by Anne Carrole
Beneath the table, she felt her mother’s cool, soft hand close over hers. A squeeze followed. It was her mother’s way of telling her to stay calm. Mandy squeezed back. Her mother didn’t remove her hand.
“As a privately held company, your grandfather had more flexibility to do as he saw fit than if it was a publicly held company. And JM took advantage of that fact, as you will soon learn.” Brian raised his gaze from the sheaf of papers he held. “I feel obligated to tell you all that I do not countenance everything he did in this document, but I don’t think any of you can question whether he was in his right mind a month ago when he drew up this new will. I’ll also caution that I am a fairly good lawyer, so I don’t expect there will be grounds to break his will.”
Sheila squeezed Mandy’s hand harder. This was going to be worse than she ever imagined. She couldn’t bear to look at Ty. If the man had duped her grandfather, she might not be able to do anything about it.
“Mandy, you and Ty Martin have been named as trustees of the scholarship fund named in your father’s honor for a worthy student from the local community college who wishes to go on for a four-year degree. I believe, Ty, you were the first recipient of that scholarship.”
Ty nodded.
Maybe that was why Ty was here. Nothing to do with PRC directly. Of course, that would make sense. Mandy began to relax. She was worrying about nothing. She might have to see Ty more than usual, but that wouldn’t be as horrible as him running her company.
She met Ty the summer following her father’s death, her life having been upended by that catastrophic event. In what would become a tradition, her grandfather offered the recipient of the scholarship a summer job helping out. She remembered stumbling upon Ty in the barn, his shirt off, as he cleaned the stalls. It had been hot, and the flies were biting as her seventeen-year-old self had sauntered in to fetch a bridle out of the tack room. She’d wanted to take a dip and planned to ride out to the creek that ran through the western side of the ranch.
She’d been stopped in her tracks by flexing muscle and slick flesh. With dark, cropped hair, angular features, and a lean, lanky body, it had been crush at first sight. And he’d barely noticed her as he cleaned out the barn stalls. As she’d scooted into the tack room to catch her breath, she’d vowed to make him notice her—and soon. Little did she realize what a mistake she was making.
“In addition, Sheila, JM left the Prescott ranch land and ranch herds in your trust for Mandy and Tucker, who hold equal shares of the ranch enterprise, which, as you know, is a separate entity from Prescott Rodeo Company. He made provisions for Prescott Rodeo Company to continue to lease from the trust the portion of land it uses for its enterprise at reasonable fees. The will grants half of those rent monies to you as income for as long as you live and the ranch stays in Prescott hands. There are provisions, should the company change hands, for you to continue to receive a stipend from the proceeds of that sale equivalent to the projected rental stream, as if the company continued to lease the land from the trust.”
“JM was always generous,” Sheila said as she dabbed a hankie to her glistening eyes.
During his lifetime, JM had provided for her mother, given she was his only child’s widow and the mother of his grandchildren, but now her mother would have her own income, making her an independent and well-to-do woman. As to the company changing hands, that would never happen as long as Mandy had breath left in her.
Brian laid aside the sheet of paper he’d been reading and turned his attention to the next page.
“Harold, you are bequeathed shares equal to nine percent of Prescott Rodeo Company and, at a minimum, your current salary for the rest of your life, whether you work or not, to be paid out of company funds.”
“I know. JM told me. And of course I’ll be working as long as the young’uns need me to.” He spared a smile with a nod in Sheila’s direction as if the two had already spoken about it.
“Of course we need you, Harold,” Mandy piped up. People were the fabric of the company and, regardless of who was running it, Mandy would let nothing destroy that fabric.
“Tucker, you inherit a twenty percent stake in the rodeo business. JM wants me to note that it could have been more if you’d been willing to help run the company.”
“So he told me,” Tucker said with good-natured resignation. “I’m okay with the way things are.”
Brian raised his gaze and stared at Mandy a moment too long for good news. Her heart sputtered in her chest like an engine choke that couldn’t take hold. JM, it seemed, had spoken to everyone but her about the contents of the new will.
“I guess I should mention that before JM made this will, he also completed a transaction with Mr. Martin here. Ty currently owns twenty percent of Prescott Rodeo Company, bought and paid for under terms advantageous to Prescott, I might add.”
Mandy couldn’t stifle the gasp that left her lips, even as her mother’s hand tightened its hold. It was just as she’d suspected. Ty had wormed his way into her family’s business for reasons that eluded her. Tension pressed in on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, look in his direction. But she could see his hands, half-fisted, on the table. Large hands. Masculine hands barely weathered by the outdoors but no doubt used to doing dirty work.
“I imagine you all must be wondering what has happened to the other fifty-one percent.” Brian stated the obvious. “Mandy, you will receive twenty percent of the company outright, bringing you equal to Tucker and Ty. But because Mandy is willing to take over the business one day…”
Mandy clenched her teeth and braced for bad news. Brian had used a future tense in talking about her taking over.
“The remaining thirty-one percent will also go to Mandy, from which she will receive the dividend stream…”
Mandy let out a breath of air in relief. She would have controlling interest. And the authority to hire—and fire.
