17. Emma
”Not to sound like a snob, but is this really the fanciest restaurant in Silverpine?” Caroline asked, looking around dubiously at all the wood-paneled walls.
I shrugged. ”Well, yeah, outside the resort. Why? What”s wrong with it?”
”Nothing,” she said quickly, still looking around. ”I”ve just never been in a fine dining establishment that had so many… antlers.”
I rolled my eyes. ”I”m sorry if it doesn”t live up to your fancy LA standards.”
Caroline laughed. ”Please, it”s not like I”ve been able to enjoy anything LA has to offer lately. Most of my meals are enjoyed from the comfort of my office chair.”
I was grateful for the opportunity to change the subject. My mind had been consumed with how I was going to approach my father for the last few days. I hoped that by the end of dinner, I would have a concrete plan.
”I”m sorry they’ve been running you ragged, Caroline. Have you decided what you”re going to do about the job?” I asked her.
Her painted lips twisted into a smile. ”To be perfectly honest, the decision might be out of my hands. It”s very possible they”re drawing up my exit paperwork as we speak.”
I looked at her, confused. ”Why would they do that?”
She sighed, then let out a small laugh. ”The other day, after we had our powwow with Abby and you and I killed that bottle of wine, I got a text. I guess my boss didn’t notice my name was still on the text chain, so he asked if anyone had heard from me and wanted to know, and I quote, “how Caroline”s mental breakdown was progressing?” It was followed by a bunch of laughing/crying emoji.”
I gasped on my friend”s behalf. ”That”s so unprofessional.”
”Tell me about it. Normally I would”ve just taken a screenshot and sent it to HR, but I had a little too much alcohol in me, so I responded to the text… ”
”Oh, no, do I even want to know?”
She rolled her eyes. ”Probably not. If I was going to get fired, I wished it would”ve been a snappier comeback, but instead I told him my mental breakdown was progressing nicely, and I was doing better than his hairline.”
My hand flew to my mouth, covering the laugh before it escaped.
She shook her head at me, smiling wryly. ”I know. It was stupid. But part of me hopes they are working on that paperwork. Then I wouldn”t have to make this big decision.”
”You know you could start your own firm, Caroline. You”re the best financial planner I know, and I”m sure we can get you the backing. If things weren”t so weird with my father, I”d just give you a job at the resort.”
She waved a hand at me. ”Don”t worry about it right now, Emma, I”m not. Being away from LA and, more specifically, away from my desk, is reminding me I have a lot of life to live and I’ve been doing a shitty job of it lately. I’ve really enjoyed slowing down and hanging out with you. It”s making me seriously question what I”m even going back to.”
I sighed. ”I know what you mean. It”s been nice being here.”
I felt my phone buzz. ”It”s Jaime,” I told Caroline. ”He”s warning me that Dad is in The Lounge.”
Caroline shook her head. ”I wish I could say I’m surprised Daddy Moneybags showed up. But hopefully, it makes you feel less guilty about taking this meeting.”
”I don’t feel guilty… it just sucks it had to get to this point. I mean, he”s the only family I have …”
Caroline reached her hand across the table and grasped mine. ”He may be blood, but you still have a family who loves you,” she reminded me, squeezing my hand.
”Why such long faces on two beautiful ladies,” a voice said over us, and we looked up to see a smartly dressed man wearing browline glasses.
”Emma Carter, I presume?” The man said, holding out his hand. I stood, shaking his hand, feeling relief course through me.
”Yes. You must be Mr. McCoy?”
He smiled at me widely. ”At your service. And please, call me Connor. I apologize for being tardy. Traffic getting out of DIA was a bear and so was the driver, if you know what I mean. I should”ve gotten his number now that I think of it,” he said, looking thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. ”Now,” he said, taking his seat and putting his briefcase aside, ”I don”t want to waste any of your time because I charge by the hour, so let”s get down to business,” he said, folding his hands in front of him and glancing at me and Caroline intently.
I cleared my throat, looking over at Caroline, and she nodded her head, urging me to go ahead. This was the bulldog Abby sent me. She ensured me he was the best mergers and acquisitions attorney money could buy, and he was the guy we wanted in our corner. He was younger than I expected, but very attentive as I laid out the situation with my father.
