“Yeah, but I’m not used to double-crossing people,” Liam said. “I’m scared to death about what Frederick is going to say when he finds out I’ve flipped to Oscar’s side. I feel sick to my guts about it. Andrew Carnegie is going to be here. J.P. Morgan too.”
For the past hour Patrick had been using kind, priestly counsel to gently build Liam’s confidence, but none of it had worked. Perhaps it was time to change tactics. He grabbed Liam’s shoulders to jerk him upright and toughened his voice.
“If you want to serve on the board of directors, these are the kind of men you’ll be working with every day. Stand up straight, look them in the eye, and treat them like equals.”
Liam glared. “They’re not equals; they’re the enemy.”
“Knock it off,” Patrick ordered, his voice loud enough to echo off the tile. “As of today, they are your business partners. Start acting like it.”
Liam took a bracing breath, then blew it out and stood up straight. “You’re right.” He adjusted his collar and tugged down the vest of his insanely expensive suit.
Just before leaving, he tipped the washroom attendant. “You didn’t hear anything, right?” Liam said to the man.
“Of course not.” The attendant flashed Liam a wink. “Good luck, sir.”
They rode in an elevator with turquoise and jade inlaid on the marble floor. Patrick watched the brass dial above the door rotate with each floor they climbed until they arrived at the top level and the attendant cranked the doors open.
A dozen men mingled in the lobby outside the boardroom. Patrick immediately homed in on the only woman in the group. Natalia stood beside her father, wearing a sharply tailored emerald-green ensemble with a vest, tie, and jacket that still managed to look remarkably feminine. It was good to see a familiar face.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Patrick said, reaching out to shake her hand.
“I’ve got Count Sokolov’s shares to vote,” she said. “I’ll never have a vote of my own, but Father lets me sit in on the meetings and vote the count’s shares. Hello, Liam.”
“Natalia,” Liam acknowledged, but he was staring across the lobby toward where Andrew Carnegie stood alongside J.P. Morgan. “I didn’t realize he was so short,” he whispered. Andrew Carnegie was a colossus in the business world but only stood a few inches over five feet.
Before Patrick could reply, the doors to the boardroom were opened, and everyone began funneling inside.
The longest table Patrick had ever seen dominated the center of the room. It was so glossy it could be used as a mirror, and each seat had a nameplate before it. The owners of ten steel companies were here today. Frederick Blackstone took the seat at one end of the table, and J.P. Morgan sat at the opposite end. Between the two men, they were about to finance the creation of U.S. Steel.
“Gentlemen, please have a seat,” Frederick said.
Introductions were made, for these steel magnates had come from across the nation and some had never met before. Frederick went out of his way to welcome “my grandson William” to the table.
J.P. Morgan had complete control over his bank, and recording his shares was a simple matter. The Blackstone shares were a little more complicated, with Oscar representing most of the votes that had been submitted to him via proxy, and Natalia voting the count’s shares. Then it came to Liam, who stood.
“I expected to vote alongside my grandfather, but after careful consideration of the operating agreement, I believe the unions can get a fair shake from this company. I want to acknowledge my support of that agreement by voting in favor of it.”
Frederick looked stunned as he gaped at Liam, but Liam kept his gaze on Andrew Carnegie.
“I will make it my mission in life to ensure this new company thrives, both for the workers and the health of the company as a whole. Neither side can prosper without the other, and I hope to be a trusted go-between for both sides.” Liam swallowed hard and looked directly at Frederick. “I hope this doesn’t disappoint you.”
Liam sat, looking a little less confident.
Frederick leaned back in his chair, an inscrutable expression on his face as he spoke. “Since the moment you walked back into our lives, I wondered if you would take after Oscar or your father. Now I know. You are split straight down the middle. You are a man ruled by his heart but who uses cold, hard logic to get there. I won’t underestimate you again.”
It was impossible to know if Frederick approved or was furious, but the rest of the votes proceeded without incident, and by four o’clock the world’s largest corporation had been born.
39
Gwen spent the afternoon packing books to be moved to her new home. For two years she had avoided sorting through her library, unable to throw out Jasper’s old books. Now it was easy. She was preparing for a new life, and that meant shedding the old. Most of the coming changes were going to be daunting, but discarding Jasper’s books wasn’t.
In September her new life would begin. She would leave this house to pursue a doctorate in botany, something she had always longed for but lacked the courage to do because it meant leaving Blackstone College. She hadn’t been ready before.
Now she was. Someday she would like to return to Blackstone College and become a full-fledged botany professor, but first she had to earn that privilege by proving herself at New York University. It meant moving to downtown Manhattan and starting a completely new life, but she could never get where she truly wanted to be without embarking on the challenge.
Time got away from her as she worked, and she was running late for the grand party to celebrate the creation of U.S. Steel that Liam was hosting aboard the Black Rose. Aunt Martha had telephoned earlier in the day to ask for a ride because Milton had taken their carriage to go fishing.
Gwen was happy to oblige. Martha’s son, Bertie, was always fun, and he kept them entertained during the twenty-minute ride to the marina.
“Who could have imagined that Liam would nab the Black Rose away from Oscar, eh?” Bertie asked as the carriage set off. “You know anything about that, Gwen?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t seen much of Liam in the past few weeks.” She’d spoken with him by telephone almost every day but only learned he’d acquired the yacht when the announcement of tonight’s party arrived.
It was going to be the first time she would see Patrick since that humiliating morning three weeks earlier when she begged him to stay with her. She would be calm and dignified. She didn’t need Patrick, even though she ached from the loss of his companionship and teasing humor.
“Let’s just hope Liam can throw a party as fine as Oscar always did,” Bertie said.
“I heard Liam is keeping the same crew,” Aunt Martha said. “I’m sure they have a well-oiled routine for entertaining. He’ll probably even have the same string quartet Oscar always used for his yacht parties.”
The carriage finally arrived at the designated yacht slip. The rigging of the Black Rose had been strung with celebratory lights, and most of the family was already on deck, laughing and mingling. And the music! This was no string quartet. It sounded like a ragtime band, with banjos, clarinets, and a piano.