“And Ty Martin will hold the voting rights to those shares.”
And just like that, her empty stomach turned over. She swung her gaze to Ty, whose face was grimmer than she expected for someone who had just been handed the keys to the company. If looks could kill, she meant hers to strike him dead.
“What do you mean, the voting rights are held by Ty?” her mother asked.
“Just what I said, Sheila. JM had this block of stocks issued as a separate class, so Mandy will get the dividend stream, but the voting rights fall to Ty for a period of time.”
Ty leaned forward, his Stetson dipping lower on his brow, shadowing his eyes. Definitely an outlaw. “Mandy, it’s only for a limited time.”
“What do you mean, a limited time? How long?” she snapped as she grappled with the emotions whipping through her. Anger at Ty, frustration with Brian, and betrayal by her grandfather, the man she loved and admired and had tried so hard to please.
Brian looked at the assembly. “May I have a moment with Ty and Mandy alone? The major portions of the will have been read. What I have to say really just concerns them. You can get copies of the will from my secretary.”
Harold and Tuck stood up in unison. Apparently neither wanted to be in the room when the bullets started flying. Mandy held on to her mother’s hand even as Sheila rose.
“I’ll be right outside, dear,” her mother whispered. “Hear what Brian has to say.” Mandy felt the warmth of a quick peck on her cheek as Sheila drew her hand away.
Mandy waited for the door to close, her leg jiggling beneath the table. At the click of the latch, she let loose.
“You low-life lizard.” She grounded out the words through a jaw held so tight it ached. “You clawed your way into my grandfather’s good graces so you could steal the company from his family. And in his ailing health, he handed you voting rights to fifty-one percent of the company.”
Her worst fear had come true.
Ty leaned back in his seat, drilling her with his hard, stoic gaze. If he thought he could shut her down with a stare, he was abou
t to find out how mistaken he could be. She’d have her say. By God she would have her say.
“JM made those terms so I can make decisions unimpeded over the next year. And I only bought into the business because he needed capital to acquire more bulls in hopes of getting a supply contract with the American Federation of Bull Riders—an opportunity that could help future prospects of the firm.”
Mandy was well aware of her grandfather’s plan regarding the AFBR, since she had suggested it as a way to improve their bottom line. But she had no inkling he had sold shares in the company to raise capital to buy those five young bulls in their corral—and to Ty Martin, of all people.
“Given the credit crunch, we thought this would be a better way to fund,” Brian offered. “And Ty, who, I’m pretty sure, had no intention of owning a rodeo company anytime soon, agreed. It was generous of him.”
Mandy rubbed a hand across her eyes and wondered if the world had gone mad. Generous of Ty? He was buying into one of the most respected rodeo suppliers in the business and now had the majority vote. How did that make Ty generous?
“As for the time period, this is where your grandfather recently changed the will.” Brian shifted his gaze to include Ty. “And this is where I parted company with him regarding the terms. I want you both to know that up front. I do not approve of these terms. Absolutely I do not.”
Panic rose up inside of Mandy as rapidly as flood water from a hurricane. This was going to be bad. Very bad.
Chapter 2
Ty rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like the sound of things. JM may have been the smartest businessman he knew and his mentor ever since Ty had won the scholarship, but that only meant JM wasn’t above doing the unexpected now and again. “Why don’t you just tell us what this is all about, Brian?”
Mandy scowled and glared at him, her pretty green eyes narrowed in accusation. She hadn’t always been so pissed off at him. No indeedy.
He still remembered the first time he saw her ten years ago. She’d slipped into the barn and, as he shoveled out an especially large pile of manure, she walked past him. He turned to catch the back of a pair of long shapely legs, a tight butt in cut-off jeans, and a mane of wavy brown hair floating down her back. He’d made a mental note to find out who she was, and find out he did.
“Well, JM has a deal he wants offered to you both.” Brain shifted in his chair as if trying to get comfortable. It was a bad sign when a lawyer squirmed in his seat. “Previously, Ty was to run the company for one year. In that time he would assess the firm’s future prospects and determine next steps. But in accordance with the new will, Ty has the option of extending his stewardship to a total of two years with Ty continuing to have complete authority to determine the company’s future, or whether it even has a future. At the end of Ty’s tenure, if the company isn’t sold, control would revert to you, Mandy.”
Mandy’s gasp was loud and deep as she slapped a hand on the table, creating a distinctive smack.
He could understand her reaction. This two-year amendment was a new wrinkle, even to him. At least the two years was an option. He could still exit after a year. By then he should know what was best for Prescott and what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
His tenure at the land development company had left him well-off but with a bitter taste in his mouth. It would take him some time to set up a rival company. Prescott could hold the key to that, or at least the ranch could. If he could get agreement from the family to develop that property, he’d make a name for himself. Because if the rodeo company sold, there’d be little reason beyond sentiment to hold on to the ranch. Selling the ranch could make the Prescott family not just well-off, but wealthy. And Ty even wealthier.
Not that he wasn’t looking forward to managing the rodeo company for a period. He needed a break given the corporate politics he’d been embroiled in the past few months, which had almost broken him. And then had come JM’s death.
