms, with your fiancée, then maybe, just maybe that will be enough to get youover that finish line. Because you’ve got to get over that finish line, Harrison. You’ve got to be the chosen one.”
“What will happen if I’m not?” Harrison seemed the least concerned than anybody else at the table. “You’ll lose money, yes, we all will. But none more than I. But that’s the nature of our business. Sometimes we’re up. Sometimes we’re down. Admittedly, this year has been far more challenging. I’m not pretending that it hasn’t. But don’t get ahead of yourselves and assume I’m going to decide anything related to my life based on your bank accounts. Or my own,” he added. “We will all continue to be filthy-rich men with more money than we will ever need for the rest of our lives regardless of what I do.”
“That may all be true too,” said Carter. “But our stake in Bainbridge Oil is tied to you. It’s the way your father structured it. If you don’t take over, I get nothing. That would be more money than I care to lose. Besides,” he added, “when the pinnacle is within reach, when it’s right within your grasp, it becomes a huge letdown to settle for second-best. You need a woman, Harrison.”
Harrison looked at Carter. Had anyone else at that table attempted to take that kind of liberty with him, he would have fired him on the spot. But Carter was a realist, not an opportunist. Carter was the only human on earth he would consider a true friend. He nodded his head. “Understood,” he said.
“Then what are you going to do about it? Time is of the essence. We’re talking a few more weeks here, not months.”
Then Carter glanced over at the other two. And they nodded their assent for him to proceed in the dangerous waters of Harrison’s personal life.
Carter exhaled first, and then he let it rip. “As I told you a week ago, we’ve spoken with Gweneth, whom--.”
“Don’t start.”
“Whom we all know will be an excellent choice,” Carter continued. “She’s someone your father already adores. And to our everlasting joy, she voiced some interest.”
But Harrison gave Carter a look that could break him in two. And they all knew that shot in the dark was going to stay in the dark. “No thank you,” Harrison said so bluntly and unequivocally that he could hardly get it out without clenching his teeth.
They looked at each other again. “Then you’ve got to find somebody, if you haven’t already,” his COO said. “Since you never confide in us, we don’t know what you have going on in your private affairs. We know nothing about you in that area. But Carter’s right. Time is running out.”
What Carter and the others didn’t know was that Harrison had been thinking about it the moment his father summoned him and his brother to his Kennebunkport compound. He didn’t know that having a woman was the reason for this sudden competition to be heir. But once he found out, and found out from his own sources that didn’t include anyone at that table, he knew he had to act.
But he needed somebody he could control. Not someone his age, but younger, although he never cared for younger women. But somebody who would understand from jump that this was a financial transaction and nothing more. Somebody who needed the money more than they needed the man. The women in his social circles, and in his age group, would want the man more than they would ever want (or need) the money. He wasn’t allowing any woman to get too close to him that way ever again. This woman, this waitress he couldn’t stop eyeing, could be the perfect choice.
But he had to get her alone. And talk to her. And see for himself if she was looking for love, or a fat payday. The love he couldn’t help her with. Love was for fools. But the pay- he couldhelp her there. But he had to know where she was coming from before he so much as mentioned to her what his interest in her was truly about.
And he also wanted her alone to figure out, once and for all, why she caused him to have such an unusually intense rush of emotions whenever he laid eyes on her. Where was that coming from? And how could he get it to stop!
“What about her?” he finally said as his eyes, once again, darted across the room to Jayda.
“What about who?” asked an excited Carter as he looked around the room.
“Who are you talking about?” asked Archie and Dalton, too, as they both looked.
“Her,” said Harrison, nodding toward Jayda. “That girl.”
“Which girl? The blonde at that corner table?”
“No.”
“The blonde at that back table?”
