by Ava Miles
“Are you analyzing me?” Caitlyn suddenly asked.
Annie shook her head. “No.” But even she knew it didn’t sound convincing.
“You are!” Caitlyn did a happy dance. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Right, Aunt Clara? Maybe we can have a makeup party tonight. I bet your girls would like it. Flynn, perhaps you and Uncle Arthur and Hargreaves need a boys’ night out.”
“Dad is coming, remember?” Flynn said, tapping his temple. “Maybe tomorrow night. I need you to ease me in with Dad.”
“Your father is no monster,” Aunt Clara said, “and a makeup party might be fun. We should invite June too. She’s… It would be good to include her.”
That got Annie’s attention. “Is Tom giving her trouble?” She’d wondered, but June hadn’t said anything. Annie realized she wouldn’t have.
Clara fingered her bracelet. “I can’t speak about a confidence. All I will say is June is a wonderful person, and I’m happy to call her my friend.”
Actually, so was Annie. Her relationship with June was beyond wonderful now.
Flynn cleared his throat, as if sensing the change in the conversation. “June’s included then. Maybe we should reexamine the men’s invitation to this party. I mean, Annie, honey, what do you think of my complexion? Could I use some makeup, do you think?” He leaned closer until he could whisper in her ear, “Be a way to get your hands on me, wouldn’t it?”
They all laughed, which was probably why they missed the knock. The door to the lab opened, admitting a well-groomed man in a black cashmere overcoat. The first thought that crossed Annie’s mind was that if this was what Flynn would look like at seventy, she’d be all right with that.
“Hey, Dad!” Flynn called out. “You must have left at the crack of dawn.”
“I stayed with J.T. and Caroline last night,” the gray-haired man said. “I thought it would be a good chance to see them. I hope I’m not interrupting. I’m Shawn Merriam.”
“Not at all, Mr. Merriam,” Annie said, yanking her lab coat on and her hairnet off. “Forgive my appearance. Welcome to Bilberry & Co. It’s an honor to have you assess my company.”
“The honor is mine, and please call me Shawn,” he said, smiling at her and then looking around the lab. “Looks like everything is well under way here. Hello, Clara. Flynn. Caitlyn, sweetheart, it’s especially good to see you on this side of the pond, as your mother loves to say.”
Caitlyn grabbed her father in an enthusiastic hug. “Hiya, Daddy!”
He was smiling when she released him.
Clara went over and kissed him on the cheek. “Good to see you, dear. How were J.T. and Caroline and our lovely town?”
“Wonderful as always,” he said, his eyes not missing anything. “I only wish Michaela and Boyd hadn’t been away on an expedition. It would have been nice to see them.”
Flynn cleared his throat again and crossed to his father, and the two finally hugged. Even to Annie’s eyes, it looked awkward. Still, Shawn wanted to change things—her own father never had.
“I know you’ve got a lot of work to do,” Shawn said, shrugging out of his coat, which Annie lurched to take. “It’s fine, Annie. We can just put it over a chair if you have one or throw it somewhere.”
Was he kidding? The cashmere was Italian to her eye and smooth as butter. Clara had said the same thing about her full-length black mink coat. These Merriams were going to give her a heart attack.
“I would love to give you what would help you assess Bilberry,” she said as she rushed to put it in the coat closet. Doing her best to smile over the rubber bands snapping in her stomach, she said, “It’s not a large space, especially with our wonderful helpers, but I can give you the tour I gave Flynn. Would that be a good place to start?”
“My dear,” Clara said, pouring some sweet almond oil into the larger container Annie had earmarked for the serum. “My brother isn’t going to bite. He’s actually quite a nice man. It’s okay to be nervous, but maybe take a breath before your face flushes even more.”
She held her hands up to her cheeks, and sure enough they were hot. “Goodness, I must look a fright.”
Shawn put his hand on her forearm. “Clara’s right. I’m not going to bite. Right, Flynn?”
But the smile Flynn gave him was all teeth. “Right.”