He was counting on hard physical labor to get him mentally back on track. Different work from lawyering and negotiating land deals. Work that involved his hands as well as his head.
“And Ty, there’s a bonus in this for you as well,” Brian added, spearing Ty’s attention. “But there is another option, along with conditions, for the both of you to consider.”
“If it means I can run this company sooner, I’ll do anything. Anything,” Mandy said with a determination that almost made Ty laugh. As nicely as she filled out a pair of jeans, and it was very nice indeed, Mandy Prescott was a handful. While he was looking forward to being involved in the business, managing Mandy was not likely to be one of the highlights, considering she thought he was the devil incarnate. Unless, of course, they could come to some mutually beneficial terms that involved the bedroom. That would certainly turn the dynamics favorable.
He enjoyed a challenge, particularly when the effort was worth it. And he had no doubt with Mandy the effort would be well worth it. The hardest decision he had ever made with regard to a woman was when he’d walked away from Mandy ten years ago.
He could still see the hurt in her eyes, the tear that had traveled down her cheek, as he’d denied every instinct and told her no.
It had been the right decision. But it hadn’t been an easy one.
Brian stroked his chin. “Well, Mandy, that statement will surely be tested.”
“What does grandfather’s will say?”
Mandy looked ready to jump right out of her seat.
“Just remember, I’m only the messenger.” Brian looked back at the paper in his hand. “The will states that if you agree to marry Ty Martin and he agrees to marry you…”
Ty felt like he’d been hit with a stun gun as Mandy surged out of her chair.
“Marry? What is this? Some cruel joke?” She whirled around and faced Ty, accusation in her eyes.
Ty was thinking the exact same thing. He held up his hands in surrender. “Believe me, I’m just as shocked as you are.”
Brian signaled for Mandy to sit down. “Just hear me out. I know neither of you are interested, but I have to read it out nonetheless.”
Mandy thudded back down in her chair. She was one peeved female, and Ty couldn’t blame her. What was JM thinking? Marry Mandy? She hated him, and while he did have plans to change that, it wasn’t in exchange for a wedding ring.
As Brian read out the legal language that specified the terms, Ty could feel the pressure on his ribs increase like one of Prescott’s two-thousand-pound bulls had just sat on his chest. When Brian finished, he looked up.
“Ostensibly, what it means,” Brian explained, “is that, assuming you married, cohabitated, and stayed married for at least six months, thirty-one percent of the company represented by the remaining shares would be split so that, Mandy, you would get sixteen percent additional with voting rights, and, Ty, you would get fifteen percent with voting rights. This would make Mandy the majority stockholder, though neither of you would have the controlling interest individually. Being married, however, your combined stock holdings would result in a controlling interest.”
“Hah, he must of been out of his mind,” Mandy said, crossing her arms under those nice breasts of hers, her foot jiggling like it was preparing for lift off.
Ty had to agree with her assessment, even though JM must have drawn up that provision right after he’d asked Ty to buy into the business, serve as Mandy’s mentor, and determine what was best for the family’s financial future. JM had not seemed the least bit addled. Physically weak from the rapid advance of cancer and the treatments, but still mentally sharp.
Brian shook his head. “No, he was not. I won’t go into everything, but among other precautions, legal and otherwise, your grandfather had a preeminent psychiatrist attest to the soundness of his mental state.”
Mandy shook her head as if she could make the provision disappear. Ty sunk back in his chair and stretched out his legs. No cause for alarm. This woman wanted nothing to do with marrying him, even if he did
manage to get her into his bed. Right now that prospect wasn’t looking too good.
Still, it hadn’t taken but a second for his mind to leap from marriage to having sex with Mandy, especially given she looked damn attractive all fired up. Images of taking her to bed, running his fingers through that hair, and finishing what they’d started ten years ago crowded his mind, making his groin pound. He gave a mental shake in hopes of getting rid of those images.
Nope, they were still there.
Mandy leaned forward, breasts resting on the table as she bit her lip. She had very kissable lips, as he remembered. And breasts. “Why would my grandfather think I would ever agree to such a thing?”
Ty sure had no clue what the old man could have been thinking, because not even the promise of additional stock, which surely would be worth a nice chunk of change, would be enough to get him to the altar. Why JM thought either of them would consider such a life-changing step was the wonder.
“Because Ty has a mandate to assess the long-term viability of the business, and according to the provisions of the will, Ty retains the voting rights of the remaining thirty-one percent of shares for up to two years, at his option, if you don’t marry.”
“I don’t understand.”
Ty did, and Mandy wouldn’t like it. But business was business, like JM always said.
Brian cleared his throat as if the words had gotten stuck there. “With fifty-one percent of the stock between what he owns outright and the voting rights JM has assigned over to him, Ty has the votes and the mandate to sell the business if he feels the financials warrant that step. And up to two years to do it. That is, if you don’t marry.”
Mandy’s face turned a chalky shade of pale. The chair she was sitting in seemed to swallow her up as she drew back into its leather embrace. He could see the import of Brian’s words sinking in as her jaw tightened, her eyes rounded, and her lips thinned.
