He let out a nervous chuckle. “What are you talking about?”
I held the piece of paper in the air. “It seems as if a certain douchebag partner in our firm bought some shares in Mathors. Now, who could that be?” I scratched the side of my face, pretending to think about it.
Mason froze and turned white, at a loss for words.
“What do you think will happen when the Securities and Exchange Commission finds out about this very clear case of insider trading? Sounds like someone I know had better turn in their resignation, unless they want the SEC to find out. I mean, you must know you could go to jail for this, right?”
“You bitch!” Mason jumped to his feet, his chair slamming into the wall with a loud bang, and then falling over in the process.
Gary rushed into the office. “What’s going on here? Everyone in the office can hear you.”
Mason pointed at me. “Ruth is . . .” He poked the inside of his cheek a couple of times with his tongue.
I slid off the desk and glared at him, daring him to say something.
I really didn’t care either way at this point.
“Ruth is . . .”
Gary held his palms up. “Ruth is what?”
Mason’s gaze bounced back and forth between Gary and me. “Ruth is blackmailing me!”
And there it was.
Mason was officially going down.
Gary walked over to the door and closed it, before turning back around. “What are you talking about?”
“Wait!” Mason paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. “You know what? Forget about it.”
I shook my head. “Too late.” I turned to Gary. “Mason purchased ten thousand shares of Mathors Aerospace before you signed the contract to acquire them.”
Gary whipped his head in Mason’s direction. “You did what? That’s insider trading, you jackass.”
“It was . . . just a coincidence—really. I’ll cancel the sale. I’m pretty sure I can do that.”
I waved my finger at him. “Tsk, tsk. You can’t undo the purchase of the shares. And there’s a record of it.” I turned to Gary. “This type of behavior from a partner is unacceptable not to mention, against the law. I doubt you would condone such a thing.”
Gary crossed his arms. “Of course not. Mason, you are such a fool. Go home. We’ll talk about this later.”
He didn’t budge. “Gary, I—”
Gary pointed to the door. “I said go home.” He walked toward the door. “Ruth—in my office. Now.”
I followed him to his office and closed the door behind me.
Gary walked toward his desk and flipped around. “I can’t believe this crap. I should’ve known that something would eventually happen between you and Mason, the way you two are always at each other’s throats. But I never expected this.” He went around to the other side of his desk and sat down, thinking. “I’m going to recommend to the disciplinary committee for his immediate removal. Let’s hope there are no other repercussions from the SEC. I need to talk to our legal team, just in case.”
“I assume that with this new revelation, you’ll be pulling the plug on the deal.”
“Not at all,” Gary said. “Nothing there has changed.”
I wasn’t expecting that. “Why not?”
“I told you before. The company needs the money. There’s no way we’re going to throw away millions of dollars. I’ll take care of Mason, but Mathors Aerospace is a done deal. Let it go, Ruth.”
I blew out a deep breath. “Sorry, Gary. I just can’t do that.”
“I’m not asking you.”
I took a few steps toward his desk and crossed my arms. “I. Can’t. You always tell me this is business, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This is one hundred percent personal. These are people’s lives you’re messing with. And that’s why I’m going to personally make sure this deal doesn’t happen.”
Gary stood and came back around to the front of his desk. “I don’t understand where this is coming from. This is just like any other deal you’ve been associated with in the past. Nothing has changed.”
“I’ve changed. I can’t do this anymore.”
“Ruth, you know the consequences if you mess with this deal. You’ll lose everything. Your job. Managing partner. Your future. Everything.”
I wasn’t listening. “This is the right thing to do.”
I felt at peace with my decision.
Stansfeld had sucked the life out of me.
No more.
I grabbed a yellow sticky note and pen from Gary’s desk.
Leaning over, I wrote two words on it.
I QUIT!
I handed the note to Gary.
He read it and shook his head. “Please. Don’t do this. Think about what you’re throwing away.”
“That’s just it, Gary. I have thought about it. And I’m not throwing away anything that’s worth keeping.” I walked toward the door.
“Ruth . . .”
I stopped at the door and swung around.
Gary blew out a breath. “It looks like you’ve made up your mind.”
I nodded. “I have.”
He took a step toward me. “You’re the best damn partner this firm has ever had—I want you to know that. You’ll be an asset to any company who’s lucky enough to have you, but keep in mind that the door is always open if you change your mind.”
I nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Gary. I appreciate that very much.”
I turned and walked out the door, knowing I would never return.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Three Days Later . . .
RUTH
I smiled at Judy as we finished our fish sandwiches on a bench in the middle of the Oceanside Fishing Pier, marveling at how she was a completely different woman. I had told her in the airport that we both needed to get a life, and she hadn’t wasted any time.
At least one of us succeeded.
Honestly, I was happy for her, but I couldn’t help being jealous at the same time. Judy’s social calendar was completely full. The woman had new boundless energy and spunk for an eighty-year-old. We talked about getting together again next week, but there was one big problem. She couldn’t seem to fit me into her busy schedule.
On the other hand, my schedule was wide open after quitting my job.
I had no regrets for making things right with Mathors Aerospace. They walked away from the deal with Stansfeld and jumped at the chance to work with me after I had offered my consulting services at no charge to help turn around their company. The plan was to apply the exact strategy that was shot down by Mason and rejected by Gary during the board meeting.
I had no doubts that it would work, and they even offered me 50,000 shares if my ideas came to fruition, which I had no doubt they would.
But it wasn’t about what I was getting out of the deal. It was a matter of principle and doing the right thing for Jay and Mathors Aerospace. I’d essentially tossed ten years of hard work in the trash dumpster, but the truth was, I knew I could easily find another job.
What I couldn’t find was another Nick.