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“Too long, Stone,” Eagle replied. “Have you met Susannah?”
“No,” Stone replied. “That’s how long it’s been. How do you do, Susannah?”
“I’m glad to meet you, Stone; Ed has told me a lot about you.”
“Not too much, I hope,” Stone said.
“Stone,” Eagle said, “who was the blonde you were with until a moment ago? There’s something familiar about her.”
“Her name is Carolyn Blaine,” Stone said. “She’s executive assistant to Terry Prince, but you haven’t met her. She said she’d never been to Santa Fe.”
“Maybe it was out here, then,” Eagle said.
“Oh, Ed,” his wife interjected, “every pretty girl looks familiar to you.”
“She’ll be back in a minute,” Stone said. “She’s just gone to the ladies’. Then we can resolve where you’ve met.”
Stone and the Eagles talked for a few minutes, but Carolyn never returned. He reckoned she’d found someone more interesting to talk to.
21
Stone and the Eagles moved toward the garden restaurant, where a buffet dinner had been set up. He saw Prince and Arrington a few steps ahead of them. Then someone behind him tapped Stone on the shoulder. He turned to find Rick and Glenna Barron. He greeted them warmly.
“Just the man I wanted to see,” Stone said.
“What can I do for you, Stone?”
“I’m wondering what, if anything, you’ve found out about the disposition of Jennifer Harris’s shares in Centurion.”
“I know her attorney, and I spoke to him, so I know that her will leaves the shares to her estate, instead of a particular beneficiary.”
“Does her attorney have the authority to sell them on behalf of the estate?” Stone asked.
“Yes, and I think he would be amenable to the sale, as long as it brought market value. Unfortunately, he knows about the offer from Mr. Prince, so he will want at least what Prince has offered.”
“Are you going to buy them?” Stone asked.
“I’m afraid that’s a bit of a stretch for me, financially,” Rick replied. “I might be able to swing it, but I’d have to sell some other investments, and that would take time we don’t have.”
Stone looked around, then lowered his voice. “I think it might be possible for Arrington to buy them,” he said.
“That would be perfect,” Rick replied. “What with Charlene Joiner’s shares, that would give us a majority.”
“Surely Prince would be bidding for them, too,” Stone said.
“And if he got them, he’d have a majority,” Rick pointed out.
“I think what we have to do,” Stone said, “is canvas all the other share owners and see if we can buy another bloc or two that would give us fifty-one percent.”
“Let me talk to some of them and see if they would rather sell to us than Prince.”
“It would be in their interests, wouldn’t it, to keep the studio operating as it is now?”
“Certainly, for some of them who want to continue to make pictures. I’ll start on that tomorrow morning and get back to you.” Rick looked around. “In fact, I’ve seen a couple of them here tonight; perhaps I’ll get an opportunity to speak to them.”
“Good idea,” Stone said. “Face-to-face might work best.”
They worked their way through the line for dinner, and Stone found a large table. Arrington left Prince and rejoined him.
