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“You’re a partner in the firm. It’s your legacy.”
“That’s right, I am a partner. And I am going to exercise my buyout clause.”
His father’s eyes opened wide. “That could bankrupt the firm. Your stake is worth millions.”
“That’s right. Hundreds of millions, to be accurate. And pulling all of it out will bankrupt the firm.” Josh stopped at the door and watched all the color drain from his father’s face. “I guess I’m not as soft as you thought. Good luck financing your project.”
Josh left the conference room and his father followed. “You can’t do this!” His father’s had gone from angry to desperate. He was pleading and as low as it was to kick a man while he was down, Josh enjoyed watching his father crumble.
Josh advanced on him, and yelled so loudly all the secretaries came running. “I can and I will. You’re a poor excuse for a human and I am done here.”
“Joshua, I won’t let you do this.”
Walking away, Josh snarled. “Try and stop me.”
Once he was back in his own office, Josh tried Caroline’s cell and swore when it went right to her voice mail. “Shit,” he muttered. “Shit.”
He hit the screen again and called Jason. “I have to get to the Vineyard, like now,” he said as soon as his brother picked up.
“Josh, whoa, what happened?”
“Dad happened. He knows the president of the firm where Caroline landed her new job. I’m guessing he colluded with Strickland andtrashed her reputation. Her offer is going to be rescinded.”
“Oh, shit.”
“I can’t reach her. I fucking hate that son of a bitch.”
“Join the club.”
“How fast can we leave?”
“Our flight’s at two; it’s eleven now. I’ll try to change it, but I don’t know if we’ll have any luck. Once they have the flight plan filed...”
“I have to get to her, Jay.” He paced around his office, looking out his window at the street below. He considered driving and taking the ferry, but the plane would be quicker. Maybe he’d charter his own fucking plane.
“Calm down. I’ll call Meg and see if I can find something out.”
“Okay. Call me back.”
He ended the call and tried to get into Caroline’s head. He’d urged her to take chances, to go big, to not settle, and look what happened. Would she retreat to her safe zone? Would that include him?
He never should have said anything to his father about the advice he’d gotten on the site assessment. It just gave him a reason to look for the person responsible and it led him right to Caroline. It was Josh’s fault she’d landed in Will Campbell’s crosshairs, and now he couldn’t protect her from the fallout.
“Josh?” Clara was in the doorway. She folded her hands, like she was ready to pray, and Josh thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“No. No, I’m not.”
* * *
Caroline was sittingon a chaise staring out over Vineyard Sound. She’d just been fired, and she’d never even worked a day at the firm. She stared at her cell phone and replayed the short phone call in her head. The head of HR for GRM said she was very sorry, but information had come to them after the offer was made that rendered her unsuitable for the position.
What the hell?
Caroline was numb. None of it made sense. She’d met with everyone right up to the president of the company. She’d had a roundtable with the engineers who would be working in her department and they gave her glowing reviews. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Who the hell had their offer rescinded?
Meg walked out onto the stone patio and drew a deep breath. She sipped her coffee and looked over to where Molly was playing on the swing set they’d had put in.
“I just love mornings here. Even when it’s a little chilly.”
