wanted my wife back.’
Her normally low, slightly husky voice sounding high and shrill even in her own ears, she cried, ‘Now I understand. But if you think for one instant that I’d be willing to come back to you, you’re crazy.’
‘If I am,’ he said grimly, ‘it’s because you’ve made me that way. But, crazy or not, they are my terms. If you want to save your father any further worry and stress and keep his company afloat, you’ll need to agree to them.’
‘Well, if this is your idea of negotiating , you’ve been wasting your time. I’ve absolutely no intention of agreeing to them.’
‘As always, it’s up to you,’ he said evenly. ‘But there’s quite a lot at stake, so you might want to think about it before you refuse.’
He was right about there being a lot at stake, but she couldn’t sink her pride and go back to him, she just couldn’t!
He stayed silent, giving her time, and after a minute or so she asked, as he had surely known she would, ‘And presumably you would still want a controlling interest in the company?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ll settle for fifty per cent of the shares.’
‘So what exactly are you offering in return for me and fifty per cent of the shares?’ Her voice shook, making her attempt at sarcasm a miserable failure.
His manner businesslike and to the point, he said, ‘As soon as I have your agreement, I’ll buy the shares at the full market price and pay off the mortgage on your father’s house as well as all the bank loans and overdrafts.
‘I’ll also provide an immediate injection of cash.’ He named a sum that made her blink. ‘And if I judge that the newprojects you mentioned are worth it, I’ll provide ample funds to finance them through to completion.’
Trying to take it in and feeling a little dazed, she asked, ‘Would you mind saying all that again?’
He repeated word for word what he had just said.
It was a much more generous offer than she might have dared to expect or hope for, and the consequences of refusing would be dire.
The company her father and Elmer had spent a lifetime building up would go down the drain. Their loyal employees would lose their jobs and, instead of her father and Elmer being able to retire comfortably, they would end up bankrupt and without a roof over their heads.
Common sense told her that Martin and Elmer would be able to weather the storm somehow, but in her father’s case it was bound to put a serious strain on his heart.
Yet how could she bring herself to live with a man she no longer loved? A man she was more than half afraid of? A man from whose dark spell she had struggled so hard to escape…?
While turbulent thoughts tumbled through her mind, she stared blindly at the hands clasped tightly together in her lap, desperately seeking a solution when common sense told her there wasn’t one.
His eyes fixed on her down-bent face, Jared finally broke the silence to ask, ‘Well? Have you decided?’
Lifting her head, she took a deep shuddering breath and, trying to sound firm but only managing to sound panic-stricken and desperate, said, ‘I can’t give you an answer straight away. I need time to think about it.’
‘Very well. I’ll give you twenty-four hours.’
Twenty-four hours wasn’t long, but it was at least a breathing space, a temporary reprieve from having to make such a traumatic decision.
CHAPTER SIX
W HILE P ERDITA had been caught up in a maelstrom of turbulent thoughts, the last traces of evening had flown and a starlit night had taken its place.
Though the air was still soft and balmy, a faint breeze had sprung up and was stirring the tendrils of the flowering vine that hung close by, sending its perfume drifting seductively.
She recalled such a lovely night years ago in San Jose. A perfect starlit, romantic night when, having told her father she was sleeping over with a friend, she had slipped away from the party early and gone to Jared’s house.
After they had eaten
Her normally low, slightly husky voice sounding high and shrill even in her own ears, she cried, ‘Now I understand. But if you think for one instant that I’d be willing to come back to you, you’re crazy.’
‘If I am,’ he said grimly, ‘it’s because you’ve made me that way. But, crazy or not, they are my terms. If you want to save your father any further worry and stress and keep his company afloat, you’ll need to agree to them.’
‘Well, if this is your idea of negotiating , you’ve been wasting your time. I’ve absolutely no intention of agreeing to them.’
‘As always, it’s up to you,’ he said evenly. ‘But there’s quite a lot at stake, so you might want to think about it before you refuse.’
He was right about there being a lot at stake, but she couldn’t sink her pride and go back to him, she just couldn’t!
He stayed silent, giving her time, and after a minute or so she asked, as he had surely known she would, ‘And presumably you would still want a controlling interest in the company?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ll settle for fifty per cent of the shares.’
‘So what exactly are you offering in return for me and fifty per cent of the shares?’ Her voice shook, making her attempt at sarcasm a miserable failure.
His manner businesslike and to the point, he said, ‘As soon as I have your agreement, I’ll buy the shares at the full market price and pay off the mortgage on your father’s house as well as all the bank loans and overdrafts.
‘I’ll also provide an immediate injection of cash.’ He named a sum that made her blink. ‘And if I judge that the newprojects you mentioned are worth it, I’ll provide ample funds to finance them through to completion.’
Trying to take it in and feeling a little dazed, she asked, ‘Would you mind saying all that again?’
He repeated word for word what he had just said.
It was a much more generous offer than she might have dared to expect or hope for, and the consequences of refusing would be dire.
The company her father and Elmer had spent a lifetime building up would go down the drain. Their loyal employees would lose their jobs and, instead of her father and Elmer being able to retire comfortably, they would end up bankrupt and without a roof over their heads.
Common sense told her that Martin and Elmer would be able to weather the storm somehow, but in her father’s case it was bound to put a serious strain on his heart.
Yet how could she bring herself to live with a man she no longer loved? A man she was more than half afraid of? A man from whose dark spell she had struggled so hard to escape…?
While turbulent thoughts tumbled through her mind, she stared blindly at the hands clasped tightly together in her lap, desperately seeking a solution when common sense told her there wasn’t one.
His eyes fixed on her down-bent face, Jared finally broke the silence to ask, ‘Well? Have you decided?’
Lifting her head, she took a deep shuddering breath and, trying to sound firm but only managing to sound panic-stricken and desperate, said, ‘I can’t give you an answer straight away. I need time to think about it.’
‘Very well. I’ll give you twenty-four hours.’
Twenty-four hours wasn’t long, but it was at least a breathing space, a temporary reprieve from having to make such a traumatic decision.
CHAPTER SIX
W HILE P ERDITA had been caught up in a maelstrom of turbulent thoughts, the last traces of evening had flown and a starlit night had taken its place.
Though the air was still soft and balmy, a faint breeze had sprung up and was stirring the tendrils of the flowering vine that hung close by, sending its perfume drifting seductively.
She recalled such a lovely night years ago in San Jose. A perfect starlit, romantic night when, having told her father she was sleeping over with a friend, she had slipped away from the party early and gone to Jared’s house.
After they had eaten
Similar Books
