The Merger

by Bernadette Marie

  “How do you open an account and fill it with money like that, Ms. Jacobson, and know nothing about it?”

  “When it’s fraud, sir.”

  Spencer watched Carson sink deeper into his chair and he was sure that Mr. Grayson noticed.

  Silence had engulfed the room as Julie waited for Mr. Grayson to acknowledge her.

  “I’d like to talk to Ms. Jacobson alone,” he said steely as the security guards each took an arm of his grandson. “Escort my grandson to my office.” He turned his gaze to Spencer. “You may wait in your office,” he told him.

  Julie watched Spencer’s face contort as he tried to control himself.

  She simply gave him a nod. Spencer’s lips pressed together in a thin line.

  “Julie, I don’t…”

  “Spencer, I’ve worked for Mr. Grayson for many years. I’ll be fine.”

  He kept a cool eye on her before he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Don’t turn off your phone.”

  She agreed with a nod and he walked slowly out of the room.

  As the door closed, Julie turned toward Mr. Grayson. Her head throbbed and it hurt to focus her eyes, but she was going be strong. She’d done nothing wrong and Mr. Grayson knew it.

  “Ms. Jacobson, sit,” he commanded just as he had with his grandson.

  Julie did as she was told.

  “You’ve worked for me in a capacity of trust for a lot of years. There isn’t anyone in this organization that knows more about me and my family than you do.”

  “With all due respect, sir. I don’t work for you anymore.”

  He nodded slowly. “I guess none of us really do.”

  “You fired me,” she quickly added.

  His eyes widened. “I did what?”

  Julie swallowed hard. “The day before the merger was finalized I was asked to leave the company. I was handed a signed letter by you and told to vacate the premises immediately. Security guards saw me out with nothing but my purse and my bag.”

  That obviously had surprised him. He took the seat next to her and sat.

  “Julie, dear Julie, why would I do that?”

  “Sir, there were a lot of things going on. I just assumed I’d gotten in the way. I know it wouldn’t be the first time.”

  He reached for her hand and held it in his. “You’ve never gotten in the way.”

  “I know you gave me this job as a favor to my father. I’ll never forget that.”

  “You proved to be worthy of that favor.”

  She smiled as she fought off the tears caused by the pain of her throbbing head and the emotions over her father’s conversation with Mr. Grayson when he asked him to take care of his little girl.

  “Sir, I would never steal from you, but I do, in fact, have an account with sixty-thousand dollars in it.”

  “Why? Julie, I would have helped you if you were in trouble.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t put the money there.” Julie took a deep breath. “My husband has been having an affair with Libby.”

  He let out a long slow breath. “Oh, Julie. I’m so sorry.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you that. She’s your granddaughter and…”

  “You can’t choose your relatives,” he reminded her and patted her hand. “I love Libby and Carson, but there is a reason I never put them on the payroll. I can’t say my son chose wisely in his first wife. She didn’t do right by those kids and even as adults I can’t control them.”

  For whatever reasons, that seemed to comfort her. This was why she’d been so loyal to them. Since her parents had died, Mr. Grayson had always taken care of her and protected her as she assumed her father would have. He’d paid off her law school tuition, given her the job at PLL, and not just even a job behind a desk pushing papers. He’d let her negotiate deals and handle suits from disgruntled employees. She’d been in charge of the merger between PLL and BBH since Spencer and Mr. Grayson first met.

  She’d drawn up Mr. Grayson’s will and changed it when it needed to be changed.

  And at that moment of realization she knew why she’d been targeted.

  “Julie, do you feel alright?” Mr. Grayson moved closer to her.

  “Your will. I changed your will for you.”

  “Yes, we did that last year,” he said and gripped her hand. “What does this have to do with that?”

  She looked up into his aged eyes which always reminded her so much of her father’s. “You were very specific to not leave anything but the trust funds that had been established to your grandchildren. All of them.”

  “Yes, but that was between you and me.”

  “And Steven, my husband,” she said as if reminding him that he’d been part of that conversation.

  Mr. Grayson sat back in the chair and folded his hands together. “I’d forgotten about that. And you just told me he and Libby…”

  “Yes.”

  He let out a deep groan.

  “I’ll be honest, sir, I don’t think my ex-husband was in on the fraud, but I think he was a gateway. That’s how they got my information. And just a few days ago he too was let go from the company.”

  He sat forward and rested his elbows on his legs. “I worked so hard to build something that would go on forever.”

  “You’ve done that.”

  “But I had to sell it away from my family. When you can’t trust your family who can you trust?”

  Julie reached for the man’s hand. Some families were just different, she supposed. Her family was very small. She’d never truly understood the dynamics of family until she’d met Spencer’s.

  Though the Graysons and Bensons were both built on wealth, she knew that Spencer’s family roots went deeper than a financial bottom line. Unfortunately, she didn’t think the Grayson family’s did.

  “Mr. Grayson, I would never have stolen from you personally or from your company. I need to turn the account over to the authorities. They’ll have to investigate, but in the end they’re going to find that I wasn’t the person who opened that account. They’re going to have to prosecute Libby and perhaps Carson.”

