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She shook her head. “Right now, we’re stuck in a holding pattern as the doctors try to stabilize him for surgery.”
He nodded. “Please keep me informed. David and my father have known each other for a long time. This has hit him hard.”
“Of course.” Although she figured a man with Noah Whitlow’s connections and resources could probably learn any change in David’s condition before his own wife did.
“Very good.” The phone on the end table rang, but this time, he silenced the call. “Getting down to the business at hand, considering all the upheaval going on in both my company and yours, I thought it a good idea for the two of us to have a sit down so that we could get a feel for each other.”
In other words, he wanted to make sure she was up to the job of defending his company and his reputation in a court of law, which she couldn’t exactly fault him for. She might know who he was, but he didn’t know her from Jane. If their positions were reversed, she’d probably do the same thing.
She removed the manila folder she’d stuffed into her portfolio, laid it on the table between them, and making a pointnotto look at the material, rattled off the pertinents of the case. “Lone-Star Tech is a startup company Whitlow Group was set to acquire. Several months ago, however, one of the firm’s three founders, Franklin Bishop, decided he wanted to back out of the sale, despite having signed all the legal paperwork, and subsequently, chaos ensued. Despite the original acquisition terms, which were more than generous and, basically, left the owners in control of the company they’d built, Mr. Bishop has since waged both a legal campaign to stop the sale and to smear Whitlow Group in the media. He is trying to paint the acquisition as nothing more than a mega-corporation stepping on the little man and trying to take what he’s worked his whole life to build.
“Mr. Bishop’s change of heart seems to be spearheaded by his only daughter. His newest lawsuit alleges that some prototype chip initially included in the sale should have been excluded because it is his daughter’s sole property, which was what today’s court case was about. The other two partners have beenwillinglyfolded into Whitlow Group, along with all their ideas, prototypes, patents, et cetera, and for all intents and purposes, seem to be quite happy with the arrangement. These constant lawsuits, however, are keeping them and Whitlow Group from furthering any research and development Lone-Star Tech brought to the table.” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “Did I pass your test, Mr. Whitlow?”
A grin spread over his face, and God, the sight was glorious.
“You are certainly something else, Ms. Morgan.” He leaned forward. “Do you really speak three languages?”
“I do. English, obviously, as well as Spanish and French.”
“And do you speak them fluently?”
“I do,” she answered. “I read and write them as well.”
“I’m going to need to speak to David about you, Ms. Morgan. He said you were good, but he undersold you by about two miles.”
“Only two? I’ll need to speak to him as well.”
He laughed, and more of the tension in her gut loosened.
“What are your thoughts on this most-recent lawsuit?” he asked. “David didn’t seem terribly worried about it.”
“And with good reason.” To date, Bishop had filed seven lawsuits, but ultimately, none had done anything but tarnish Whitlow Group’s reputation. “If Bishop landed this suit in front of the right judge, hemightget some traction, especially if he has concrete evidence this chip is his daughter’s sole property and not the property of Lone-Star Tech as a whole. However, I doubt this is the case. If they’d have had that kind of evidence, they’d have led with it. This stinks of desperation and nothing more, but I’ll know for sure after I go through all the discovery.”
Discovery was a formal process opposing legal teams went through before the trial. They exchanged information like the witnesses they planned to call and the evidence they planned to use during the trial.
“Very good,” Mr. Whitlow said. “I have plans for that chip.”
“I assure you that this case will be a priority.”
“What’re your next steps?”
“Familiarize, investigate, and strategize. First, I will immerse myself in the case details until I know them backward, forward, and inside out. Next, I’ll start investigating. If possible, I’d like to speak with someone in your research and development arm so that I can better verse myself in the ins and outs of the tech aspect of the case because it’s not a personal forte. And last, I’ll develop a legal strategy.”
He leaned forward. “I think I can help you out regarding part two of your plan.”
“How so?”
“After lunch, I will take you on a tour of Whitlow Group’s on-site research and development wing.”
“You will?”
He nodded, those golden-brown eyes focusing on her and going dark again. “Unless you have a problem with that.”
“No. Of course not. I just know you’re busy, and—”
“I’m not too busy for this.”
Whoa.Did he lean closer? Did she?
