Forces of Nature (18 page)

There was a collective gasp in the room as Douglas rose to his feet. “But, there is no way in hell that I'm going to allow Clive to replace me as CEO. I returned to Reeseville and came to Welco out of some misguided loyalty to my father. My father was a lot like Clive, selfish, ruthless, and heartless. Maybe that's the kind of man who needs to lead Welco. I'm willing to step aside, but I'll be damned if that bastard will take my job. Now, we can handle this quietly or I can air all of our dirty laundry, then watch the Welco stock free-fall like a rock dropped from the top of the Empire State Building.”

“This is blackmail!” Clive exclaimed.

“Let's not pretend that you weren't above playing the blackmail card,” he shot back. “What did you find in the pages of my father's diary? I'm willing to bet it was pretty dark. I'm sure you promised a certain reporter exclusive rights to the story.”

“You don't know a damned thing, little boy. You've been living off your father's name for too long. But you don't have the balls to make the tough calls. You're nothing like your father. He would be ashamed of you. As a matter of fact, he was. You should've stayed in Atlanta trying to be a record executive because you're a shitty businessman.”

Douglas folded his arms across his chest. “And you're so much better? You were willing to risk the company, our employees' retirement plans, and the profits of the board because you wanted to teach me a lesson?”

Fred shook his head. “Any truth to this, Clive?”

Clive snorted. “He's trying to save his ass and shove this new project down our throats. Don't fall for this.”

Douglas rose to his feet and rounded the table. “How did Deloris Tucker know I was staying at Hughes Farm?” He eyed Clive intensely.

“You're the one who has a relationship with the media, always in the paper and on TV cleaning up your mistakes,” Clive sputtered.

“At least I'm man enough to own up to what I've done wrong,” Douglas snapped. “Tell the truth, Clive. You were attempting a coup. It failed. Own up to it.”

The older man glared at Douglas and his body tensed as if he wanted to hit the younger man.

“What should we do about this?” Fred asked.

Douglas laughed and looked at the other board members. “You all have a choice and I suggest you make the right one. Clive can't be trusted. After all, I wasn't supposed to know about this meeting.”

“If you were thinking with your head and not your libido, we wouldn't need this meeting. Everybody knows about you and Crystal Hughes,” Clive spat. “You just want to keep her happy and in your bed—at the expense of the company.”

“Because you made sure they found out, so it would look as if I was choosing her over the company,” Douglas said as he approached Clive. “You know what? Maybe I am. See, I don't want to be like my father or you. Bitter. Old and lonely.”

“I just . . .” Clive uttered.

“If anyone is going to run this company for the near future, it will be Waylon Terrell,” Douglas ordered. “Then the board, without Clive as the chairman, can hire a headhunter to find the right man or woman to do the job.”

“Wait a damned minute!” Clive exclaimed. “You can't waltz in here and think you're going to fire me. That's not what this meeting was about. My performance isn't the issue.”

Douglas folded his arms across his broad chest. “It is now. Let me ask you all this,” he said as he turned to the other board members. “Do you want someone on this board who isn't thinking about making Welco better? Do you want a leader who will sell out just to make himself look good? Everything Clive says I am is exactly what he is. So, if you came here to vote me out, you might want to think what you're getting if you vote him in.”

Clive pounded his fist on the closed door. “Are you all going to listen to this little punk?”

Douglas smirked as he watched Clive try to save face. He'd shown his hand and proved everything Douglas had pointed out.

Fred spoke up again. “You know,” he said, “I haven't been this entertained at one of these meetings in a long time. But Clive and Douglas make very good points.”

“I don't like this,” Willis said. “I wasn't going to vote to replace you, Douglas. Because despite this project, you have done a great job with the company. Your father would've been proud. Why do you want to give it up?”

Douglas toyed with telling them the truth—that he didn't want to be anything like his father and that Crystal's love meant more to him than running this company. He wanted to admit that he never planned to spend more than five years there, never wanted to be Mr. Welco. Instead, he shrugged and said, “I've done as much as I can with this company.”

“And it hasn't been nearly enough,” Clive chimed in.

“But what in the hell have you done?” Willis questioned. “Why should we turn the control of this company over to you when you were willing to sabotage us to get what you want?”

“I'd like to make a motion,” Dorian said. “All of those in favor of removing Clive Oldsman as chairman of the board, say ‘aye.'“

Everyone but Clive said “aye.” He glared at his colleagues and hissed, “You spineless bastards. I would've never called this meeting had I known—”

“I'd like to make a second motion,” Douglas said.