  He nodded slowly. “My wife would be devastated, rest her soul.”

  She knew it was the right thing to do, to turn it over to the authorities. It broke her heart to think she’d have to put Mr. Grayson through that, but it had to be done. Libby had to pay for the fraud against Julie and PLL. The thought of the corporate house being destroyed socked into Julie’s gut.

  How could Spencer ever trust her?

  Mr. Grayson lifted his head. “I’m sorry my granddaughter moved in on your marriage and I’m sorry my grandson hurt you. I should let Mr. Benson take you to the hospital.”

  Julie’s ears were still ringing and the throbbing continued. She nodded.

  Mr. Grayson stood. “Perhaps it’s time for the Grayson family to turn all of PLL over to the Bensons. I don’t want to cause them, or you, any further grief.”

  Julie stood and then sat back down when her head spun. “Thank you, sir, for everything you’ve done for me. You’ve taken good care of me.”

  His eyes averted. “This doesn’t feel like taking care of someone.” He patted her shoulder. “I’m going to talk to Mr. Benson about getting your job back. He’d be a fool to not keep you on here. You’re the best lawyer I know.”

  Julie watched the man walk out of her office broken. How could his own family have caused him so much pain?

  She finally managed to stand, after a few tries, and walked around the desk. Wincing at the pain in her head, she bent over to pick up the phone. Blood rushed to her head and the ringing in her ears grew louder.

  The room around her began to spin and grow dark.

  Chapter Twenty

  Spencer paced behind the desk. The bank of windows, which looked out over the Willamette River made him miss his view in Nashville. When he looked up, Mr. Grayson stood in the doorway.

  “Mr. Benson, I’ve come to let you know that the Grayson family will be stepping away gra
cefully from PLL. I think in light of what has happened it is time.”

  “Mr. Grayson, I appreciate that.” He walked toward him and held out his hand.

  As the older man shook his, he could feel the regret tingle through their hands, but Mr. Grayson didn’t let go.

  “Julie Jacobson is innocent. I’m sure that’ll be proven, but I also know this in my heart. Look into it. She’s not the type of person to steal from anyone.” He took a breath. “And I’m sincerely sorry for the loss of your property back in Tennessee.”

  “It was only a frame. It’ll be rebuilt.”

  Mr. Grayson dropped Spencer’s hand. “I’ve learned that Julie was let go under my orders.” He frowned. “I would never have done that. I’d like to see her reinstated here. She’s an asset you can’t be without. She’s a fine lawyer. I think of her as a daughter.”

  “Will you sit for a moment?” Spencer asked and walked back into his office. He motioned to the chair in front to the desk and he took the other.

  Mr. Grayson sat and Spencer followed.

  “I didn’t realize Julie was close to the family.” When the words were out, he felt the deceit in them. There had been a layer of uncertainty and now he was questioning his feelings for the woman who had taken his heart by surprise.

  Mr. Grayson folded his hands in his lap and puckered his lips. “I think of you as a good man. I’d be very disappointed if you held that against her.”

  Perhaps he needed to come clean. Though he wasn’t sure why he’d need to. He owned PLL. He could have thrown Mr. Grayson and any member of his family out of the building a month ago. But in his heart he’d thought it was best for them to stay during the transition. He had a soft spot for the man.

  “Mr. Grayson, I hired Julie Jacobson to oversee one of my builds in Nashville. Since you let her go, she’s been working for me.”

  The man’s eyes shifted and Spencer could see the tension in his jaw. “Does that mean you did have something going on with her?”

  Spencer shook his head. “I didn’t then. I can honestly say I didn’t like her at all.”

  “She’s got a hard exterior,” the man grinned and conceded.

  “I know that now.” Spencer thought for a moment. “You said she was like a daughter to you.”

  “I was very close to her father. No one knows that.”

  “Why?”

  Mr. Grayson considered. “I wouldn’t hire my own family, but I hired her.”

  “As a favor?”

  “In the beginning. But she proved to be very valuable.”

  Spencer clasped his own hands and rested his arms on his thighs. “Do you think they found out? Why would your family do this to her?”

  Mr. Grayson furrowed his brow and tucked in his lips as he thought. “I wrote them out of my will. Julie made the changes, but her husband was involved. They found out.”

  “Ex-husband.”

  Mr. Grayson nodded. “She’ll be okay without him.”

  Spencer wanted to tell him he could ensure it, but he’d let that go for now. When his cell phone rang on the desk, he reached for it.

  “It’s my office.”

  Mr. Grayson gave him a nod. “I’ll be escorting the family out by Friday. You can take over my office then.” He held out a hand to Spencer. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with your family. I know PLL is in good hands.”

  “I appreciate that sir.”

  “I’ll let you get to your call,” he said as he walked out of Spencer’s office.

  Spencer hit the button on his phone. “Spencer Benson.”

  “Spencer, her phone is still on. I can’t get a response. She was talking to someone and then there was a big thud. No one is talking, but the phone is still on.”

  His heart began to pound in his chest in a painful rhythm listening to Tiffany’s rapid fire of words. He had no idea where Carson had gone when Mr. Grayson had come to him.

