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“Really?” My voice quivers a bit in excitement, but I proceed, “In all honesty, I thought you’d be like your daughter and come here to try and convince me to leave Andries or something like that.”
Her lips curve up in understanding. “My daughter is a bit less… business-oriented, to say the least. She is a judge, after all. Sebastian would have been easier to get on your side if you didn’t let his favorite employee become disgraced with that court case.”
“Andries was against it,” I tell her. “There was nothing I could have done to prevent that trial from happening.”
She sighs, her gaze dropping to her lap for a moment, before returning to me. “I understand. That wasn’t an easy position to be in. You did well to side with Andries. My grandson is one of a kind. His ideas and values are totally over the top.” There’s a flicker of pride in her eyes when she speaks of Andries.
“He’s pure and kindhearted. I have never met someone like him before,” I disclose. I’m not sure why, but I feel much more comfortable around this woman than anyone else in Andries’ family. Maybe it’s because of how wise and down-to-earth she is, and staring her in the eye, I say, “He’s the only reason why I’m willing to sell the agency and do something else with my career. He’s worth it.”
She nods in understanding, her expression softening with a smile. “He’s always been different,” she says, shifting in her seat to a more comfortable position. “Quiet and reserved, with his nose always in books.” I listen as she speaks, some nostalgia lacing her tone. Her gaze drops to her lap for a second as she considers her next set of words. “Sebastian never had a good relationship with his son. He wanted to mold him into his image, like the perfect heir of the family. Alas, Andries couldn’t be more different.” There’s a distant look in her eyes as she tells me all of this.
“Was it hard for him to grow up with a father like Sebastian?” I ask her, curiosity getting the better of me.
She frowns. “Oh, it was. Let me tell you a story…” We adjust ourselves in our respective seats, leaning forward to get closer to each other. “Sebastian loves hunting, and he couldn’t wait to share his passion with his son. The boy was only twelve at the time, but he took him on a hunting trip and forced him to shoot at the deer that was their target.”
My mouth hangs open at the revelation, and I can't help but ask, “Did Andries do it?”
“He did. And the poor boy cried all the way back home. He has hated his father ever since,” she admits, letting her head drop down.
My whole body hurts as I picture the cruelty of the whole thing and I feel tears forming at the corner of my eyes as if I could feel Andries’ pain. “That is horrible.”
“It is. Andries was clearly not interested in hunting by any means, but Sebastian was convinced his son could learn to enjoy it.” She lets out a sigh, trying not to let the gloomy memory get the best of her.
“Some men are like that,” I murmur, causing Margaret to chuckle in agreement. “Which is why I thought I’d never marry.”
“Julia told me you had never had any serious boyfriends. Outside of work, I mean. Is it true?”
Her new question takes me off guard, but I realize we have entered into the confession territory so I keep my head high and say, “It is. I don’t like men in general. I just like having clients.”
“That’s a good way to look at it,” she answers, before leaning back against the couch, a comfortable silence settling between us while Margaret seems to be ruminating something through. “I understand why Andries loves you,” she declares out of the blue, causing a flutter in my stomach. “You are street smart and bold… all while looking like a delicate daisy.”
I let out a chuckle, quite flattered by her words. “A delicate daisy, huh? I can see who Andries got his poetic side from.”
She smiles, considering me for a moment. “When shall we proceed with the signing for the agency?”
WHAT! I nearly jump off of my seat, and even stutter as I ask, “You’re going to buy it? I couldn’t accept that.”
She blinks twice, visibly surprised. “You can’t?”
“Not from you,” I tell her. “Andries will be mad at me for selling my agency to his grandmother.”
“It’d have been a fun story,” she says with a smile as she thinks about it. “But no, don’t worry, the cheque is not coming from me.”
I frown upon hearing her last sentence, and Margaret seems to revel in the moment.
“It’s coming from Beate Uhse AG—a German adult entertainment group in which my family office owns a minority stake,” she informs me, her tone more serious than before.
I blink a few times, totally taken aback at the revelation. Just a few minutes ago we were talking about Andries’ childhood and now she’s telling me her family office owns a minority stake in an adult entertainment group? Wow. It seems too good to be true. “Really?” I ask, unable to contain the curiosity from my tone.Margaret nods, her expression just as stoic as before. “That’s huge. I mean, they are the biggest group in Germany.”
“And they are the ones buying the agency,” she reminds me. “I had a meeting with the board recently and this acquisition would fit nicely into their growth strategy.”
“But… How did you convince them without even checking my financials?” I ask her, partly confused and partly overwhelmed with joy.
“I know how to be convincing,” she says, as I realize she had already done the pitch on my behalf.
“So,” she continues, crossing a leg over the other as she takes a leather notebook and a pen out of her purse. “Should we do the signing Friday, April eighth?”
I look at her and at her open notebook—which seems to be a calendar—and my heart jumps in excitement at the realization this is really happening.Holy shit! I’m really doing this!“Sure, that works, fine,” I blurt the words out.
