by Robyn Neeley
CHAPTER TWO
Grayson pushed back in his leather office chair and adjusted his royal blue tie. Last night’s turn of events had caused him to schedule an emergency meeting with Gavin and Gage, in which he’d share his vision for the future of Guac Olé. A solid plan that was going to put his late father’s company on the map as the clear leader in the production of premade guacamole, shattering their bottom line.
So what if it was 7 a.m.? Gavin and Gage needed to realize that their no-nonsense middle brother meant business. Grayson also wanted this private stakeholders’ meeting to take place before business hours so no one in the office would notice that one soon-to-be shareholder was conveniently missing.
And after last night, Becca Nash would never have a seat at the table.
He’d waited for two months while the dust settled after the reading of their father’s will, but after the Silver Spurs’s confrontation with the feisty brunette, now was the time to strike.
Grayson stood and faced the wall where his dad’s picture hung in the recently remodeled Legacy conference room, a portrait of the late Jack Cooper wearing both his signature smile and his favorite black felt cowboy hat.
Had his father known back then what he’d planned to do with his legacy? Grayson eyed his dad’s mischievous grin. It appeared so. “Thanks a lot, Dad. You could have at least left me your hat,” he scoffed and reached into his pocket, staring down at the small strawberry charm keychain his father did, in fact, leave him. At least the hat he could wear.
It wasn’t that he was angry with his dad, or what he’d done with his birthright—okay, that was a lie. He sat back down and fisted his hand around the charm before flinging it across the mahogany board table.
He was pissed.
Both his brothers, who had also been given small trinkets and not what they’d expected to inherit, had felt the same way he did—at first.
While Gavin had been promised the house they grew up in and Gage was to receive land his father had held on to all these years, Dad had called Grayson into his corner office at Guac Olé shortly after his terminal cancer diagnosis, made him CEO, and promised him 50 percent shares in the company.
Like his brothers, Grayson had been gutted to learn the doctors had given his father only a year to live, but he had also been honored his dad had faith in him to lead the company and further his legacy.
And Grayson had been up to the challenge. It’s all he’d ever wanted. While neither Gavin nor Gage had shown an interest in working for Guac Olé, after high school, Grayson had headed off to the University of Texas at Dallas and then East to obtain his MBA with one goal: return and work his ass off to one day lead the company.
He never imagined it would be handed over to him at thirty-two, but he’d worked here for ten years and had been a part of his dad’s senior team for the last five. With a 50 percent stake, he’d planned to take the premade dip industry by storm.
What had possessed his dad to will away the shares he’d promised to a factory worker in the Guac Olé plant?
Grayson had asked himself that question every day for the last two months.
At least he had given the other 50 percent to Gavin and Gage like he’d said he would, keeping half of the control in the family.
Grayson grabbed his pen and tapped it on his black portfolio. His dad—for whatever reason—had stipulated in the will that her paycheck would immediately increase to reflect her new role, but her voting rights wouldn’t take effect until September 1.
He had thirty days to 1) find out why his father had given away his inheritance to Becca Nash, and 2) somehow get it back.
And that started today by taking the proverbial bull by the horns and moving full steam ahead with his plans. If he was going to get the shares that rightfully belonged to him, he needed to act like he already had them.
“So, please tell me why I’m here for a mandatory meeting this early in the morning?” Gavin strolled in with a white box in one hand and a leash attached to his black lab, Merle, in the other. As the town’s popular veterinarian, Gavin always took Merle to work with him. The black lab was quite the celebrity around Sweet Ridge and was known for sporting a wide variety of bandannas.
“I see he’s wearing the Guac Olé uniform.” Grayson grinned and bent down to pet the happy canine, gently tugging the green bandanna with small avocados all over it.
“He was a big hit this morning at the diner. Betty Lou filled him with dog treats.” Gavin glanced up at their father’s portrait. “Howdy, Dad. Can you haunt Grayson’s dreams and tell him never to call a shareholders’ meeting this early?”
“Whatever. By now, Dad would have been on his third cup of coffee while waiting for you boneheads, and you know it.” Their dad had, indeed, been an early worm throughout most of his career. “What’s in the box?”
Gavin sat down, opened the lid, and pulled out a salted caramel glazed donut, handing it to Grayson on a light blue napkin. “Betty Lou says these are Becca’s favorite.”
“So?” Grayson passed on the donut that his washboard abs didn’t need. “Why should I care?”
“No reason.” Gavin set the donut back in the box, his smirk a dead giveaway. Grayson knew exactly what his big brother was thinking because, for the last two months, the entire town had been giving him the same look.
Both Gavin and Gage had fallen in love with the women whom their dad had willed away their inheritances to. Gavin and Macy were now shacked up in the Cooper homestead, and Gage was already married to Charlotte, for Christ’s sake. The gossip train had left the tracks full steam ahead for the Guac Olé plant, with the juicy news that Becca and Grayson were next.
Well, if his dad was watching from up above, he’d have to be satisfied with his matchmaking for two out of three sons, because dating that factory worker wasn’t going to happen. Even if he had time for more than an occasional fling when he had an itch, he liked to think he could find a woman he’d have more in common with than one who peeled avocados.
