Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“No,” I said amicably. “This is a visit on a personal matter. Can you let him know it’s urgent that I speak to him?”
Yes, it was presumptuous of me to show up and demand to see the CEO of the firm, but when a company retained tens of millions of my dollars, I had every right to be confident of my ability to command an impromptu meeting with Grant Branson.
Sure enough, after a brief conversation on the phone, Brittany flashed me another smile. “He’ll see you in his office,” she said, not bothering to get up from her seat to escort me since I’d been there dozens of times before.
“Thank you.” I headed toward the suite of executive offices, to the one with a panoramic view of New York City.
I walked inside Grant’s office and closed the door behind me since nobody else needed to be privy to this conversation, before approaching his desk. Grant stood up and reached across his desk to shake my hand. He was an older man, probably close to the same age my father would have been, with distinguished graying hair and pale blue eyes that were filled with curiosity, and maybe a bit of concern, for my unscheduled visit.
“Caleb, it’s always great to see you, but this is unexpected,” he said, as he sat down in the leather chair behind his desk, and I settled into one across from him. “Is there an issue with your portfolio?”
“Not at the moment,” I said in a neutral tone. “But that will depend on how this meeting goes.”
Grant frowned, the concern in his eyes unmistakable. “I didn’t realize you were unhappy with our advice and management of your investments.”
“I wasn’t, until some recent events were brought to my attention, which have to do with your son, Mark.”
“Mark?” Grant repeated, looking thoroughly confused. “He’s only a junior advisor and doesn’t handle your investments.”
“Oh, I know that,” I said, then asked, “Are you familiar with the name Valerie Palmer?”
He grimaced. “Yes. Mark dated her for a while. I know they had a rocky breakup, which then started affecting her work here at the firm and we had to let her go. All the more reason to adopt a no-office-romance policy.”
The last bit was said with a bit of humor, and I didn’t care for the fact that the blame was laid on Valerie. “Is that what Mark told you? That she wasn’t able to do her job because of their breakup?”
Grant must have heard the thread of anger in my tone, because he sat up straighter, his demeanor tensing. “What does any of this have to do with your investments?”
“Good question, and I’ll get to that in a minute.” I gave him a tight smile. “Here’s what I know and believe, based on your son’s recent actions. He dated Valerie, but he was also abusive to her in that relationship—”
“Wait a minute,” Grant said, interrupting me. “That’s quite an accusation you’re making against my son.”
I didn’t back off, considering the proof against Mark…and then it occurred to me that Grant might not even know about his son’s less-than-sterling behavior. “Are you aware that Mark has a restraining order against him, filed by Valerie?”
Grant went quiet, but the oh shit look on his face spoke volumes.
“If you didn’t know—because why would a grown man tell his father something embarrassing like that?—I can assure you that he does have a restraining order against him. And he’s violated it by stalking Valerie and contacting her by phone.”
“How do you know this?” Grant asked, his shock still apparent.
“Because Valerie’s sister, Stevie, is my girlfriend,” I told him. “And yesterday, your son assaulted Stevie outside her workplace after demanding to know where to find Valerie. She ended up with scrapes and bruises and a sprained wrist.”
Grant scrubbed a hand along his face and shook his head, looking appalled. “I…I had no idea.”
Sadly, I believed him, and I was glad that he didn’t try and make excuses for Mark’s behavior. However, that didn’t change the ultimatum I was about to issue. “Regardless, as much as I appreciate our working relationship and the firm’s management of my investments, if you don’t handle your son’s inability to stay away from Valerie and Stevie, I will have no issues pulling my portfolio and taking it elsewhere. And if I do that, you can be assured that my partner, Beck Daniels, will do the same, along with any other person I’ve recommended to this firm…which I’ll no longer be able to do when it employs such an unstable financial advisor.”
Much to Grant’s credit, he took my ultimatum seriously, probably because he realized how much he, and his firm, had to lose. “I’m very sorry about this,” he said, his apology genuine. “I know Mark has had anger issues stemming from my nasty divorce with his mother a few years ago, but I had no idea he’d abused Valerie.” The man visibly shuddered. “Or that he has a restraining order against him. You can rest assured I’ll take care of the issue immediately.”