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He shifted my legs and collapsed against my chest. His cock pulsed inside me as his hot breath tickled my neck.
After a moment, he lifted up and kissed my nose. “Is this a better way to wake up?”
“This is more like it.”
“That was your first not-nice lesson. More to come.”
I’d definitely remember to ask for not nice again.
Chapter 31
Josh
Friday morning,Gary and I were going over the cash situation again—as we had most mornings—when Dee poked her head in. “Libby called from Benson. They need you over there for a meeting.”
“When?”
“Now. And before you ask, she didn’t know the topic, but it’s ‘not about Nebraska,’ whatever that means. Harold Snyderman and your father are the other attendees.”
Organized and thinking ahead, Dee was a keeper for sure.
“Thanks, Dee.” I grabbed my car keys. “Gary, how about after lunch?”
He gathered up his papers. “Sure thing, Mr. B.”
The drive over to Benson Corp. for the meeting should have given me time to compose my thoughts. Instead, it allowed apprehension to take root. At least Dad had seemed to have kept his word about putting off any discussion of Camper Heaven. That was a battle I didn’t want to have today.
Upstairs in the monster building I used to enter every day, the marble and dark, polished wood looked foreign. Even pushing the button for the elevator felt odd. In only two weeks, I’d acclimated to the worn carpets and beige walls of the single-story Rossi’s building. At Rossi’s, the color came from the people instead of the furnishings.
Libby pointed me toward conference room two instead of Dad’s office.
Harold sat on the other side of the table when I entered. “Hey, Josh, you should be up in Nebraska helping Tony with Camper Heaven.”
I pulled out a chair across from him. “I’m not done at Rossi’s yet.” This wasn’t an argument I wanted to have with him right now.
The curtains were open, and behind Harold the city sprawled out for miles through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The vista was a stark contrast to the view of the parking lot I had at my new office.
Harold always sat with his back to the window—avoiding distraction, he’d once said. He’d even suggested painting over the windows at one point to increase productivity. Fortunately, better judgment had prevailed.
After a moment, Dad strode in. “Good to see you, Josh.” He settled into his seat and sipped the coffee he’d brought with him. “What are we here to talk about, Harold?”
I schooled my face. I’d thought Dad had called this meeting, not Harold.
Harold opened his folder. “There are two issues I think we shouldn’t let the grass grow under our feet on. We have a window of opportunity here with both Rossi’s and Smith’s under the corporate umbrella.”
“Such as?” Dad asked.
Harold shifted forward. “Since it seems likely that we will want to pull the plug eventually, with flexible inventory transfer pricing, we could effectively shift some of this quarter’s expenses off of Smith’s and on to Rossi’s. Then, when we exit, we’ll actually show a profit from the short-term holding.”
I interrupted. “That’s not right.” What he was proposing was clearly unethical.
“I assure you, we can do it in a way that doesn’t raise any flags with the auditors. It’s perfectly legal.”
I sat forward. “The issue is ethics, not legality. Pulling out of the purchaseandsaddling them with additional debt is just plain wrong.”
Dad was quiet. He’d made it clear to me at the outset that pulling out of the purchase contract wasn’t in the cards. He’d obviously not had the same conversation with Harold.
The CFO sneered in my direction. “My responsibility is to maximize the return for Benson Corp., not any other entity. And there’s no downside. If we keep the company, the Rossi’s losses will be offset by the Smith’s gains, and it won’t cost us a thing in the consolidation.”
