Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 105825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Lorna stepped forward and we all formed a protective wall around her. Paige’s purse hit a side table, nearly knocking over a crystal decanter, and she had to grab it before it fell. “Careful,” said Van Der Meer mildly. “That cognac costs more than you make in a month.” Paige glared at him.
It was meant to be Lorna who did the talking, but I couldn’t help it. “We know it was you who killed Russ,” I snapped. “And the shooter at the speech, the attack in Poland, ramming our car into the water—”
Van der Meer chuckled and held up his hands. “I had nothing to do with any of that.”
“Bullshit!” I spat, stepping forward.
Lorna put a hand on my chest. “But you did buy a stake in the bank so you could cut off our credit,” she said.
Van der Meer smirked. “That…I did do. And you must know that appealing to my better nature isn’t going to work. Therefore I take it you’ve come here with an offer?”
I turned to Lorna, frowning. An offer?
She nodded stiffly.
Van der Meer turned to the side table, shooing Paige out of the way. “I bought this especially for the occasion. I knew you’d come crawling to me sooner or later.” He poured two glasses of cognac and offered Lorna one. She grudgingly accepted the glass and sat down across from him. Van der Meer raised his glass in a toast. “To the root of all evil!”
God, I hated this guy.
Lorna waited until he drank, then did the same. She stared wretchedly at her glass, taking little sips to try to delay the inevitable. Van der Meer grinned, enjoying her misery. At last, her glass was empty and she couldn’t delay any longer.
She put her glass down and took a deep breath. “I’ll sell you the company,” she told him, her voice ragged.
The whole team stared at her. That was giving him exactly what he wanted. It went completely against her dad’s wishes. “But he’ll break it up and sell off the pieces!” I told her.
She turned to me. “I know. But this way, we can at least negotiate a grace period. We can give the workers settlement packages. People will have some warning and they won’t all be laid off at once so they’ll have more chance of finding a job.”
My heart was breaking for her. The company was doomed no matter what: most CEOs would have let it die rather than sign it over to their rival, just as a matter of pride. But Lorna was putting her ego aside to look after her workers. I couldn’t stop myself: I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. I needed her to know she wasn’t alone in all this.
We all looked at Van der Meer. He made us wait until he’d finished his cognac. Then he smiled, savoring his victory, and…
“...no,” he said.
“What?” croaked Lorna. “But it’s what you’ve always wanted!”
Van der Meer leaned forward. “It’s simple math, darling. Yes, I could buy your company now. But in…what, a week, you’ll declare bankruptcy. I can sweep in and buy your assets for a pittance. No need to pay for any settlement packages. I’ll make two, three times as much.”
Lorna jumped up from her seat. “Jesus, don’t you have any—” She broke off and tottered a little.
“Lorna?” I asked, worried.
She shook her head. “I’m fine, I just stood up too fast.” But she was turning pale. Then one leg crumpled under her and she fell sideways into me. I caught her and lowered her gently down so she was sitting on the deck. “Lorna?!”
Sweat broke out across her forehead and her breathing turned raspy. I passed her to Danny and jumped up, cold terror crushing my chest. “What did you give her?” I yelled at Van der Meer.
“You think I poisoned her? On my own yacht, in front of witnesses? I drank it too!”
Gabriel stepped forward, furious. “The glass,” he said. “He must have put something in her glass, so that only she got it.”
Lorna was panting frantically, now, as if she couldn’t get enough air. Oh God. I grabbed Van der Meer by the collar and drew my gun. Van der Meer’s bodyguards drew theirs but they were loose, sloppy. By the time they had their weapons out of their holsters, my team were already pointing guns at their heads. Van der Meer turned pale.
I rammed him up against the wall and pressed the muzzle of my gun to his temple. I could hear Lorna straining to breathe behind me and the sound stripped away what little self-control I had left. “If she dies,” I said, “I swear to God, I’ll put a bullet through your head. So you better tell me what you gave her…”
I trailed off. Something was wrong. Van der Meer was clutching at his shirt collar, fighting for air. I let him go and he slumped forward onto the deck, his breathing as frantic as Lorna’s.