He realized how hypocritical that thought was since those avocados were his livelihood, but he was 100 percent certain Becca Nash was not the woman for him.
“Okay, let’s get this meeting started. Gage’s butt better be in his computer chair.” Grayson turned on the flat-screen television mounted on the wall, and with a few quick keystrokes, Skyped in his younger brother.
Within minutes, a disheveled Gage appeared on screen wearing a white T-shirt. “This better be good.” He rubbed his eyes and cracked his neck. “I mean, good morning.”
“I’m sorry to wake you,” Grayson said unapologetically, reaching for his coffee and taking a sip while Gavin made himself comfortable next to him, attacking one of the donuts. “So, I’ll get right to it. I wanted us to meet because I’d like to move forward with my plans to begin pushing our dip into restaurants.”
“This is what I got up early for?” Gage asked, leaning closer to his screen while whispering, “You do realize I have a naked woman in my bed.”
“And you can go back to your wife when we’re done.” This time he’d use his brothers’ lack of focus to his advantage to get what he wanted. “I know it’s little interest to you both, but we’ve got a real opportunity here. In addition to grocery stores, we should be in every Tex-Mex restaurant and not just south of the Mason-Dixon line. We need to be everywhere. The West Coast, the East Coast, hell, the Great Plains.”
He rose from his seat and began to pace. “Over the history of this company, we’ve concentrated most of our effort on supermarkets, which has been great and what we needed to do to build our brand. But being the number-one supplier of guacamole to restaurants across North America will make us the leader in premade dip. I’m ready to get our research team on it and then start making calls and doing some deals. Our revenue will skyrocket.” He saved his best line for last while pointing to their late father’s portrait, “It’s what Dad would have wanted.”
Gavin nodded his agreement. “Dad would have loved to see Gua
c Olé dip in restaurants, that’s for sure. What do you need from us?”
“Just your vote of confidence.” Grayson couldn’t help but grin as he took his seat. Maybe having his brothers as shareholders wasn’t a bad thing if he could sell them on his ideas so easily. “So, do I have your blessing to move forward? I’ll set up meetings with leadership personnel of Mexican chain restaurants this fall. If we get any early bites, it’s possible we can be incorporated into menus just in time for next year’s Super Bo—”
“Not so fast,” Gage interjected. “Shouldn’t Becca be included in this conversation?”
Grayson waved his hand, dismissing his brother. “Her voting rights don’t start for another thirty days, so right now it’s up to you two.”
“Yeah, but we should wait until she can vote. It’s what Dad would have wanted,” Gavin said smugly while taking the salted caramel donut back out of the box, setting it on a napkin, and pushing it toward him.
Was Becca supposed to be the donut in this scenario? Grayson grabbed it, taking a big bite. “Becca’s not a businesswoman. Let’s just keep her in the plant and let her collect her new triple-digit salary none the wiser.”
Gavin grabbed a napkin, wiping his hands. “I vote no.”
“What?” Grayson jerked his head toward his brother.
“Me, too,” Gage piped in. “It’s a definite no.”
“What the hell?” Grayson jumped out his chair, his voice rising. “You can’t do that.”
Gavin checked his watch and stood, calling Merle over to latch on his leash. “Actually, brother, we can. Why don’t you put a meeting together thirty days from now with all three shareholders, and we'll discuss your ideas. Oh, and next time, how about we schedule it for after nine a.m.?”
“After ten a.m.,” Gage interjected while picking up his black kitten, Oil Slick, who had jumped onto his desk. “I know you don’t want to hear it, Gray, but Becca really should be part of any product expansion conversations. Since she literally has her hands in the dip, maybe she has ideas you haven’t thought of to sell it.” He chuckled and held the black kitten up to the screen. “And who knows? In thirty days, Becca could be your girlfriend and you could get a cat.”
Grayson pointed the remote control at Gage. “You’re done.” The screen went blank.
“You know, he could be right.” Gavin slapped his back. “And would that necessarily be a bad thing?”
“He’s not right. Neither of you are. Becca does not have the professional background to make these decisions, and you both know it.”
“I wasn’t talking about her business acumen.”
“For the last time, I am not getting together with her.” Grayson shook his head. “Besides, I’m holding out for one of Macy’s hot backup singers,” he joked bitterly.
“Forget it. I’ve already warned all of them to stay away from your sweet Texas charm.” Gavin reached for a donut for the road. “You know what Dad would do in this situation?”
“Dad’s the one who put me in this situation!”
“Maybe, but what he’d do is meet his enemy on neutral ground. Suggest grabbing coffee or something.” He snickered. “But whatever you do, keep the guacamole away from her.”
“You heard about last night?”
“I might have heard something at Betty Lou’s.” Gavin grew serious. “From what I’ve heard around town, Becca is as shaken by receiving the shares as you are. Eventually, you’re going to have to talk this out. Why not be the first to extend an olive branch?”
“Maybe …” Grayson wasn’t so sure splitting a salted caramel donut at Betty Lou’s Diner would solve anything. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Let’s go, Merle.” Gavin grinned and grabbed hold of the black Lab’s leash. “I’ve got to meet Macy before work.”
