Page 82 of Ravishing Camille
And in a few days, he would prove it to her.
* * *
The following morning, Pierce appeared at Rue Haussmann and requested to see his father. Arriving late yesterday afternoon at Gare Montparnasse and not wishing to return to Marianne and Remy’s house, he had hired a carriage, crossed the Seine and taken rooms at the Hotel Meurice in the Rue de Rivoli last night.
The butler showed him upstairs without delay.
“Thank you for seeing me, Papa.”
“Of course. Why not?” He greeted him with open arms and extended a hand toward the visitor’s chair. “Did you return yesterday? Come in. Come in!”
“I did. I am not with Remy and Marianne. I chose not to disturb them at the odd hour of my arrival. But I would like to talk with you at length this morning, if you have no other appointments.”
Killian met his gaze with a measure of curiosity. “I have no other commitments. You haven’t said how your trip was.”
“Enjoyable.” Pierce sat, facing the man he’d admired since a child. A man he tried to emulate, even in business. Now even in his private life. He’d told him little detail about his trip, whom he was to meet or where or why. Even now, Pierce wished to keep the experience of his time away to himself. He doubted his father would press him for descriptions. Because his father was not intrusive, did not however mean he was blind. Pierce had predicted that his father and Liv would realize that he and Camille had left town together. Perhaps even that they had planned it a while ago. He had gone away without his valet and she had sent her maid Ivy away for a vacation.
Pierce cleared his throat, ready for the discussion that he hoped would go without contretemps. “I’ve come to a few crossroads, Da. My thinking about much has changed in the past year.”
“I gathered. Otherwise, you would not have returned to us, would you?”
“No, sir. I like Shanghai.” He gave a small laugh. “Hell, I like Tokyo, Aden. Joppa! Venice! If I did not have this other drive to develop new products, new industries, for the adventure I’d stay in China or choose another city for another few years. But I won’t.”
His father settled back in his leather chair and folded his hands. “And instead? What will it be?”
“Paris, perhaps.” A flicker of his days in Amboise danced over him and mingled with the memory that Camille’s publisher had offered to give her a chateau in Blois for a year. He’d never been to Blois but the prospect of living with Camille tucked away for weeks and months spoke to his burgeoning need for quiet and reflection. “Somewhere in France. But trips to London and Brighton to visit you. All of you.”
His father’s broad Irish face lit with pride as he clamped a hand to his chest. “I’m devastated to hear it.”
Pierce chuckled. “I can see that!”
“But honestly,” his father said, “Liv will be thrilled to hear this. So too Lily and her brood. Ada. Victor. All of us.”
“Before I make any decision, I must talk with quite a few people. My own man in London and definitely Victor. I owe him much to allow me to partner with him and I have learned much about dealing with men from other cultures. Living abroad brings a perspective that aids working with others long term. But now, if I stay here, I question much. I question if he and I can or even should make a profit from the Chinese as they modernize their country. They are very reluctant to adopt new machinery or even roads, let alone trains. Our iron and steel can help them modernize only if they embrace the opportunities. But they’ve kept their peasants in such poverty and ignorance that I fear it will take centuries to bring them forward. And before they accept advanced education or intricate machines, they will endure more rebellions like the murderous Tai-Ping that killed millions. They’ll kill each other and take many of us with them. I doubt I am a person to witness that and not become jaded or strike out irrationally.”
“I doubt that last, Pierce. You are not such a man. Responsiveness to opportunity is your forte. More than mine.”
“You are complimentary, sir. I take the praise and say that once I was that man. But now? I doubt it.”
“Why do you say that? What you’ve done in Shanghai is triple the value of Victor’s company and your’s.”
“True.” But money alone did not make the man. Killian knew it, had lived by it, and Pierce would not utter it to proclaim the obvious.“I’ve made mistakes, I fear. The latest is with pricing a new project. In sympathy for the Chinese, I priced the steel too low. So low it would go at less than manufactured price. I cabled that pricing to our office in Shanghai over a week ago. I should have waited to examine it once more. And while I can say I was not thinking correctly because I was distracted, I cannot make mistakes like that. I need partners. I need another person with whom to sift and winnow ideas. I cannot give away thousands of francs of product out of sympathy for the customer.
“And so, having told you that,” he said as he crossed one leg over the other and locked his gaze on his father’s, “I wonder if you might consider having me around more so that I might learn from you.”
“You would do me an honor, Pierce, if you wished to work with me more closely again. I valued it years ago. I would do so now.” His father glanced away and knit his brows. “I am not doddering, but I grow older. I see trends and opportunities but I don’t keep up with the inventors who will make those new industries run more efficiently. Plus, I wish to take more time to enjoy what I’ve built. More time to enjoy Liv. Lily and Ada and their families. More time to educate Laim and Dylan.” He turned his silver gaze on Pierce. “And I would like to rely on you to help me with them both. My business is half yours when I am gone, but they should have a working knowledge of it. You would be a great value to me in educating them in that.”
Relief swept over him at his father’s largesse. “I’d be honored to teach them. But I’d also insist that if they find a product or industry they wish to learn, then they must have a piece of the business. Even if they aren’t attuned to management, they are your sons and they are entitled not only to learn the businesses but to share in the rewards of them. And there is more. I want your advice on a merger.”
Killian opened his hand. “I’d love to hear your ideas.”
“What is your assessment of Lee Macfarlane?”
“I liked him. He seemed measured, wise. You liked him, valued him. That is what I know most of all.”
“I know your time to get acquainted with him was short but what do your instincts say?”
“You trust my instincts. All well and good but I must say I do not have much experience to read Macfarlane. I know he married Lady Brianna Price quickly. That, I must say, belies my impression of prudence. She is a lovely young woman, but they’ve known each other only days.”
