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Nik snorted and smothered it with a cough. Charles had a reputation as a risk-taker, a dealmaker, but the truth was, he was cautious to an extreme when it came to making investments. His partners understood that Charles wouldn’t make an investment until he was positive it would generate the profits they were looking for. It had paid off handsomely for WYCK.
“I’ve sent all my research to our legal team. I’m sure. I’m emailing my executive summary and recommended offer price now.” Nik hit send on the email he’d prepared before making this call, confident that his analysis would convince Charles. This was what he excelled at.
“I trust you, Nik. If you’re happy with the company, we’ll make the deal.”
The surge of adrenaline that used to come anytime he closed a deal was curiously absent. Nik wanted this deal to go through, but other things were replacing the dopamine hit that making money had always given him.
“Good. There’s something else I want to run past you. We have an opportunity to turn two good businesses into one highly profitable one.” Nik was excited as he pitched his idea.
“Tell me more.”
“We merge our Canadian casino operations. The economies of scale, reduction in overhead, and consolidations would save a lot of money. The new company would be big enough to compete with the biggest casino companies in the world.” Nik waited impatiently as Charles considered his idea. He’d realized early in his investigation of Coastal that there was an opportunity to make both businesses stronger by merging. The current Ontario CEO was underperforming, and replacing him had been on Nik’s agenda for a while. Jules had proved her value, and putting her at the head of the new company would strengthen the entire operation. All he needed to do was convince Charles that their potential profit was much higher as one company rather than two.
Charles rubbed his hand over his face, and even over the video call Nik could hear the rasp of unshaven beard. This was completely out of character for Charles: he never came in to the office anything less than impeccably groomed. This problem in Halifax needed to be taken care of.
“Canadian deals are your area of expertise. If you think this will generate better profits, go for it. What about the regulators?”
The regulators had been Nik’s only concern when he’d started thinking about merging the two organizations. A call to a friend in the regulatory offices had assured him that the government was open to the merger.
“The merger would happen once WYCK has officially purchased Coastal. I can put everything in motion so that the merger would close weeks after the buyout.” Nik was eager to make this happen as soon as possible. If everything came together, he would need to convince Jules to run the new company. He couldn’t see why she would refuse.
“Do we need to start an executive search for someone to run the new company? I can reach out to our Vegas companies and see if they have any suggestions. If we want to bring someone in from the United States, we’ll need to get immigration involved.”
“I think we should offer it to Jules Roberts here at Coastal.” Nik outlined the reasons he believed Jules was the right choice, certain Charles would agree with his assessment. As much as Nik was trying to be objective, Charles had to believe Jules was the right person for this job.
When he was done, Charles sat silent. Nik would have wondered if their connection had frozen, if the background noise of New York City traffic wasn’t coming through the speakers.
When Charles finally responded, it was not the full-throated approval Nik was hoping for.
“Is she the best person for this? Or are you making this decision for personal reasons? Half a dozen people sent me the clip of you two kissing at the game the other night.” His voice wasn’t harsh, but Nik heard the disappointment in every word.
Guilt made him grimace.He and Charles trusted each other, but not mixing business and pleasure was the number one rule at WYCK after witnessing another equity firm brought down by a sexual harassment lawsuit. Nik believed his situation with Jules was different, but he needed to convince Charles. It was time to come clean about his past.
“It turns out she’s the mother of my child. But I want her to have the job because I think she has earned it.” Nik barely had the words out before Charles reacted.
His voice held censure. “Wait, what? You have a daughter? And her mother is Jules Roberts? Why didn’t you tell me any of this when I sent you out to Coastal?”
Nik sighed. “I didn’t know, Charles, or I would have told you.”
Nik filled Charles in on the events of the past ten days. This conversation was so different from the confrontation with his parents. Charles was his best friend as well as his business partner.
“I can’t believe you have a daughter and you didn’t tell me,” Charles grumbled. “We’ve been friends for a lot of years.”
“We only told my mother yesterday. You’re not the last to know.” Part of Charles’s irritation probably stemmed from his need to know everything about everyone, but in truth Nik was sure Charles was hurt as well. Charles had been like an older brother to Nik for years.
“I’m happy for you.”
A knock pulled Charles’s attention away from the call, and when he stepped away from the video link, Nik heard Margaret’s voice murmuring to Charles.
When Charles reappeared on the screen, he was flushed red. “I’ve got to go. There’s another call coming in from Halifax. I’ll email you the details. Send me some background on Jules, including her education and employment history, and I’ll green-light you offering her the position once I’ve read through it. I trust you, but I have to look out for WYCK’s best interests.”
Charles ended the call before Nik could respond. Nik leaned back in his chair, his satisfaction over Charles approving the deal tempered by concern over the situation in Halifax. He was confident he could resolve it, but how long would he be gone?
CHAPTER27
“Ihave news.”
Jules looked up from a marketing proposal to see Nik standing in the door to her office, drinking in his appearance. Everything between them was still so new, and while his dark good looks had heat spreading through her, caution governed her every move.
