Chapter 11
Vee
There were reporters outside the football center’s front gate as I passed. Once again, a county sheriff’s car was present, directing traffic and allowing employees of the Coopers to enter.
“Vee,” Jen, my assistant, said as she saw me enter my front office, “you shouldn’t be here today.”
I feigned a smile. “I should. It’s where Dad would want me. I called an executive meeting for ten o’clock. Please be sure the Carroll Boardroom is available. And later, I’d like to meet with the coaches.”
“No one would think less of you—”
“Please stop.” I took a deep breath. “We have a game on Sunday. I have a lot to learn, and staying home won’t accomplish that.”
We both turned to the sound of a knock.
It was Grant knocking on the outer office doorframe. “Vee, I’m here to continue our conversation.”
I crossed my arms over my breasts. “Our conversation is completed.”
He walked past me to my open office door. “I’ll be in here.”
Clenching my teeth, I turned to Jen. “Five minutes. If we’re not done, come in.” I nodded toward her watch. “Five minutes. Not a second longer.”
She nodded and reaching for my arm, she lowered the volume of her voice. “Are the rumors true?”
My neck stiffened. “Rumors?”
“You’re the new owner and CEO?”
That wasn’t the rumor I expected, but honestly, I was better prepared to answer that than a question about Fin and me. “I don’t know what’s official. I’m meeting later today with Dad’s attorney and Cammy Wilcox from Coopers’ legal.”
Jen squeezed my arm. “We all have faith in you, Vee.”
Exhaling, I tried to smile. “I appreciate that.” I looked at her watch and back to her eyes. “Five minutes.”
Jen nodded.
Once inside my office, I closed the door and placed my leather satchel on the floor near my desk. Instead of joining Grant at my small conference table, I took the leather chair behind my desk. “If you want to talk, you’ll need to come over here.”
Exhaling, Grant stood. The muscles of his cheeks were pulled taut as were the tendons in his neck. Sitting in one of the chairs opposite my desk, he adjusted his suit coat and leaned back. “You and Fin…?” The indication of a question was in his tone.
“Fin and I have a history. You asked about it during the first preseason home game.”
“History. Not present or future?”
I laid my arms on the top of my desk and sighed. “What the fuck difference does this make?”
My cousin’s eyes closed momentarily as his nostrils flared. “Uncle Reid didn’t sign the new will. You know that, right?”
“I was informed.”
“How the fuck is the organization supposed to spin the fact that the new owner is fucking our quarterback?”
“As I told you earlier, don’t. Don’t spin it.” I pushed my chair back and stood, my palms slapping my skirt-covered thighs. “Don’t address the rumors. If we don’t give this story oxygen, it’ll die.”
Grant narrowed his eyes. “Did Uncle Reid know?”
Tilting my head, I pressed my lips together. “What Dad and I talked about is really none of your damn business. Be at the executive meeting at ten o’clock.”
He stood and leaned toward me. “You’re not ready to take over as CEO. The will gives you ownership. Family can fight that. Dad has a copy of the drafted will.”
His words cut in a way I wasn’t prepared to evaluate.
“However,” Grant went on, “it’s the Coopers board of directors who are responsible for appointing the CEO.”
Clenching my teeth, I met his stare. “Our board of directors will be everyone in the room during the meeting. As owner, I’ll lead the board. We can discuss the particulars after I have my say.”
“Uncle Reid had that will drawn up when you were eleven years old. Eleven,” Grant repeated the number louder. “Do you think that Uncle Reid intended for you to be owner and CEO at eleven?”
“What I know is that it appears Dad had more faith in his eleven-year-old daughter than in anyone else in this organization. News flash. I’m no longer eleven years old.”
A knock came to the door, and it opened. Jen stepped inside. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Vee, but Cammy Wilcox is on line one.”
“Thank you, Jen.” I turned to Grant. “I’ll see you soon.”
Exhaling, he turned and walked past Jen.
“Is Cammy really on line one?”
“She is,” Jen said.
“Thank you.”
“Can I get you some coffee?”
I sighed. “Yes. That would be great.”
Exhaling, I scooped my skirt beneath my legs and sat back on my chair. After another cleansing breath, I picked up the receiver of the telephone on my desk. “Cammy, hi. Vee here.”
“Thank you for taking my call.”
“We’re still meeting this afternoon, aren’t we?”
“We are. I debated about talking to you before then.” She sighed. “I decided that my job is as legal counsel for the Coopers, not individuals.”
She had my attention. “Is there something I need to know about the Coopers?”
“During the night, I justified that by calling as someone concerned about the future of the Coopers, ergo, I had the right to make this call.”
Nibbling on my lower lip, I replied, “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
“Vee, I recommend you seek your own legal counsel.”
The feeling of dread returned to the pit of my stomach. “Joseph Eads?”
“This is off the record.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“After you left Mrs. Hubbard’s home last evening, there was a discussion. It seems that there are various opinions on your ability to take over as CEO.”
“I just had a visit from Grant.”
Cammy exhaled. “So you know that they want to stop you from being CEO?”
“I do now. Can they?”
“The long and short of it is they can try.”
Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back.
Cammy went on, “I don’t think they will succeed.”
My mind swam with the meaning behind Cammy’s information. My own family was plotting against me. I’d told Dad I wouldn’t cut out family. It seemed they wanted to cut me out.
“How can I stop them?”
“This isn’t about you stopping them. It’s about them trying to stop you.
I read case law and have concluded that the Coopers have one owner.
That owner is now you. If the drafted will had gone into effect, the structure would be different.
It didn’t. A drafted unsigned will is about as binding as an agreement written on a cocktail napkin.
“As sole owner, you have the ultimate authority. You could name yourself as CEO or you could hire a qualified individual. The decision is solely yours.”
“It’s not up to the executive board?”
“Vee, you are sole owner. You could dismiss the entire board and bring in new people. You have full authority. I’m concerned,” she went on, “that you are about to be ambushed. Without proper legal counsel, let’s just say…
I’m worried. Vee, Reid had faith in you.
His reasons to change his will were more about the guilt that he carried. ”
“Guilt?”
“He felt Rachel was unfairly left out of the Coopers’ franchise. That carries on to her children.”
“You’re saying that Dad wanted to right a wrong he felt that my grandfather made?”
“Yes,” Cammy replied. “Do you have someone in mind to represent you?”
“I don’t.” I thought about it. “Leigh is a public defender and an interested party—she can’t defend me. I’ve always had faith in Dad’s choices.”
“I specialize in corporate law. I have the name of a personal-estate attorney. She’s good and deals with clients with substantial wealth. If you decide to call her, you can tell her that I recommended her.”
My mind was swirling. “The personal attorney will be able to help me with Dad’s will, but what about the meeting today? If my own family ambushes me?”
Cammy was silent for a moment. “I can join you for the executive meeting. I’m not there to represent you, but for the Coopers.”
“Thanks, Cammy,” I said, “that would make me feel better. Also, please give me the estate lawyer’s information.”
I wrote down the name, Tricia Loften, and the name and phone number of her law firm. As I hung up, Jen returned with my coffee. “Here you go.”
“Thank you. I have some calls to make. Please don’t let anyone interrupt me.”
Jen stiffened her neck. “Coach Tilson is outside. I told him you were on a call.”
“Tell him I’ll meet with him later in the day.”
“He said it won’t take long.”
“All right, send him in.”