Page 91 of Believing in a Billionaire
He rose from his seat and left the confines of his office behind, navigating to the conference room.
“Where do we stand?” he asked, his tone demanding as he sank into the chair at the head of the table.
“We’ve gained some ground,” Ben answered before he flicked his gaze to the wood table he sat at. “But not enough.”
“Then keep buying.”
“The problem is…” Ben shifted in his chair as he finally raised his eyes to Grant. “We’re running out of capital.”
“What do you mean?” Grant screwed up his face. “We secured all the funds we needed. That’s what you said days ago.”
“And then the stock prices fluctuated. We didn’t expect DG to keep buying at their rate. We’re gaining more stock but at a higher price. I’m concerned that we’re going to run out of liquid funds well before we make a dent.”
Grant scrubbed his face as his mind worked to piece together the situation as it stood. “So, what you’re saying is, we don’t have enough to become a majority shareholder.”
“Or to stop DG Industries from getting to a point where they can trigger a board vote, yes,” the man said with a nod, sweat beading on his brow.
Grant’s nostrils flared as he slammed a fist down on the table. “That’s not what I want to hear.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Harrington, but we need to rethink our approach.”
“Borrow more money. I’ll sign whatever you need.”
“No bank is going to give us another capital infusion,” Ben answered with a shake of his head. “We’re too deeply leveraged now.”
Grant heaved a sigh as he shook his head. “I’ll find someone. Harrington Global is the biggest name in the business. And as soon as the Solaris project is completed, we’ll have solidified our place asthecompany in the field. We just have to stave off this attack.”
Silence met his statement. His eyes went wider as he stared at the grim faces around the table. “Well? Is that it? Just more money? That’s the only problem?”
Ben bobbed his head.
“How much?”
With his lips pressed into a thin line, Ben shoved a paper over showing the new estimates for stock prices and the cost to acquire enough to stop DG Industries from owning them. Grant heaved a sigh at the high number.
“I’ll make some calls. Just keep pushing forward.”
“I’ll be in my office,” Ben answered as Grant rose from the table. “Once you have an update, let me know, and I’ll get the pieces in place.”
Grant nodded at him, his own response as he strode from the room. His gut twisted at the number on the paper in front of him. Given the already deep debt they’d taken on to stop the hostile takeover, this number made him uncomfortable.
His mind stretched to come up with a creative solution around taking on additional debt, but he didn’t find any suitable ones. It wouldn’t matter anyway. Once he’d strengthened thebottom line, they could pay these back easily. He just needed to buy some time for that to happen.
He settled into his chair and grabbed his cell phone, ready to make calls to friends in the banking industry who owed him a favor.
Before he could, he spotted a message from Sierra.Wish me luck!
He furrowed his brow as he swiped it open and studied the picture she’d sent. Clad in black from head to toe, she grinned at the mirror. For a second, he wondered if she’d sent this to the wrong person.
He responded:Luck with what?
Her answer came quickly.My first sleuthing mission. I’m so excited! Finally, Julia took me with her instead of stupid Kyle…or you.
He grumbled at the end of the statement, though his real hang-up lay with the first part. What sleuthing mission? Why was Julia out of bed and running around in the middle of the night?
His chest tightened a little as he hurried to type a response to Sierra.What? Julia is supposed to be asleep. What is going on?
He drummed his fingers against the desk as he waited for Sierra’s response.But she got some kind of lead on Kyle and then she and Alicia were sneaking out, but I caught them, and they let me come with them…but Alicia won’t let me have a gun.
