“Edward, this is a pretty appealing scenario.”
I had to make a choice—show my true feelings about this bloody plan and risk losing the opportunity of the alliance altogether or play nice.
Being a smart man, I made the smart decision. “It is,” I said. “One I’m happy to support if you’re on board.”
Warren grinned and turned his attention to the other proposed entity in our alliance. “Hudson, I’ve got to say, Pierce Industries as media players—quite a bold move. I like it.”
“We try to be innovative whenever we can,” Hudson said.
Right. Innovative. More like safe. His motivation had been protecting his personal best interests. Real innovation was about taking risks.
Fortunately for Hudson, Warren was easily impressed. “I’d like to study these numbers more closely, boys,” he said, standing. “But if everything checks out, I think we have ourselves a solid strategy.”
It was too much business for him for one day. He was obviously itching to get out of the building, probably headed for the golf course in the afternoon. Warren hadn’t officially retired yet, but he’d been acting like he’d checked out for the last few years.
Sure enough, it was less than three minutes later when he’d gathered his team and was walking out the door.
“I’ll walk you to the lift,” I said, heading out with him.
“That went well,” he said when we were in the hall and the conference room door had shut behind us. “Not at all what I was expecting. Love the idea of putting down our own digital cable. That will be very valuable to us. Nathan Murphy—have any qualms about him?”
I reminded myself I was playing nice before answering. “I hear good things about him. It’s an interesting direction.”
“It’s not what we discussed, I know. You’re still my first choice, but if Hudson’s picked his horse to back, then we have a problem. Because of the risks involved with Glamplay, we really need to have more support across the stockholders.”
I closed my fist and dug my fingernails into my palm. I’d been the one who had presented him with the risks of Glamplay, and now the man was acting as though he’d thought of it himself. It reminded me of another reason I wanted to be at the helm of Werner—because Warren was a douche and deserved to see his age-old rival sitting in his place.
“Now, here’s an idea—you could go after Glamplay, buy up those stocks, and then we’d definitely have the strength we need to push a merger.”
It was hard not to laugh. Yes. Great idea. Too bad Hudson had already had it six years earlier.
“They’ve refused to sell,” I said, implying I’d already approached them. It wasn’t exactly a lie. Hudson had made it clear he wasn’t going to hand those stocks over anytime soon.
“Really?” Warren considered. “If they’re not open to selling, then they’d have to vote however I do. Maybe we would have a shot at a merger after all.”
If only it were that easy.
“I think your first notion was right. It’s better to have Pierce on our side. We should stay the course.” God, it hurt saying it.
“Then this alliance is a good idea. Show Hudson what you're made of, build his trust. Later on down the line, when this fuss with Ron has quieted down and Werner doesn’t have so much media attention, we come back to the idea of a merger then.”
I hated to admit it, but he had a point. This alliance was an opportunity to win Hudson’s trust. Show him Celia was no longer a threat. In the future, maybe a merger. Or, perhaps, he would be amenable to selling his shares.
Werner could still be mine.
One way or another, it would be mine.
Bolstered by the knowledge that this quest wasn’t over, I gave him the reassurance I knew he was seeking. “Good points, Warren. Good plan.”
He nodded, as though my approval didn’t matter as much as I knew it did. “Celia will like this too. Always a good idea to keep the wife happy.”
I frowned. “Celia? Has she said something?”
The lift dinged then and the doors opened. “Nothing we haven’t already discussed,” he said, following his assistants into the lift. “Pointed out the risks. Said the timing was bad. Hey, we’ll talk more. Come over for dinner, and we’ll celebrate.”
The doors shut, and I was left to wonder exactly what the conversation had been between my wife and her father.
I couldn’t stand there for long, though. I had my own daughter to talk to.
Back in the room, I approached her while she was busy unhooking her laptop from the projector. “Genevieve. You had a hand in this proposal?”
Her face fell, guilt written across her expression. Stepping away from her task, she gave me her full attention. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sure this feels like a betrayal. I know you wanted to run Werner Media yourself.”
Playing nice worked with the men. With my daughter, I’d have to take it to a whole other level. There was no way I could live with myself if she had to carry this as a weight. I’d kept her away from my vengeful dealings so she wouldn’t be poisoned by my rage. All the pushing away would have been in vain if I let her be poisoned by my feelings now.
Swallowing any traces of lingering emotion, I gave her the most laid-back, most unaffected version of her father I could muster.
In other words, I lied.
“I did want to run Werner Media. Until this morning when Celia broke into tears and told me she really wishes we could stay in London. I wasn’t looking forward to telling her father that I wasn’t going to take his position. This solves that dilemma.” I smiled, hoping it was sincere enough to pull off the sham.
Her eyes shone bright with hope, and any doubts I had about deceiving her vanished. “Then you’re not mad?”
“I’m not mad.” Not at her, anyway. At myself, yes. And who else, I wasn’t sure.
But there were other things I genuinely felt about her. “I’m surprised,” I admitted. “I’m also quite impressed. A lot of work went into this. Lots of those ideas I recognize as yours. It’s first-rate.”
“You think so, even though you don’t want me working in the business?” There was a catch in her voice, and for the first time I realized all the real damage I’d done in keeping her at a distance.
I moved closer, as if that one step could bridge all the steps away I’d taken over decades. “The only reason I haven’t wanted you working in this business was because I truly thought you’d be happier elsewhere. You’ve had ambitious goals for Accelecom, and I feared you’d never be able to achieve what you wanted if you stayed with us, but it seems you’ve found a way to make them possible. I’m proud of you, princess.”
Her eyes glistened, and I wasn’t sure if it was me or her who reached first, but the next thing I knew, I was holding her. Clinging onto her in a way I hadn’t since she was little. Something tightened in my chest and stretched up to the back of my throat, making it hard to swallow, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure that I could stand anymore if she weren’t in my arms, holding me up.
We held each other like that for long seconds. When she pulled away, she swiped a tear from her cheek before she spoke, her eyes cast down at my shoes. “I know you’re bluffing, Dad. You’re disappointed. I know you don’t like me to see your feelings because...well, I don’t really know why you hide so much from me. Because you think I won’t see you as strong maybe. Or because you don’t think a man should show his emotions.”