Goodness, he was as afraid of his father as she was right now.
“Of course he’s not going to bite,” Caitlyn said, shooting her brother a pleading look.
From the emotion in Caitlyn’s eyes, Annie could tell she was hurt by this interaction somehow.
“Come, Mr. Merriam—I mean Shawn. And welcome again.”
She took a fortifying breath like Clara had suggested and began her tour. Rather than ask her questions, he mostly smiled encouragingly and nodded a few times. Clearly, he was a professional in active listening.
When she finished, she took him to her office. “This must be such a small operation to you. I mean, you ran a company worth billions and billions of dollars.”
“We all start somewhere, Annie. I have a feeling your office is bigger than the one my grandpa Emmits had back when he first started our company long ago.”
That comment alone made her like him. “I appreciate you saying that, Shawn.”
He smoothed his silk maroon tie, also Italian she’d bet. “I should have dressed more casually to put you at ease. For that, I apologize. Old habits die hard. Before I retired, a suit and tie were as much my uniform as your lab coat and accessories are yours. It rather felt good putting it on again.”
Hadn’t she felt the same way putting on her clothes from Europe on Flynn’s first night in town? “I understand that, although I can’t imagine a hairnet ever feeling good.”
He laughed, and while it wasn’t as loud or unbridled as Flynn’s laughter, it had its own warmth and truth. She realized he felt as much like a fish out of water as she did, something Caitlyn clearly understood and sympathized with. She found herself wanting to put him more at ease. This was Flynn’s dad, after all, and he was here in earnest.
“Don’t tell Clara, but I loved seeing her wear one,” he said in a low voice only she could hear.
She ventured closer to him, finally comfortable enough to break the proper professional distance of three feet, something she’d read about in her business books. Now that the ice had broken, she wanted him to know she was feeling more comfortable. She hoped it would equally assure him.
“Arthur teased her about taking a picture of her in one,” she said in a conspiratorial voice. “I know he was trying to rattle her.”
“He’s good at that,” Shawn said, chuckling. “But it’s all in good fun with Arthur. He’s one of the best men around, let me tell you. Grandpa Emmits esteemed the heck out of him, and because of that, I’ve known him most of my life. It’s been wonderful to see him make my sister so happy, not to mention the rest of the family. Arthur Hale’s the kind of man you can count on.”
She had already discovered that from the way he was with Amelia, God bless him. “What else can I show you? My online system? Papers of incorporation?”
“Flynn has the tech expertise, but I’ll do my best. How about the papers? I already looked up your company’s listing on the secretary of state’s website. When I started out, everything was paper, but these days even the finest details are available somewhere on the web. It blows my mind. Sometimes it even makes me feel old. That’s why I’m glad we have people like Flynn working for Merriam Enterprises, helping us innovate on the tech side. He’s also incredibly good at identifying new products and companies to bring into the fold. From everything I see, he was right about you and Bilberry & Co.”
She fought a beaming smile—so unprofessional. “Thank you, Shawn. Coming from you, that means a lot. And you haven’t even tried my products yet.”
“I will, but again, I defer to Flynn on that. I expect Caitlyn already has an opinion as well. They have a better sense about these kinds of things than I do.”<
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His pride in his children was clear as a bell. Did Flynn not see that? Or was there more to the situation? No one knew better than she how complicated family relationships could be.
“The only thing I wanted to ask about is whether we need to include Tom Loudermilk in our discussions,” Shawn said. “Or is he a silent partner?”
“Silent partner?” she asked, completely confused.
“Yes.” Shawn nodded and gazed back at her, waiting.
Her heart started to thud in her chest. “Why would you ask that?”
His brows furrowed suddenly. “Perhaps there was a mistake in the online information.”
Panic raced down her back like cold rain, and she gripped her hands together to stop the trembling. “What did it say?” Her mind flashed back to Ben coming home and telling her he’d persuaded his father to contribute to the start-up money. She’d wanted to repay him, but Ben had insisted it wasn’t necessary. So had Tom. The amount wasn’t terribly large, and they were family, they’d both said.
