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“No,” Carmela laughed. “Come on in. I thought we could all have dinner together.”
“Wait, you two know each other?” he asked, coming inside but still eyeing both of us suspiciously.
“Yup,” she said. “Known each other a long time.”
“Ahh,” he said. “Itisa set-up.”
“Not quite,” Mark chimed in, coming out of a room behind the kitchen that I assumed was an office. He held out a hand, and Victor shook it before glancing back over at me.
I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was, again. This time though, he was wearing jeans and a tight, white T-shirt, showing off his incredible physique. He was muscular and cut, and it was clear through his clothes that he took very good care of himself. I had a hard time not staring at the way the muscles moved in his forearms. They just looked so… delicious.
“Besides, Carmelaisa lawyer, remember?” Mark said. “You don’t think I would let her railroad you, do you?”
“Depends on how mad you are about the fantasy football results last year,” Victor said with a grin.
Something about that grin made my stomach feel fluttery.
“Come on,” Mark said. “I’m past that. Besides I’ll just kick your ass this year.”
“All right, boys, enough of that,” Carmela said. “Will you come on in? We can have drinks while dinner finishes up.”
“Fine,” Victor said, still looking a bit unsure.
“Come on,” Mark said. “I’ll get you a beer.”
Mark left for the kitchen, coming back with three beers, one for Mark, one for Victor, and a third for me. He popped the tops and handed them off as we stood in the dining room. Mark held his bottle out, and we all clinked them together.
“To friendship,” Mark said.
Victor made a noncommittal sound, and I simply nodded, taking a sip of the surprisingly good beer and then sitting down.
“All right,” Victor said. “What do you want to know?”
Mark looked at me, raising his eyebrows and sitting back in his chair.
“Well, the biggest issue here is that the company you bought shouldn’t have been for sale in the first place,” I said.
“As I have been informed,” he replied.
“The board had no right to do what they did, a belief that I feel like would be seconded by a judge if I were to bring this to court. So, with that in mind, the question becomes how willing are you to go to court to fight for something that you will likely lose, but will also cause untold damage to the investment you have made and to other people’s lives in the meantime?
“I was set to inherit this company. I have spent years and years sacrificing what kind of life I could have had to learn every aspect of it. I didn’t do that so I could be someone else’s employee and make an allowance. I want the ownership powersand duties that I have been preparing myself for since my parents passed away.”
“I have heard all of this already,” he said.
“I’m not done,” I continued. “The board sold it out from under me, and that part is easy for you to see. What isn’t as easy is that they have exerted power they shouldn’t have really had for a long time. They have kept me from making upgrades and tackling some of the bigger problems the store has for a long time as well. They have put any hard or big decisions on the backburner, making it extremely difficult for me to address since any funds had to be approved by the board. As owner, I could have addressed them all by now, and I think I have paid my dues and deserve that chance.”
“And?” he asked.
“And I think there is a simple solution here that is staring us both in the face. You just wanted an investment, which I have no problem with, and even have no problem with you investing in my company. But having a bigger share than I do is crap, and you know it. So, my suggestion is to fix that imbalance.”
“Fix the imbalance?” he repeated.
“Yes,” I said, taking a deep breath. Here it was. All or nothing. The worst he could say was no. All the other options Carmela had given ran through my brain at lightning speed. “The easiest way possible would be for you to sell some or all of your shares to me.”
9
VICTOR