When I finished, Connor didn”t say anything for a long moment, drumming his fingers on the table as he looked thoughtful before he finally spoke. ”If I understand correctly, you are a majority shareholder in the company?”
I nodded.
”Then he would definitely have a fight on his hands if you decide to go against him. If he”s smart, and I have to believe he hasn’t gotten this far in business, relying purely on his good looks, then his legal team would take a meeting with me. From there, I should be able to shake him down to get off your back. But Miss Carter, I have to warn you, I”ve been doing this a long time and people can get nasty when they”re desperate. And from what you’ve shared with me today, your father sounds pretty desperate. I want you to be prepared for the worst,” he cautioned.
”Like what?” Caroline asked, never one to stray away from the dirty details.
”That he may launch a smear campaign and you need to be prepared to do the same. I hope it doesn”t go that far, but we need to be prepared. However, if that’s how this goes, I don”t see there being any issues on your end, Miss Carter,” he said, looking at me earnestly.
”You”re a grieving daughter, trying to honor her mother”s wishes. You want to preserve the land and a town”s way of life. You”re the hero here, so in the court of public opinion, you win by landslide. These days, that”s all that matters. Public opinion can put enough pressure on your dad to make him back off. But in the meantime, I would suggest hiring security to run interference on your land, sending a clear message that trespassing of any kind will be met with consequences.”
I sucked in a breath. ”That I can do.”
”I”m sorry, but that”s it?” Caroline asked. ”There aren”t any injunctions or restraining orders we can file?”
Connor smiled at her. ”You”ve been watching Law and Order, haven”t you? At this time, no. Mr. Carter has been acting aggressively enough on his own, and it”s my job to give him enough rope to metaphorically hang himself. If we return his aggression, it could backfire on us. Having a little patience is the best play here,” he explained, and with that sentiment, I knew I liked Connor. My mother would”ve liked him too.
”My job,” Connor continued, ”is to observe and uncover their weak spots, so we can shut this down swiftly. I can assure you, I’m very good at observing details others don’t see.”
Caroline raised a curious eyebrow. ”Oh, yeah? You”ll have to forgive my cynicism, Mr. McCoy, but my friend here has been through a lot. It”s going to take more than just your word that you’re good at what you do.”
Connor eyed her carefully, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. ”Fair enough. Would it surprise you to know I noticed how you two were comforting each other when I walked in here? Or how the lumberjack at the bar has been undressing you with his eyes all night?”
Caroline”s eyes widened. ”I”m sorry, what?”
Connor kept his eyes on us and continued with an amused smile. ”Eleven o”clock, tall, dark and handsome with a beard. He’s not been able to take his eyes off of you, and from what I can see, he’s more than just undressing you with his eyes. If I had to venture a guess, he’s performing disgustingly heterosexual acts with you in his head.”
I peered over Caroline”s shoulder and breathed out, ”Whoa, Caroline, he”s right.”
Caroline froze in her seat. ”Well, now I”ve got to see him, but I can”t turn around,” she complained.
”Drop your napkin,” Connor said helpfully and Caroline followed his suggestion, bending down and glancing over her shoulder before she righted herself, looking back at us with flushed cheeks. ”You”re good,” she said to Connor.
”The power of observation, ladies. Everybody thinks they”re good at it, but they’d be wrong. I’m the best. Now I could provide you with all the details I gathered about the other guests I observed as I walked in here, but I don’t want to bore you with that. I would enjoy a drink though, and seeing that I’m an ethical attorney, I’ll officially stop the clock on our business meeting. Now, does a place with this much wood and flannel have a bottle of Chardonnay, or am I going to need to slum it?”
I looked at Caroline. Mr. McCoy definitely delivered.
I tried to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening, drinking with Caroline and my new friend and lawyer, Connor, but I was not looking forward to going back to the resort, especially knowing my father was there. But, our guest was tired, so we called it a night. Mr. McCoy would stay in a comped room at the resort, but he advised us to take separate cars. He didn”t think it was a good idea for anybody to know he was representing me just yet.
Caroline and I left the restaurant shortly after she put a crick in her neck, looking over her shoulder to check out the lumberjack who”d been eying her all night.
