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Madison
I knew it was only a matter of time, until I would have to face reality again. In fact, reality welcomed me right after we landed—in the form of an email, sent from my uncle’s office. He didn’t even sign the email himself, but communicated through his assistant, who let me know that my uncle would like to sit down and talk about the buyout with me. Again.
I feel like I’m tilting at windmills with him. We’ve been going back and forth for so long and he hasn’t budged from his stance at all—and neither have I. How are we ever going to solve this?
And what if he has already convinced our investor, and I’m being pushed into a corner by three men? Can I really assert myself against all of them, uncle Walter, our investor, and Chase?
Chase, the walking enigma.
I was so torn and confused when we left the private jet that I couldn’t stop my mind from going to dark places, while we were walking across the airfield. I was torn between feeling stupid for indulging in this trip—and him—and the gnawing worry that he was just playing with me. But the way he looked at me with those sad puppy eyes… is he really that good at deceiving people? Or can I trust him, when he says that this is just as confusing and hard for him as it is for me? I don’t know, and it’s driving me crazy.
We haven’t seen each other since we got back from Hawaii, but we’ve exchanged a few messages about trivial things, always keeping it light and superficial. It’s been a couple of days since our return, and every morning I’ve woken up to a good morning text from him. If he’s playing me for my company, he’s certainly trying hard.
Chase is all I can think about, even now, as I wait for my uncle in my office. He shows up late again, but I choose to ignore it this time.
“I don’t see any point in doing this,” I greet uncle Walter, as he sits down across from me. “Nothing has changed.”
Uncle Walter’s brow furrows, and then he finally lets out a sigh as if surrendering to the weight of his own secrets.
“Okay, Madison, I guess it’s time for me to share something with you,” he begins, his voice barely above a whisper. He shifts awkwardly in his seat, unable to look me in the eyes, when he goes on: “We really need to sell, because… well, I don’t know what the best way to say this is—”
“Without beating around the bush would be best, I think.”
He casts me an angry look, before he finally reveals: “I need the money because I’m in trouble, okay? I’ve got debt.”
“What kind of debt?” I ask, an uncomfortable suspicion creeping up in my mind.
“The bad kind,” he insinuates. “The kind that doesn’t go away over time.”
My heart sinks. I know that my uncle has had trouble with gambling before. He lost his wife because of it, when I was still a teenager.
“I thought you had it under control?” I ask, my blood boiling.
“I did!” he exclaims. “For years, I was doing fine, but then… you know how it is—”
“No, I don’t know how it is, uncle Walter,” I say. “Because I’m not an addict.”
He sucks in a sharp breath of air. “I’m not an addict!” he protests. “I have a sickness.”
“Same thing,” I argue, refusing to react to his attempt at painting himself as a victim. I’ve suffered enough because of his actions.
“Why not just sell your own shares then?” I ask, my voice tinged with desperation. I’ve been willing to compromise, I just can’t bear the thought of losing all of Dad’s company to Chase.
Uncle Walter shakes his head, a hardness settling in his eyes. “Mr. Keaton wants to buy it all, and not just become a shareholder. And to be honest, Madison, his offer is just too good to pass up. I think I have no other choice than to hold a gun to your head here.”
I frown at him. “What do you mean?”
“If you don’t agree to sell, I’ll make sure that the financing for the new 3d technology you so desperately want will not go through,” he says. “I'll tell our angel investor that the project is off, and I will make him withdraw from the project.”
“But we can’t implement the technology without his money!”
“That’s exactly what will happen,” Walter confirms.
“So, you’re threatening to kill the company’s progress and make us lose months, no years of work, just get your way?”
Fear courses through me as my uncle mentions the angel investor.
I’m dangerously close to tears when I add, “Dad would be so disappointed in you.”
