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“Anyway,” Hue continued. “After seeing how astute Liam is, and him helping me make a boatload of money, Felicia and I decided to invest some of the proceeds from our sale into Quigley-Fulton. And Liam here was kind enough to add me to the board.”
Syd and Craig had just lost their leverage, and they knew it.
“I’m not sure that’s very wise,” Syd said after a moment. “We’re here to check on progress, and frankly it’s been a bit disappointing over the past year. As a matter of fact, we were planning on pulling out.” He laid their cards on the table, hoping to scare Schmulian off.
“That’s too bad,” Josh said, laying it on thick. “We’ve enjoyed having the benefit of your insight.”
“Have you met your forecasts or not?” Syd asked, looking at me.
“No,” was my one-word answer.
“Then I’m out,” Syd announced. “I’ll expect a wire transfer in the morning.”
Hue leaned forward. “Good news for me,” he told Syd. “Liam,” he said, turning to me. “I’ll buy his shares.”
Syd’s eyes narrowed. He was cornered now.
“I’m not sure pulling out is such a good idea,” Craig said softly to Syd.
The team had broken ranks.
“Remember Kirkland and Seabrook?” Craig continued. “I think maybe we should give this more time to mature.”
Hue had already told me this story, and I was counting on Craig and Syd to remember it as well.
Syd and Craig had bailed early on Kirkland and taken a sixty-percent haircut, while Hue had stuck it out and rode it to a four-hundred-and-fifty-percent gain. Seabrook had turned out similarly, and Hue never let them forget it.
The blood drained from Syd’s face. “You might be right. Maybe we should give this a bit more time.”
His sayinga bit more timewas just theater. Based on the contract, this was their one and only chance to pull out for the next five years, and we all knew it.
Syd retrieved his letter, and we adjourned the meeting with the regular backslapping and an agreement to keep them updated quarterly.
Hue had pulled it off and gotten them to back down. We now had the freedom to run the company without worrying about meeting quarterly goals, and having Hue on the board would be helpful in the long run as well.
I took a deep breath, feeling joy well up inside me. I’d finally fulfilled my obligation to Josh.
Epilogue
“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” – Dr. Seuss
Amy
The noise woke me.
I rubbed my eyes, but couldn't make anything out in the dark. I tried to control my breathing and listen.
Another noise.
My heart raced.
Someone was in the house.
“Liam, wake up,” I said softly.
He wasn’t as light a sleeper as I was. I turned to jostle him awake, but the bed beside me was cold and empty.
I was alone. I jerked to sitting, still groggy.