Surely, the secretary of state’s website wouldn’t have listed that kind of information, and even then, that wouldn’t make Tom a… What had Shawn called it. A silent partner? The idea was ludicrous, and yet her heart was beating so hard she could barely take a breath. Of course, Ben hadn’t told her Tom still owned the land their house was on either. But this was her business, and Ben wouldn’t have screwed her over here. Would he?
Shawn gently put his hand on her forearm as if trying to calm her. “The papers of incorporation listed Mr. Loudermilk as a shareholder at fifty-one percent.”
“That’s not possible.” Her knees gave out.
Shawn gripped her arm to keep her upright. “Let’s not panic,” he said, his voice calm. “Why don’t you bring out your corporation book? It’s usually a dark, hardbound—”
“I know where it is!” She pulled away, aware her voice was rising in volume. The incorporation book was in the lower drawer of her desk, and she rushed over to it, hitting her knee on the edge. “Ouch!”
“Take some deep breaths, Annie,” Shawn said, coming over to her.
She shook her head. He didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. He didn’t know Tom.
Sinking to her knees in front of the drawer, Annie opened the drawer and pulled the heavy book out. The weight of it seemed to pin her to the floor.
Shawn crouched on the floor next to her. “How about you let me find this for you? You take some deep breaths. We’re going to sort this out, Annie.”
She sank back on her heels, panic clawing up her throat. “It’s mine. This company is mine. It has to be a mistake.”
He leafed through the first few pages and then stopped, his gaze scanning the paper. She leaned forward to read. The word shareholders seemed to leap out at her, and her gaze slid to the lines beneath it.
Her name was there.
So was Tom Loudermilk’s, and it said he owned fifty-one percent of her company.
She saw stars, her head swimming. “I don’t understand. Why would it say that? That’s not right.”
“Let’s read this carefully,” Shawn said, his frown evident. “Maybe we’re missing something.”
“But his name’s there!” Her signature was at the bottom of the page too, she saw, her proud swirling cursive there to punctuate the illustrious moment. “I don’t remember signing it with Tom’s name listed. I wouldn’t have—”
Shawn set the book down on the desk, rose to his feet, and then helped her up because she was shaking so hard.
Ben couldn’t have. They couldn’t have.
“What’s the matter in here? Dad, Annie’s white as a sheet. What did you do?” Flynn strode forward and pushed his father aside, cradling her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Son—”
“He didn’t do anything,” she said, pressing her hands against Flynn’s chest. “It’s the papers. Tom’s listed as…as a shareholder.”
“What?” Flynn asked, his face going blank as his father pointed to the open page for his son to see. “But how—”
“Maybe the paperwork got mixed up because Ben’s dad helped with the start-up money.” That had to be the explanation. “Ben persuaded me to use Tom’s lawyer and accountant to set everything up. They’ve been family friends for years. My dad even used them before he died. I didn’t know much at the time about setting up a corporation, so I trusted them.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see his name when you signed the papers of incorporation?” Flynn asked. He gestured to the book. “Annie, could Ben and Tom have done this? Doctored the papers somehow?”
She pushed away and picked up the book again, flipping through the pages, looking for something that would undo it. Say it was an April Fool’s joke. Anything. “It has to be a mistake. Ben wouldn’t have done that. He knew this was my baby. Tom only gave me some seed money to start. Oh, God!”
“Annie, calm down,” Flynn said, rubbing her back. “We’ll figure this out.”
But what was there to figure out? It listed Tom both online and in the hard copy in her hands. She made herself ask the question: why would Ben have done this?
If he’d feared she would leave him, making his father a majority shareholder would have kept her tethered to him beyond the girls. Had he been that afraid to lose her?
She remembered the way he’d “forgotten” her birth control, something she’d always known to be a lie. From the very beginning, he’d shown himself capable of going to great lengths to keep her with him.
