Saved by the Rancher - By Jennifer Ryan Page 0,113
into your name just yet. We can wait.”
“It has to be now, Ben. The board is due to meet. David won’t expect me to attend. Not after what happened. We need the element of surprise on our side.”
To prove how ready she was to end this, she took the seat behind the desk and held out her hand for Ben to pass her the papers. She scrawled her name next to every tab, indicating “Sign Here”. She reviewed each one, noting the name of the company and the transfer of the name back into her own, then signed—one step closer to destroying her nightmare for good.
“So what’s the plan for the board meeting?”
“It’s going to be explosive, I can tell you that. The Merricks are very arrogant. They set up the board and the rules that govern them, so whoever holds majority share, namely them, controls the company and the board.
“I was never able to fight David. Physically, he’s stronger than I am. As you can see by my appearance, he always wins that fight. He won’t give up trying to get me back, even though he’s married. He says the family forced the marriage because the woman comes from a good family and has a lot of money.”
“She does,” Ben confirmed. “The Merricks have gone through a lot of their liquid funds. Most of their money is tied up in the company. They got wind a few weeks ago someone’s buying up shares. They’ve tried to maintain their majority share by buying more stock themselves. I don’t think they suspect what’s going on, as the shares we bought have been spread out over time and all these companies, but they’re suspicious.”
“I’m sure they won’t be relieved when they find out there’s a takeover about to happen, and it’s coming from within the company.”
“So how does Cameron Shaw play into your plan? He holds a seat on the board and is president of Ortel, Inc., but why do you want to meet with him?”
“Because I’m making him president of Merrick International. I’ll maintain my seat as CEO, but he’ll run the company. I’ll give him power to do what he’s done for Ortel, but on a much larger scale. It’s the deal of a lifetime for him. He’s good, and I have no doubt he’ll make Merrick even better than it is now. He’s been trying to get the Merricks to make some strategic changes that could have made the company millions upon millions over the past several years, but they constantly vetoed him. Now I’m giving him the opportunity he wants and deserves. He’ll be a very rich man, and I’m going to have babies and reap the rewards.”
“You have it all thought out then.”
“Not everything. The board is easy. David will be unpredictable. His volatile temper is not something I look forward to facing again. His parents will put up a fuss, but they don’t actually work for Merrick. David’s grandfather plans to retire and turn the company over to David. I hope he’ll see this as the better alternative. He’s a shrewd businessman. He’ll realize Cameron will make him a lot of money. Still, it won’t be a Merrick in charge, and that will piss him off. David, on the other hand, will go off the deep end. I expect he’ll come after me.”
“What’s your plan to handle David?”
“I’ll ruin him professionally at Merrick, and then personally in the press. He’s gotten away with hurting me for too long. Everyone will know what he’s done. I may not have gotten the police to do something to help me over the years, but now the world will know.”
“Is that why you wanted the book?”
“Yes. Do you have it?”
“It’s right here in my briefcase. Are you sure you want to look at it? It’s filled with a lot of bad memories. You’ve just been through the latest nightmare, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to compound that by reliving all the others, too.”
“Give it to me, Ben.”
“Please, don’t put yourself through this.”
“Did you bring the name of the man who runs my paper?”
“I have it.”
“Good, I’ll need that, too.”
“You aren’t publishing the book,” Ben stated unequivocally, concerned. “You can’t. Think about Jack.”
“Jack will understand I have to do this. It’s the only way. Taking Merrick away from David will be a big blow. This will be an explosion. Do you think it’s wrong for me to want to ruin him?”
Sad and contemplative, he answered truthfully, “It isn’t