Chapter 17
COLIN
Afew days after Deja had left, I was at the conference table in my office, directing some key members of our upper management team on the next steps for the GlobalStar deal.
When it came to fitting their operations into one of the dozens of manufacturing facilities we owned, there was a lot of financial information we would have to hand over, but it needed to be fleshed out first.
“Facility seventeen has the strongest existing infrastructure,” I said, motioning to a slide projected on the screen.
“Its environmental approvals are current. The utilities are there and the space lends itself to retrofitting. Obviously, we’d still need a full feasibility study, but from a cost standpoint, it makes the most sense. ”
Several people nodded and few others scribbled notes. One guy from accounting looked like he wished I would stop talking so he could go eat his lunch. I sympathized, but we were almost done.
“Put together detailed financial models for the top three locations,” I said. “I want transportation costs, labor projections, utility expenses, regulatory hurdles, and timeline estimates. When GlobalStar comes calling, I want answers ready before they even ask the questions.”
There was more nodding and I smiled. Nothing made me happier than proactive preparation. Well, these days, it’s more like almost nothing.
“Anything else?” I asked. When nobody spoke, I nodded. “Alright. Get to work. Be thorough, people. Basel Saad won’t accept anything less than complete and total clarity, and neither will I. I don’t want to see any guesstimates or the phrase that depends on. Got it?”
After another round of nods, the group dispersed, the dude from accounting taking off like a bat out of hell. A man after my own heart, if his sandwich means that much to him.
I chuckled as I strode back to my desk and settled into my chair, tapping a pen against a legal pad as I lifted my gaze to stare out at the view instead of getting right back to work. The merger discussions were moving faster than I’d expected.
To everyone else, that was encouraging. It meant GlobalStar was taking this as seriously as we were and, frankly, that we weren’t some consolation prize of a partner—and we weren’t.
Despite the turmoil we’d experienced, Thayer was still a major player, and with Jane cleaning up our reputation with every move she made, we were fast becoming a real contender again for every contract and client out there.
And yet, I have to get married, but only if I earn her.
A knock sounded at my door, breaking me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t even responded yet when Isaac opened it and walked in.
He shut the door firmly behind him, then turned to give me the look. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine.” I sighed. By now, news of my supposed engagement had spread and everyone kept congratulating me, but it was all very premature. “I’m not actually engaged yet, remember? There’s no reason to get worked up about something that might not even happen.”
“Oh, it’ll happen.” Isaac dropped into the chair across from my desk and grinned. “I’ve never seen you give up before. You’ll get through this. No matter what old Basel throws your way.”
“I might’ve agreed, except that the first task he’s given me is to familiarize myself with all the things that go along with an Egyptian engagement. It’s a pretty lengthy list. There are so many events and things that the preparation for getting married over there could qualify as a part-time job.”
“So you’ll have to get through some ceremonies and meetings.” He shrugged. “It’s not so bad. People do it every single day.”
“People who’ve grown up knowing about these customs,” I said.
“It all seems really freaking daunting to me. I’ve spent the last week researching it, and last night, I even fell down an internet rabbit hole.
I ended up reading about engagement jewelry customs from the nineteenth century for two hours.
Did you know there are engagement parties before engagement parties? ”
He flashed me a wide grin. “Many parties. I like that. Those are my kind of people.”
I groaned. “The point is that I don’t think getting through whatever he’s going to throw my way is going to be as easy as we might think. If this is just the first and probably simplest task, I have a feeling he’s really going to test me.”
“Well, have you talked to Deja since she left?” he asked. “Maybe she can help you navigate it all.”
“I’m sure she would be able to, but no. We haven’t talked.” I leaned back in my chair and looked out the window, not telling him that I was already checking my mailbox every day.
Logically, I knew it was going to take time for a letter to arrive, but I still found myself looking for one every afternoon when I got home. Just in case.
“Okay, so maybe you should just call her,” he suggested. “Or shoot her a text, begging for her help with understanding how stuff works over there.”
“Yeah, I could do that.”
“You’re not going to, are you?” He shook his head at me. “Yeah. No. That makes perfect sense. Just keep staring out the window. The view will give you all the answers.”
I ignored him, staring for another few seconds instead before I finally turned back to him. “I told her to take the month to decide.”
“What?” He frowned. “I thought you’d already agreed to the marriage when you talked to Basel.”
“Yeah, I agreed, but she deserves time to think. I made sure she knew that I didn’t expect her to say yes just because this is what her father wants.”
“Let me get this straight,” he slowly. “You gave a beautiful woman an entire month to potentially come to her senses?”
“Wow, thank you for your support. It means the world to me.”
He laughed. “Yeah, anytime, man. Look, all I’m saying is that Alex probably won’t be happy about it that you’ve given her an out.”
“Alex isn’t a Thayer,” I said. “It’s none of his business whether or not I want a beautiful woman to feel trapped into a marriage with me.”
“I hear you, but technically, it’s very much his busi?—”
The office door suddenly opened again, without any warning this time, and Jane walked in, her jaw tight and her cheeks pale. “We’ve got a problem. Come with me.”
