Page 49 of The Billionaire's Second Chance
“You’ve been working with Samantha.” He had the faintest hint of a British accent now. Was he putting it on? I didn’t think so. It’d been a long time. A decade abroad would change a man, even his speech. He still sounded like Samantha, though… She often sounded so formal when she spoke, and Seb had the same rhythm, the same unhesitating delivery. I wondered vaguely if they’d each come to it independently, or if they’d learned it from their father, perhaps, and had to remind myself to respond.
“Yes,” I said, leaning back in my chair, hoping the guilt didn’t show on my face. He hadn’treallycome here to talk about his sister, had he?
“How’s that going?” he asked. He inclined his head at one of my chairs, and I nodded, a silent invitation for him to sit.
“Fine,” I said. “But listen, Seb, if you’re just here to check up on your little sister, James is the one to ask. He sees more of her.” I realized as I said it that I wasn’t sure if that was strictly true. Last year, sure. But now? I firmly avoided thinking about justhow muchof Sami I’d been seeing recently. Whichparts, exactly, of Seb’s little sister, I’d been admiring.Don’t think about that, Charlie.
“Oh?” he asked, frowning slightly, and I swallowed, feeling as if I’d been caught, before I understood his subtle implication wasn’t aimed at me.
“No,” I said, my voice firm. “Notlike that. For work. You’ve been gone for a long time, Sebastian. James is happily married now. And–” I fought to keep my shoulders loose, my body language casual, not defensive. “And, come on, you know Sam. She would never go for that.” Sam, James’s… What, mistress? The concept was ridiculous on its face. Sebastianhadbeen gone for a long time if he was even entertaining the idea.
He held up his hands, palms out. “I didn’t say it, you did,” he smirked. The expression grated on me. That was his little sister he was talking about. It wasn’t as if I had any room to talk–I was the one fucking her–but to talk about any woman like that, let alone one’s own sister... My teeth clenched. “But you’re right. She’d never go for something like that.” He chuckled. “She knows her worth.”
That, at least, we could agree on.
“You have that in common,” he continued.
I stilled. “I don’t follow.”
“I heard you’ve been preparing for an IPO, Charlie,” Seb said, leaning back in his chair.
Ah.So that’s what this was. Sebastian had heard my company was going public, and wanted in.
“Who told you?” We hadn’t filed yet.
He shrugged off the question. “Just a rumor. Thanks for confirming it, by the way.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. Now that I understood what he meant by this transcontinental visit, I felt back on firmer ground. “So, you want in? We’re not actively soliciting investors right now, but for the right offer–”
“I don’t wantin,” he cut me off. “I wantit.”
His words stopped me short–apparently obviously so, as he laughed.
“What are you saying?” I asked. “You want to–”
“Acquire the company, yes. I want you to consider an acquisition, rather than an IPO.” He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on my table, fingers steepled. Gold cufflinks glinted from his crisp white shirt cuffs. “I’m interested in bringing Veritech under the Scott umbrella. I know it isn’t what you were planning on, but I don’t want you to write it off immediately.”
“No, of course. I hadn’t thought…” Ihadn’tthought. We’d gotten offers before, but selling the company? That I’d worked so hard to build? No, I’d never considered it. “But I will. Think about it.”
He nodded. “You wouldn’t be CEO anymore, of course, but you could pick a job title that suits you. Head of… whatever.”
“BDFL,” I said. “We call that BDFL around here,” I clarified, noting his expression. “Benevolent Dictator For Life.”
Sebastian tilted his head back and laughed. “Well, I don’t think I could get that by the board. But something like that. Sure.” His smile lingered on his face and he leaned forward again, looking me in the eye. His tone was different when he spoke again; smoother. “You have something that I want, Charlie,” he said, one eyebrow arched. “And I think I can get you something you want, too.”
My stomach clenched.
An acquisition by the Scott Group would certainly be lucrative, but more than that…
“Yes,” I said, slowly. Carefully. “You do.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said with a shark-like smile that sent a queasy feeling through me. His next words only half-assuaged my uneasiness.
“Just think about it, Charlie. For an old friend.”
“I will,” I said, and I meant it.
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