”I mean, he”s not really my type. But it”s nice to be looked at like that, you know what I mean?” She asked as we walked back into the resort.
This time I couldn”t help myself. My eyes went towards the bar, and I saw Jaime standing behind there, his eyes glued to me. Part of me wanted to go over there and talk to him, but I felt like I needed to get a better handle on this situation before we talked it out. I needed him to understand I could take care of things—that I didn”t want to be his damsel in distress.
I looked away when I heard my father’s familiar voice from the elevators. ”And she returns,” he said jovially enough, but I could hear the undercurrent of anger and irritation in his voice. He didn’t like it when I challenged him.
”Father,” I said, smiling tightly, ”I’m surprised to see you here.”
”Are you?” he asked as we approached, and he nodded in acknowledgement of Caroline. ”Nice to see you again, Miss Wilhelm. At the risk of sounding rude, may I have a private moment with my daughter?”
Caroline looked at me, asking with her eyes if I would be okay, and I nodded. ”I will be in the bar,” she said, backing away.
Once she was out of sight, I faced my father. ”You didn”t have to come all the way out here, Dad,” I maintained.
He sniggered. ”Please, once I got wind of your behavior, I knew I would have to make a trip here eventually and then, after our little conversation last night, I decided it couldn’t wait.”
I couldn”t hold back the laugh. ”My behavior?”
He shook his head sadly. ”I don”t know what has gotten into you, Emma. Your mother and I didn’t raise you to behave this way—carrying on when you should be working—with someone who is way below your station, no less.”
I rolled my eyes. ”Father, please, who I choose to spend my free time with has no bearing on my position in the company.”
”It sure as hell does when it’s the difference between this company flourishing or failing.”
I looked at him, confused. ”Why would it make a difference? What are you not telling me?”
”Nothing you need to know. Besides, it will be none of your concern soon enough.”
”What? Are you going to boot me out? Have you forgotten that I”m a shareholder?”
He shrugged his shoulders. ”I have a feeling once the board hears about your philandering, they”ll have no problem voting you out.”
I glared at him.
”Don”t give me that look, Emma. I have tried with you, I really have, but I”m down to my wit”s end and I will not have you tarnishing this company or your mother”s name.”
”Don’t gaslight me,” I hissed out. ”We both know expanding onto that land is not what she would”ve wanted—and I will not allow it to happen.”
”We”ll just see about that young lady. I warned you before you”re playing with the big boys now, so I hope you”re prepared for what”s ahead. I really don”t want to use these tactics against my own daughter, but I am prepared to take what”s rightfully mine.”
”Go ahead and try old man. Mom left that land to me, and I am going to protect what’s mine, including her legacy. That also includes the bartender you keep threatening. You seem to forget I”m not just Lydia Carter”s daughter—I have just enough of your nastiness running through my veins to bite back, so maybe you should worry about fighting with the big girls.”
With that, I turned on my heel and marched towards the bar. I couldn”t walk in there, not when I was this upset. I didn”t think Jaime would be so callous as to say I told you so, but I couldn”t handle the pity in his eyes either.
I kept my gaze focused on Caroline and she made a hasty exit. We rushed to the elevator and went to her room instead of mine. I rang my newly appointed lawyer and told him about the incident, and he cackled with glee. ”Oh, I”m sorry, Emma. I am not laughing at your expense. That is horrible, what God awful man. But I can tell you right now from a lawyer”s perspective, he”s going to be easy to squash and I”m going to thoroughly enjoy it.”
I wish I could say that made me feel better, but seeing the venom in my father”s eyes shook me to the core.
I wasn”t sure if I wanted to scream or cry, but we were interrupted by an incoming FaceTime call. It was Abby, wanting to know how the meeting with the lawyer went. I was thankful for the distraction and happy when we got sidetracked talking about the amorous lumberjack at the restaurant bar. And yet as we laughed about Caroline”s being ogled so thoroughly, my mind kept going back to Jaime. This situation was getting out of hand, and all I wanted to do was talk to him.
The voices were warring in my head. So what if I didn”t have everything sorted? Of all people, he would understand, and he wouldn”t judge me. Still, I couldn”t help but want to go to him victoriously and let him know I had fixed it. But perhaps more than anything, I just wanted him to hold me.