She turned to Shawn. “Given your expertise, could there be a mistake both with this paper and the information online about Tom Loudermilk being a controlling shareholder of Bilberry & Co.?”
His green eyes were steady as they stared into hers. “No.”
Her husband had found a way to betray her from the grave.
Chapter 26
Flynn loathed Annie’s attorney on sight.
Annie had wanted to speak with Eric Gables before confronting Tom himself. She was obviously still hoping for a miracle, but the truth was staring them in the face. God, this whole thing stank to high heaven.
She hadn’t said anything in the car, only stared dazedly out the window, her body leached of all life. Some of her fight had come back before they went in the office though—he’d seen her firm her shoulders. The assistant had ushered them in quickly, thank God. Flynn couldn’t have stomached looking at all of the community awards Eric had been awarded over the years.
“Annie, this is a wonderful surprise!” Eric said, standing up in his medium-sized office overlooking Nemo’s red-brick Main Street. “I hear you have a lot cooking right now with a holiday order. The talk is all over town about June and her friends helping.”
Even though he pasted on a smile as fake as his brown toupee, his gaze zoomed in on the corporation book she was holding. Sweat appeared at his temples.
“You must be the city fella visiting about her business,” he managed to say, snake oil making his words tumble out easier.
Flynn glowered at him. He planned to leave the talking to Annie—unless she wanted or needed him to interject—but he wasn’t going to play nice with this asshole. As far as Flynn was concerned, the bronze name plaque on his desk should have said Dipshit Snake.
“Is Tom Loudermilk a shareholder with fifty-one percent ownership in my company?” Annie asked, cutting right to the chase.
The man gulped. “I was worried these city people were going to stir you up. Now, don’t get all excited, Annie. Ben thought it best after talking to Tom. You’ll remember Tom gave you some start-up money for the business. It’s all very innocent. We were only trying to protect you.”
She stalked forward and slammed the leather-bound book on his desk, scattering papers. “Protect me? From what? Bilberry is my company. Yes, Tom gave me money after Ben asked him, but no one talked to me about this. Not Ben. Not Tom. Not you, Eric, and you’re my lawyer. I thought I could trust you.”
The lawyer came
around the desk with his arms out, like he intended to touch her or embrace her.
Flynn stepped forward, blocking the guy. “Don’t,” he said in a hard tone.
Eric’s gaze flicked over to him. His arms lowered, and he wet his lips. “Annie, let’s all sit down. Of course you can trust me, and it bothers me to hear you say otherwise. We’ve known each other a long time.”
“Just because you knew my father and did business with him doesn’t mean I know you.” She pointed to him. “You had me sign these papers before you put Tom’s name on them, right? From where I’m standing, that’s fraud. Also, why not Ben’s name? Why Tom? I want to understand the rationale.”
Eric wet his lips again. “Tom made it a condition of giving Ben the money. He thought it would be better if he had a legal remedy if the business failed, and Ben went along with it. You know how tight they were. One of the best father-and-son relationships I’ve ever seen.”
She clenched her hands by her sides. “Yes, I remember. Tom said jump and Ben said how high. But you… How could you ethically keep this from me as my lawyer?”
He dotted the sweat with a tissue. “It’s how Ben and Tom wanted it. They were trying to protect you, Annie.”
Flynn wanted to punch the man in the face. Un-fucking-believable. If Annie wanted, Flynn would help her get Eric disbarred.
“Protect me?” she said, her mouth twisting. “Is that what you call it? I’m the one who built Bilberry from the ground up, who stayed up after midnight and got up before the girls woke to make products, fill orders, and ship them out. Dammit, Eric! You shouldn’t have done this.”
“I’m sorry,” the man said softly. “You have every right to be upset.”
“Upset! You have no idea how upset I am.”
“Have you talked to Tom yet, Annie?” The man reached for the phone on his desk and handed her the receiver. “Maybe he can explain better.”
“I assume Neil is part of this conspiracy of silence too, right? I can’t imagine my accountant could do my corporate taxes and not know.”