  Running down the hall he burst through her office, but she wasn’t there. “Tiffany, she’s not…”

  But he noticed her leg extending out from behind the desk.

  “Christ! Julie!” He dropped the phone to the floor and ran to her. “Julie.”

  He rolled her to her back and her eyes fluttered behind her lids as she began to moan. “Honey, wake up.”

  She groaned as her eyes opened and closed again. Then slowly opened as if she’d been asleep.

  “I got dizzy. The room was spinning.”

  She pushed up on her elbows and Spencer moved in to cradle her. “Ow,” she winced, lifting her hand to the back of her head.

  “You’re bleeding,” he said as she pulled her hand away from her head.

  “I’m tired.”

  “Don’t go to sleep.” He looked around and could see blood on the leg of the desk. “I think he rattled you and when you fell you cut open your head. This certainly isn’t your day.”

  She let out what he thought was a laugh.

  Spencer picked up her phone, which was lying next to her and disconnected the now thirty-seven minute call which Tiffany had been monitoring. He’d have to consider buying her some diamonds and other assorted gems to make more jewelry. She deserved it.

  He helped Julie up and into the chair. “I’m going to find you something to put on that.”

  She began to point toward a file cabinet. “T-shirt. Bottom drawer.”

  Spencer opened the drawer and took out the shirt. She certainly had left quickly he thought.

  As he passed by his own phone, he picked it back up. “Okay, I have her. She’s safe and with me.”

  “What happened?”

  Spencer moved to Julie and pressed the shirt to her head. “Carson Grayson decided to bang her head into the wall a few times. It made her dizzy and when she fell she cut it open.”

  “Oh, Spencer,” she said and he could hear the tears in her voice.

  “I have one woman to deal with. Don’t start crying.”

  “Take care of her.”

  “I think I always will. Goodbye.”

  He disconnected the call and put his phone back into his pocket.

  Julie looked up at him, her eyes clearer now. “Did Tiffany get my call?”

  He couldn’t help but smile at her. “Genius idea.”

  “I was afraid he’d hurt me. Someone needed to know where I was. I was afraid you wouldn’t answer the call if you were mad at me.”

  He took hold of the T-shirt and looked at her head. “I’d still have answered. You’re going to need stitches.”

  “Great. I don’t have insurance at the moment.”

  Spencer smiled. “I think your boss will take care of the expenses.”

  He helped her to her feet.

  “Mr. Grayson says I should hire you back on here.”

  “I guess he wasn’t behind firing me,” she said as he helped her from the office.

  “No. I didn’t know he was a family friend either.” Julie turned to look at him and he raised his brows. “You were in deeper with the Graysons than I knew.”

  Julie batted back tears that had risen in her eyes. “We agreed to never discuss it. If his family knew he’d hired the daughter of his friend and not them…”

  “I know. They’d blackmail you and hurt you.”

  “Right,” she said on a weak laugh. “What are you doing here? And the house. She burnt the house. She said she was going to.”

  “You certainly have a lot of information,” Spencer said opening the door to the outside and leading Julie to his rented car.

  “Libby. She came to the trailer and demanded the money. I didn’t know what she was talking about. She said she’d burn down your build if I didn’t give it to her. And she did. She burnt it down.”

  Spencer reached for the door and pulled it open. He lifted a hand to her cheek before she could climb in. “You talk a lot when you have a head injury.”

  “I didn’t steal the money. I didn’t.”

  “I know that now.”

  “You thought
I had?”

  Spencer brushed away the tears that began to stream down her cheek. “I did. I had no proof otherwise and you’d disappeared. What was I to think?”

  “Right.” She ducked her head into the car and slid into the seat. “Maybe, if you’d consider it, I should move back here. I mean how can you trust me if you didn’t. I’ll always wonder and so would you. I could take back my job. Mr. Grayson said he’d tell you. I’m good at it,” she pleaded.

  “You are.”

  Spencer shut the door. He didn’t like that she’d want to move back. They were going to work through this. They’d been played, but justice was still being dished out. Libby would pay for what she’d done in Nashville and Carson was absolutely going to pay for what he’d done to Julie.

  And Spencer would be damned if she left him for Oregon again.

  He pulled open his door and slid in behind the steering wheel. “You have a house here, right?” he asked as he started the engine and backed out of the parking lot.

  “Yes. Steven signed over his part to me. Though he emptied everything out of it.”

  “We can replace it,” he said as he drove away from the PLL offices. “Now’s a good time for you to redecorate it. It seems to be a skill you posses.”

  She turned to look out the window. “I could do that.”

  Spencer navigated his way through town. “Where is the hospital?”

  “Keep heading this way about three miles. Then you’ll see the signs.”

  He nodded. “Chuck said the fire inspector thought we could tear out the old framing in a week or so. They think they have what they need to press formal charges against Libby.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you sure you want stained wood in that house? Don’t you like the white painted doors?”

  Julie batted her eyes as she turned to look at him, still holding the T-shirt to the back of her head. “You want to discuss that now?”

  “Why not? It’s still a project we’re working on together.”

  He tried to send her a sly smile, but the knot on her head must have been messing with his sarcasm where she was concerned.