Chapter 1 #2
“I don’t know what I’d do without you keeping me on my toes,” Zane said.
He met with James, looking over the ad campaign and giving his final approval regarding the Tidewater campaign.
Although this kind of decision could easily have ended with James, people within Wagner Enterprises often came to him for approval of many items. One day, he would take over the conglomerate, and he knew others not only respected his opinion but wanted to build rapport and goodwill with Zane before Alexander Wagner chose to step down and hand the reins over to his firstborn son.
Zane didn’t see that happening anytime soon, though.
At sixty-five, Dad was still vibrant and at the top of his game.
Going to his dad’s office now, he was greeted with a bear hug. Alexander Wagner might travel in lofty circles, but he’d never lost his down-home charm and didn’t bother to hide his Texas roots, though after years in New York, his Texas drawl was faint.
“Good to have you back, son,” Dad said. “How long are you in town? Want to grab dinner this evening to celebrate your birthday yesterday?”
“Dinner would be great. Want me to pick up some Chinese takeout?” he asked, knowing that was his dad’s weakness.
“Sure you don’t want to head out for a steak dinner and celebrate?”
“Nope. Just you and me and the quiet of home sounds good.”
“Then count me in. My place. Seven.”
“As for my time in New York, I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Driftwood Bay. I’ll stay with Gran and Gramps and then be at Tidewater, going over everything with a fine-tooth comb.”
“Sullivan’s still there, right?” Dad asked.
“He is. He did leave to go up to Vancouver recently to look over the land the new hotel and business conference center will be built on. He’s been working on the blueprints for that, as well as overseeing construction at Tidewater.”
“Tell Mom and Dad hello for me. Maybe I can make it down to Texas soon. Now, let’s sit and talk Singapore.”
They spoke for twenty minutes, Zane updating not his dad, but the CEO and President of Wagner Enterprises. He was able to satisfactorily answer all Alexander Wagner’s tough questions and received a smile of approval for all his hard work on the company’s behalf.
“You’re going to make for a fine head of the company someday, son,” Dad said with pride.
“What about Harris?” he asked bluntly. “How do you think he’s going to respond with me being placed in charge?”
They had never spoken of his brother’s role in the company, much less what would happen after Dad stepped down.
Dad shrugged. “Harris is always going to be Harris.”
Truer words had never been spoken. Zane’s mom had left when he was two, taking newborn Harris with her.
Natalie Wagner said she had grown tired of the lack of attention her husband showed her, claiming his mistress was Wagner Enterprises.
She wanted a divorce since she believed her husband’s loyalties—and priorities—would always be his company.
She left Zane with his father, saying their older son was a peace offering for allowing her to leave the marriage.
The custody arraignment had Zane going to stay with her every other weekend, but Natalie—as he thought of her—was rarely home during his visits to her lavish apartment.
By the time he was eight, he asked Dad if he had to go see her anymore.
They wound up before a judge, and Zane pulled out his piece of paper, going over all the points why he no longer wanted to spend time at Natalie’s place.
Even though he was well below the age of making that kind of decision, the judge had agreed with him.
It hadn’t really mattered. Natalie had never mothered him.
The rare occasions she was present on the weekends he visited, she blatantly favored Harris, a child who could do no wrong in her eyes.
Harris was a brat from the beginning, and it had been hell on earth when Natalie died in a skiing accident in Gstaad and Harris came to live with Zane and their father.
Zane had been twelve at the time, Harris ten, and they had been mortal enemies ever since.
Within the first two years, Harris had been kicked out of four different private schools, and that was only the beginning of the Harris Troubles, as Zane thought of those years.
Harris drank like a fish and was a heroin addict by fourteen.
His teenage years had been spent in and out of rehab.
Zane had as little as possible to do with his brother.
Finally, at twenty-four, a doctor convinced Harris he was going to die if he didn’t clean up his act.
Somehow, Harris managed to go straight and remain drug-free.
Though he never finished college, he demanded a position at Wagner Enterprises, which Dad had given to him because he wanted his younger son to have a stable life, with a job and decent income.
While Zane knew Harris still drank socially, he didn’t think his brother had resumed using drugs.
Now, Harris hobnobbed with people as he hopscotched around the world as the ambassador-at-large for the family business.
“Harris knows you’re destined to take the top spot,” Dad assured him. “I’ll need your promise, though, that you’ll keep him on the payroll.”
Zane eyed his father steadily. “Dad, all he does is travel the world. Sucks up to people. Attends parties.”
“Harris has made a difference on more occasions than you’re aware of, Zane.
He does a lot of backroom negotiating and has sealed more than a few deals.
You need to give him credit where credit is due.
I expect you to keep him on in the position he now holds.
Will he ever be the kind of guy who can put in forty or fifty hours a week behind a desk?
No, and we both know that. Harris has a lot of charm and personality, however. Let him do what he does best.”
“If you say so,” Zane said glumly, knowing he’d never be able to shed this particular albatross hanging around his neck. “By the way, Harris asked Emily to place him on my calendar today before I leave for Texas. Do you know what that’s about?”
“Nope. Could be one of many things, son. I’m not close enough with him to know much about Harris personally.”
“Well, I doubt this is personal,” Zane said, chuckling. “Since I have no relationship with him beyond the company, it has to be work-related.”
“I’ll see you at seven tonight,” Dad said. “Be sure to bring sesame chicken.”
Grinning, he said, “I know it’s your favorite, Dad. Later.”
Zane returned to his office and then attacked the stack of phone messages Emily had left for him.
She was good about forwarding information to him while he was on the road, talking with her multiple times daily, but these were calls that hadn’t been high priority.
He worked his way through the stack and finished the last call just before eleven-thirty.
A knock sounded on his door, and Emily opened it. “Harris is here to see you, Zane.”
He glanced at his watch, his gaze meeting hers. She shrugged, shaking her head, as if she couldn’t believe Harris Wagner had arrived on time for an appointment.
“Please, send him in.”