She didn’t say another word, simply turning and walking toward the conference room. Isaac and I shared a glance, but both of us rose without another word and followed her. When we walked in, the head of our legal team was already on the screen.
Like Jane, Richard Howell looked like he hadn’t slept properly since the previous presidential administration, but to be fair, he’d been handling our family’s legal disasters for years. I suspected we were responsible for any stress-related health issues he might wind up suffering from.
“Richard,” Jane said, taking a seat. “Tell them.”
“Boys, I have some big news,” he said without hesitating. “It’s just not necessarily good.”
Isaac dropped into the chair next to Jane, but I remained standing, my arms folded and my entire being bracing for whatever the hell had gone wrong this time. Richard leaned forward, closer to his laptop, his elbows flat against his desk.
“As you know, the Feds have spent the last few years investigating where all the money went your father was accused of funneling away,” he said. “They’ve finally found something. An offshore account they believe contains a substantial amount of Thayer funds.”
I stiffened. “How substantial?”
“Potentially hundreds of millions,” Jane answered on Richard’s behalf. “We don’t know yet, but if it’s all there, it’s a lot.”
Isaac swore under his breath while I just stared at the screen. What they were talking about was the possibility that finally, after all these years, they’d found it. All of it. Hundreds of millions that’d vanished years ago.
The investigation Richard was referring to was the reason why none of our family’s assets—our trust funds included—had ever been released. If this account they’d found contained all that money, then that meant that this was it. This could finally be the end.
Except…
“Whose name is on the account?” I asked.
Richard grimaced. “That’s the problem. It’s not a name any of us recognize.”
Jane frowned. “So it’s a shell identity?”
He shrugged. “Possibly.”
She was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking it over before I saw realization cross her features. “Mallory. It’s got to be her. Is there any way to tie her to it?”
“We don’t know,” he replied. “At this point, the investigation is entirely in federal hands and Mallory Foundry is still missing.”
My lips tightened into a hard line. That fucking woman.
They’d had her. She’d been here. They’d arrested her. Her trial was coming up.
That had been the first time I’d thought it was really, finally almost over, but then a judge had decided that there hadn’t been enough evidence to hold her.
All along, I’d thought it was bullshit, but even our own lawyers had agreed that we needed more evidence. We’d found some, but nothing like this.
Nothing like an offshore account that could contain every remaining penny she’d taken. I just didn’t get how we could still be playing international hide-and-seek with my father’s former mistress.
“Her last known location places her somewhere in the Mediterranean in the company of a shipping magnate’s son.”
Isaac snorted. “That sounds like her.”
“When he was interviewed, he claimed he had no idea who Mallory is,” Richard said dryly. “We still don’t know what happened to the man she claimed to Alex was her husband. We just don’t know much of anything about what she’s been up to.”
Jane sighed. “What about the kid, Court Junior?”
“I still think it’s ridiculous that he’s named that when DNA tests have proven Dad isn’t the kid’s father,” I muttered. “God, this woman is messy.”
My sister nodded but waved me off. “Could we somehow use him to track her down?”
“They’ve been trying, but she’s flying well under the radar.” Richard sat up a little straighter. “I know it’s frustrating, but at least the investigation has finally turned up something else. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“Okay, so what happens if they can pin the fraud on her?” Jane asked. “They will find a connection between her and this offshore account. I’m sure of it, so what does that mean for us?”
“It keeps almost a billion dollars in trust assets out of the repayment calculations associated with your father’s liabilities.”
A billion dollars of trusts intended for all of us. That would give Isaac, Ryan, Holden, and Wyatt back the futures they should’ve had. They could clear their student loans. They could make decisions for themselves rather than based on what they could afford.
So could I, for that matter, but I wasn’t worried about myself.
“So the case continues,” Jane said. “That’s what you’re saying?”
“Yes.” Richard grew serious again. “Also, not for nothing, but regardless of whether Mallory ever surfaces, her upcoming local court case could still help you. If the judge finds her guilty of white-collar crimes, it strengthens the argument that she was a principal actor rather than merely an accomplice.”
Jane nodded slowly, but my eyes slid shut. I didn’t need this. Not now.
Richard gave us an outline of the timelines involved, the hearings, and the procedural steps, but when the call finally ended and Isaac left, I knew my sister and I weren’t done here yet. I caught her eye while she was packing up her notes.
“Can we talk privately for a minute?”
“Sure,” she said, rising to shut the door Isaac had left open. “What’s up?”
“Is it even wise for me to go to Egypt right now?” I asked, coming straight out with it. “From the sounds of it, I could be there for going on a year. The engagement process alone could take months.”
Jane went back to where she’d been sitting, folding her arms on the table as she looked up at me. “This deal with GlobalStar has to go through, Colin.”
I ran a hand through my hair, knowing that from a business perspective, she was right. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. It would secure Thayer’s international future and open up access to markets we couldn’t even dream of right now, but I wasn’t only concerned about the company anymore.
Mostly, I was thinking about Deja and wondering how she felt about marrying into a family still drowning in court cases, missing money, federal investigations, and a scandal that refused to die. Surely, she couldn’t want that.
No matter how much both our companies—and CEOs—were burning to make this deal come true.