Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“Victor is a recent divorcee,” she said. “A headstrong man who just wanted to come home and have something to do while he was here figuring himself out. Buying the grocery store was just the first thing that came along. It was kind of a whim.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “He seemed awfully insistent on it when I talked to him.”
“Well, we will see, won’t we?” Carmela said. “We will get him here, get him some good food, talk a bit, and see if we can push him toward the most reasonable solution. If he says no, he says no, but from a lawyer’s perspective, I can see where he would rather do this than deal with an extended situation where he might have to go to court and learn an entirely new business and deal with the other owner being hostile.”
When she put it like that, it sounded reasonable. I nodded and motioned toward the vegetables lying on the counter by the cutting board.
“Need some help chopping?” I asked.
“If you don’t mind,” she replied.
I picked up the knife and went to work, calling on every skill my mother had taught me about prepping meals before she passed. The onions were threatening to make me tear up and ruin my makeup, and I was about to drop the knife and go dab them, when the doorbell rang. I froze and turned to Carmela. She smiled and wiped off her hands on a kitchen towel.
“Here we go,” she said.
She crossed to the door, touching her baby’s cheek as she passed, and opened it up. I had followed behind and was standing in the living room over her shoulder as he looked up, saw her, then saw me. His face dropped and his eyes darted back to Carmela.
“Is this a set-up?” he asked suspiciously. “Do I need my lawyer?”
“No,” Carmela laughed. “Come on in. I thought we could all have dinner together.”
“Wait, you two know each other?” he asked, coming inside but still eyeing both of us suspiciously.
“Yup,” she said. “Known each other a long time.”
“Ahh,” he said. “It is a set-up.”
“Not quite,” Mark chimed in, coming out of a room behind the kitchen that I assumed was an office. He held out a hand, and Victor shook it before glancing back over at me.
I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was, again. This time though, he was wearing jeans and a tight, white T-shirt, showing off his incredible physique. He was muscular and cut, and it was clear through his clothes that he took very good care of himself. I had a hard time not staring at the way the muscles moved in his forearms. They just looked so… delicious.
“Besides, Carmela is a lawyer, remember?” Mark said. “You don’t think I would let her railroad you, do you?”
“Depends on how mad you are about the fantasy football results last year,” Victor said with a grin.
Something about that grin made my stomach feel fluttery.
“Come on,” Mark said. “I’m past that. Besides I’ll just kick your ass this year.”
“All right, boys, enough of that,” Carmela said. “Will you come on in? We can have drinks while dinner finishes up.”
“Fine,” Victor said, still looking a bit unsure.
“Come on,” Mark said. “I’ll get you a beer.”
Mark left for the kitchen, coming back with three beers, one for Mark, one for Victor, and a third for me. He popped the tops and handed them off as we stood in the dining room. Mark held his bottle out, and we all clinked them together.
“To friendship,” Mark said.
Victor made a noncommittal sound, and I simply nodded, taking a sip of the surprisingly good beer and then sitting down.
“All right,” Victor said. “What do you want to know?”
Mark looked at me, raising his eyebrows and sitting back in his chair.
“Well, the biggest issue here is that the company you bought shouldn’t have been for sale in the first place,” I said.
“As I have been informed,” he replied.
“The board had no right to do what they did, a belief that I feel like would be seconded by a judge if I were to bring this to court. So, with that in mind, the question becomes how willing are you to go to court to fight for something that you will likely lose, but will also cause untold damage to the investment you have made and to other people’s lives in the meantime?
“I was set to inherit this company. I have spent years and years sacrificing what kind of life I could have had to learn every aspect of it. I didn’t do that so I could be someone else’s employee and make an allowance. I want the ownership powers and duties that I have been preparing myself for since my parents passed away.”
“I have heard all of this already,” he said.