“The shame you’ve brought to our name—” Grandfather grabs the side of his head. “I can’t?—”
We don’t have a chance to calm the man down because with strangled cry, he crumples to the floor.
We’re at his side in a heartbeat. I might not like the man, but he is my grandfather. He’s unconscious and when my brother presses a finger to his neck, our gazes lock.
“Is he dead?” I ask. Conflicting emotions fill my chest.
“No.” He leans over and holds his hand above Grandfather’s mouth. “He’s breathing.”
“He’s unconscious,” I state the obvious because I’m not sure what else to say or do.
“Call an ambulance,” Edward directs his assistant, who’s hovering by the door.
“Already did.”
I glance at the woman. “Can you call Carlla and Devon? Let them know we’re heading to the hospital.”
“Sure.” She looks behind her. “I’ll go direct the paramedics up here.”
“Do you think he had a heart attack,” I ask.
“No. He wouldn’t have a pulse.” Edward frowns. “I think.”
I want to laugh at his uncertainty, but it doesn’t seem like the time for humor. “Will you go with him?”
Edward’s gaze meets mine. He stares for a few seconds before nodding. “Yes. You call a ride. Don’t drive.”
“Should we wait for—” My words are cut off by the arrival of the paramedics.
Standing, I move out of the way and wait. It doesn’t take them long to evaluate him and get him on the stretcher. They think he’s had a stroke. He’ll need tests to confirm and with him stable, they wheel him out of the room.
“I’ll go with them. Stacey, can you call a car for Elizabeth please?”
“Done. It’s waiting downstairs with instructions to follow the ambulance.”
“Thank you. Cancel the rest?—”
“I’m on that. For both of you.”
With a nod to his assistant and a hand to my back, Edward urges me out of his office. “I’ll keep you updated.”
“I’ll wait to hear from you before issuing a statement.”
“I’ll put something together and email it to you within the hour.”
I’m numb, listening to my brother sort out the necessary steps to calm employees. The board. I can’t get the image of Grandfather crumpled on the floor, his face flushed red.
“Elizabeth!”
Snapping my attention to Edward, I say, “Sorry, what?”
“I said, can you help me by writing a memo to send to the staff? I’ll deal with the one for the board.”
“So we need to? I mean, he’s not in control here anymore.”
“No. He’s not. But he did collapse in the office.”
“Right. Okay. I guess a general, the founder of the company has…” I shake my head. “He’s what? We don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
