Chapter 69 69
Was it really as innocent as that? His skeptical side wanted to think that it wasn’t, but it’d been a long day. At least he could enjoy a glass of good wine and derive deep satisfaction from admiring his nemesis’s little sister.
“I’ll open it right now.”
“So, Sunny Side,” Sherry said. “They could be an amazing acquisition for BenTel.”
Justin opened the bottle at the wet bar, filled two glasses and brought them to the lacquered cocktail table. He sat near Sherry and clinked his glass with hers. “Cheers.” Taking a long sip, he studied her lovely face, especially her mouth.
He’d only had her lips on his for a few moments, but he knew the spark beneath her composed exterior. She could so easily be his undoing. He hadn’t anticipated this beguiling creature resurfacing in his life. Or that she might disrupt the riskiest investment venture of his career.
“Well?” she asked. “Sunny Side?”
“Yes. Sorry. It’s been a long day.” He shook his head, trying to make sense of the situation. “Is there a point in discussing it? Sunny Side might consider an offer from BenTel, but the problem is Adam. I don’t see him wanting to acquire a company I’m so deeply entrenched with and frankly, I’m never getting into bed with him either.”
Getting into bed with Adam’s sister might be another matter. Loyalty was no longer standing in the way.
She nodded, intently focused. “I’ll take care of Adam. I just want to know if you can put me in the room with Sunny Side.”
“Just so you know, it’s about more than money. The founder is very leery of big business. It took months for me to earn his trust.”
Her eyes flashed. She was undaunted by obstacles. If anything, it brought out her enthusiasm. “Of course. The technology has limitless applications.”
“It will revolutionize the phone industry.”
“So, can we make this happen?”
Justin admired her persistence. Among other things. “Maybe. No promises yet. Just maybe, but only if Adam stays out of it.”
“Tech acquisitions is my department. Think of it as doing business with me.”
“How long do you think you’ll stay in that job?” He’d been surprised she’d taken a job with BenTel at all. She always seemed to hate being in her brother’s shadow.
“Not forever, hopefully.”
“Setting your sights on bigger and better things?”
She smiled politely. “Yes.”
He was relieved that she saw herself eventually leaving BenTel. She’d still make a boatload of money from her personal stock if he was successful with a takeover, and her career wouldn’t be derailed. Adam was his target, not Sherry.
“Okay, well, if we’re going to talk about Sunny Side, Adam has to stay out of it. A negotiation requires compromise and he is incapable of that. He hates it when you disagree with him.”
“I’m familiar with that aspect of his personality.” She ran her finger around the edge of the wine glass, her eyes connecting with his and sending a splendid shock right through him. “I could never get Adam to tell me exactly what happened. Between the two of you.”
Although Justin wasn’t certain what made Adam react the way he had, he suspected Robert Bennet was at the root of it all. It started when Justin spotted problems with Adam’s central idea for the social media website they were starting. They needed to rethink everything. Adam vehemently disagreed. He brooded, they argued for days on end. Justin suggested Adam consult with his dad—maybe he could talk some sense into him. The next day, Justin had been cut out entirely.
“I find that surprising. I assumed he bad-mouthed me to anyone who would listen.”
“He did some of that, but he mostly just never wanted to talk about it.”
Sherry wound her arms around her waist.
Did he care to venture down this road tonight? Absolutely not. The details were too infuriating—money lost, countless hours, passion and hard work unfairly yanked away. Plus, he couldn’t tell Sherry that he suspected her father had been the problem. She was likely still grieving him.
“I don’t want to be accused of trying to taint your opinion of Adam. He is your brother, after all.”
“Okay, then at least tell me that you’ll put me in the room with Sunny Side.”
His mind went to work, calculating. There were myriad ways in which this could all go wrong. Of course, if it went right, that could be a real coup.
“I’ll think about it, but if I do it, it will only be because of you. I don’t want Adam interfering.”
“Believe me, I won’t let him get in the middle.” Sherry took a sip of her wine. When she set down the glass, she laughed quietly and shook her head.
“It was bad enough when he was the reason you didn’t want me to kiss you.”
_________
“Nina and I are going to be away for a full two weeks,” Adam said to Sherry the following day. “If you think that’s too long a stretch for you to be in charge at BenTel, you need to tell me now.”
Sherry blew out an exasperated breath. “I can’t believe you think there’s a chance I can’t handle it.”
Adam fetched a bottle of beer from the fridge and returned to the table. “What about Nemford? What if something like that happens when I’m gone? We’re still sorting out that mess.”
“First off, we’re not sorting out that mess, I am. And you asked me to make those changes. I was following orders.”
“If you’re going to be CEO, you have to think for yourself.” He took a sip of his beer and pointed at her with the neck of the bottle. “There will be no orders to follow.”
How she hated it when he talked down to her like that, as if she didn’t know as much about business, when she absolutely did. “And I will do that once you finally hand over the reins.” Sherry tightened her hands into balls.
She was so tired of her dynamic with Adam, constantly at war. Nina, his fiance, buried her nose in a bridal magazine. Surely this wasn’t a comfortable conversation to sit in on.
“When you’re ready and not a day sooner,” Adam barked. “You know we’re in a delicate position. The company stock is fluctuating like crazy. I keep hearing rumblings about somebody, somewhere, wanting to take over the company.”
She’d heard those same rumors, but had ignored them, hoping they were conjecture and nothing more. “Adam, change brings instability. I think you’re making excuses, when the truth is that you suddenly have zero confidence in me.”