Chapter 29

twenty-nine

DANIEL

When I arrived in Sunrise Bay, I sat on Ben's veranda, waiting for him to come home. I checked my watch again, then went back to editing the report my board of directors was waiting for. It was nearly six o'clock in the evening. If Ben didn't show up in the next thirty minutes, I'd have to drive into town and find somewhere to stay for the night.

Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to leave New York City as quickly as I wanted. The earliest flight out of LaGuardia had left at nine o'clock this morning. To miss the rush-hour traffic, I'd left my apartment at the crack of dawn. As soon as I arrived at the airport, I found United's airport lounge and completed more work than I would have if I were sitting in Manhattan.

My phone rang and I glanced at the caller display. My heart sank. "Hi, Granddad."

"What are you doing in Sunrise Bay?" Patrick Devlin barked. "You're supposed to be getting ready for tomorrow's board meeting."

"The board has a copy of my initial report and they'll receive my second report soon. Owen has organized a teleconference meeting so that I can be part of the decision-making."

"You don't run a business by telephone. You should be here."

I knew my granddad was worried about the company, but I had anticipated as many issues as I could. "Owen will be at the meeting. I'll be part of everything that happens." Before I'd left the office yesterday, I'd checked my granddad's schedule. He should have been overseas. "Aren't you supposed to be in Australia?"

"I had a change of plans."

"Is everything all right?"

Patrick didn't reply.

With my heart pounding, I held the phone tight against my ear. "Did your doctor tell you not to go?"

"Darn fool man thinks he's got a hotline to God. I keep telling him nothing will happen to me, but he won't listen."

"Why was he worried?"

"My blood pressure's a little elevated. I told him a change of scenery would do wonders, but he didn't agree. So here I am, stuck in New York City, twiddling my thumbs and looking for you."

I doubted my grandfather would be doing nothing, but I understood his frustration. Patrick enjoyed traveling. It didn't matter whether he was going to an exclusive resort in Italy or a mud hut in the Amazon rainforest. His sense of adventure was as strong as it had ever been.

"Who's meeting with the suppliers in Sydney?"

"The manager of our Asia-Pacific marketing operation. When will you be back in the office?"

"I've booked a seat on the Sunday morning flight out of Denver. If my flight's on time, I'll call in and see you on Sunday night. If it's too late, I'll meet you at work on Monday morning."

"Owen told me you're visiting the jeweler who won our award. I thought you saw him two weeks ago."

"I did, but he didn't want to come to the presentation." My grandfather's silence wasn't reassuring. "Owen discovered more information about his life. It explains why he doesn't want anything to do with our company."

"Don't worry about him. There are plenty of other jewelers who'll sign the contract."

"His father is Tony Harper."

A heavy silence fell between us.

The trial had upset my grandfather almost as much as it had for me. "Ben creates some of the best jewelry I've ever seen. I want his collections to be the anchor products of the prestige store."

"Does he know we paid Emanuel's legal fees?"

"It's not relevant."

"Maybe not to you, but he might not agree."

I sighed. I didn't want to tell Ben because I knew what he'd say—and it would destroy everything I'd been working toward.

Granddad cleared his throat. "Have you told him about your plans?"

"Some of them."

"And he isn't interested." The resignation in Patrick's voice wasn't lost on me.

"No, but I'm trying something different."

"You don't have a lot of time. The board wants a clear plan before they commit more money to rebranding the company. If you don't get back to Manhattan soon, you might not have a job to come back to."

My jaw clenched. "The board can't fire me. I own fifty-one percent of the company."

"Don't put anything past them. No one's indispensable." And with those final, ominous words, my grandfather ended the call.

I wasn't leaving the company I'd built without a fight. I wanted to sell products that no one would forget. And, if I had anything to do with it, Ben's jewelry would provide the catalyst I needed to attract a new wave of clients.