“Go play house with your country music star.”
“You might like it if you try it,” Gavin got the last word in before disappearing out the door. Typical.
Grayson picked up both his coffee and the donut box, his gaze resting on the strawberry charm still hanging off the edge of the table. He snatched it, shoving it in his pocket, and headed for his office.
“Good morning. Have some breakfast.” He handed the box over to Eleanor and walked into his office, but added one last, “Oh, and hold my calls this morning.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Shutting his door, he took a seat behind his mahogany desk and closed his eyes. That meeting hadn’t gone well. Obviously, if he was going to accomplish anything this month, he needed to focus on getting his shares back from Becca. But how?
His eyelids flew open, and he reached for the small white card propped in front of a picture of his father with him and Gavin and Gage. The picture had been taken two Christmases ago in front their dad’s magnificent tree. After the will was read, his dad’s lawyer had given him the note along with the charm. Grayson studied the question on the card for the thousandth time.
Son, what is sweeter than success?
“Nothing, Dad. Absolutely nothing is sweeter than success. There. I’ve answered your question. Now, can I have my shares back?” he asked, half-hoping his father’s spirit was lurking in his former office.
Frustrated, he stood and headed to the window, glancing down below at the Guac Olé factory, his annoyance growing as he watched a blue, beat-up Ford truck pull into the VIP spot next to his.
It was bad enough that Eleanor had given Becca a space among the management team, but did this woman have to park next to his Mercedes convertible? His assistant could say it was the only spot available, but he knew better. Eleanor was one of the many townsfolk who firmly believed that Becca and Grayson were destined to be together, and she’d asked him every day for the first two weeks if he’d run into her in the parking lot.
She finally stopped asking when he threatened to take the television out of the cafeteria so she wouldn’t be able to watch her favorite soap opera during lunch.
Shoving his hands in his pocket, he watched as the petite brunette got out of her truck, one tanned leg after the other. With her earbuds in, she moved her hips to whatever song she was listening to. Her blue sundress flowing to the music, she was oblivious to his spying.
Becca Nash was attractive in a simple country girl way—a type he’d never really been attracted to. Beige cowboy boots completed her outfit, which was strike one against her. He was probably the only man in Sweet Ridge, Texas, who found cowboy boots on women appalling. In the heat of the moment, he preferred to remove sexy black stilettos than heavy, harness strap boots.
All of a sudden, Becca spun around and tripped, causing her to spill her coffee, her arm shaking violently as she waved what he assumed was her burnt hand frantically in the air. It only took her a couple of seconds to open the truck door and bend down in search of something. She came back up with a Denver Broncos jersey, wiping her hands.
Strike two. Who in Texas didn’t support the Cowboys?
He shook his head at the hot mess below as she tried to blot the coffee stain out of her dress. What possessed his father to give so much power to this woman?
How was he going to get Becca to turn over what was rightfully his? He pulled out the charm from his pocket.
Rubbing the red strawberry with his thumb, a mischievous grin took over his pissed-off attitude. Maybe Gavin was right. Perhaps it was time for Becca Nash to experience firsthand his sweet Texas charm.
• • •
“Crap!” Becca yanked out her earbuds. The universe clearly hated her this morning. It wasn’t only the burning sensation now seeping through her skin that made her scream but also the fact that she’d just made a royal fool of herself in front of Grayson, whom she’d caught only moments before looking down from his plush corner office. That realization made her trip and spill her piping hot coffee.
She opened her truck, and lunged for her Denver Broncos jersey. She’d have to sacrifice it to the cause.
Popping back out, she kept her back
to the main office on purpose and began to blot her blue sundress with her jersey sleeve.
“Nice going, Becca.” For once, could she stop looking like a fool in front of Grayson Cooper? It wasn’t the first time she’d caught him staring down from below.
But she had nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything, she should turn around and give Grayson the finger for throwing it in her face that she didn’t have a fancy degree, and then accusing her of blackmailing his father. Let him stew up there over the fact that this college dropout would soon have 50-percent control of his company.
With a quick toss of her long, wavy brown hair for the CEO’s benefit, she squared her shoulders and marched toward the Guac Olé plant, her home away from home for the past seven years.
The time had been uneventful, filled with long hours and small cost-of-living salary increases. Up until the last two months, she had clocked in, done her job, and clocked out, although two years ago, she had been promoted from line worker to day shift supervisor, a job she loved. So what if she hadn’t finished college? She was damn proud of both her accomplishments and her working-class roots. She wasn’t about to let some guy who’d gotten everything handed to him with a silver spoon get away with belittling her in public.
When the lawyers had stopped by the plant earlier this summer and escorted Becca to the Legacy conference room to share the news that Jack Cooper had named her in his will, she’d been floored. While Grayson sat silent across from her in his expensive black suit and avocado green tie, fidgeting with a keychain in his hand, the lawyers had given her the life-changing news that on September first, she would become the majority stakeholder in the company.
After that bomb had been dropped, Grayson had simply stood and handed her a folded piece of paper, congratulating her on her new salary effective immediately. He’d left without another word.