Clive glared at him. “You're out of order! You're not a member of the board.”

“I'll make the motion then,” Willis said. “I move that we remove Clive Oldsman as a member of Welco's board of directors.” The motion was quickly seconded and passed.

Douglas gladly picked up the phone and called for security to come and escort Clive from the building.

“You all are going to regret this and I can't wait to watch how much money this company will lose,” Clive spat out. “You're all going to be penniless and I'm going to laugh at your stupidity and smugness.”

Douglas shook his head. The burly security guard appeared at the door and Douglas pointed him in Clive's direction. “And never allow him in this building again,” he ordered.

After Clive left the room, the other board members looked up at Douglas. “So, what happens now?” Willis asked.

Part of him wanted to say “not my problem,” but Douglas knew he owed it to the board to try and make sure Waylon would agree to take over.

“And,” Fred asked, “what happens to this business park?”

“We can move it to Waverly,” he said. “By the end of the day, I'll have the specs and a price comparison on building in Waverly versus Hughes Farm.”

“So, this isn't just about a girl,” Willis said. “You have a sound business plan behind this.”

“I won't take credit for it as my father wrote this plan before he decided to use this company to settle a personal score. For whatever reason, my father held on to a lot of shame about his Waverly roots. That town needs this business park and those jobs even more than Reeseville.”

“We look forward to seeing the proposal and getting started on this project, for real this time,” Fred said.

Douglas nodded as the board rose to their feet and headed for the exit. Once he was alone, he pulled out his cell phone and called Crystal.

Crystal sat on the sofa ignoring the whispers of her parents, Waylon and Dena. Her mind was on Douglas and what happened at the board meeting. Had he given up everything for her? As she was about to head outside, the phone rang. She rushed to the extension on the end table. “Hello?”

“Hey, babe,” Douglas said. “Miss me?”

“Yes. What happened at the meeting?”

“I tell you what—meet me at the Main Street Café and we can talk about it.”

Crystal glanced around the corner and saw that her parents were still involved in a deep conversation with Waylon and Dena. “All right,” she said. “I'll see you in about fifteen minutes.”

She padded down the hall and dashed into her bedroom so that she could change out of her pajamas. After selecting a pair of leggings and a sleeveless tunic, Crystal took a quick shower and dressed.

When she headed for the front door, she noticed her father pacing back and forth on the front porch. Crystal stepped outside and touched his elbow. “What's wrong, Daddy?” she asked.

“I don't trust that this is over,” he said. “I know I should forgive and forget, but that's a little hard for me to do.”

“Why?” she asked. “Daddy, Douglas's father is dead and he can't come after you and Mom anymore.”

“Baby girl, I'm not worried about me and your mother. I'm worried about you and this thing you have going with Junior's son. I'm guessing you're about to go and see him.”

Crystal nodded. “He's going to tell me what happened at the board meeting.”

“And you trust him? Because I swear . . .”

“Not only do I trust him, I think I love him, Daddy.”

Joel shook his head. “It's amazing that a Wellington can even know how to love. Crystal, I don't want you to be hurt and I don't want to find out down the line that son is more like father than you realize.”

Crystal hugged her father tightly. “Give him a chance,” she whispered in his ear.

“I'm only doing this because I see that smile on your face. Your mother still does that to me.”

“Ooh, Daddy, TMI,” Crystal quipped as they broke their embrace. “So, if Douglas comes back to the farm with me, do you promise to be nice?”

“All I can do is try,” he said. “It's bad enough Waylon is still in there.”

“Daddy, you really should give him a chance as well. He made a mistake, but he did it for love. I guess sometimes when your heart is in the right place, you make mistakes.”

Joel smiled at his daughter. “I'm glad you have more of your mother in you than me. You see the best in people and I never want that to change.” He leaned in and kissed Crystal's forehead. “But be careful. Wolves come in sheep's clothing all the time.”

“Got it. See you later,” she said as she bounded down the stairs and headed for her car. Crystal drove slowly, her mind filled with questions about what happened at Douglas's board meeting and if her father really would let go of the past and get to know the man she loved.

Wait . . .
Loved?
Was that even smart? She hadn't even known him that long and though he said he loved her, was she ready to admit the same? And what was going to happen now that he wasn't the CEO of Welco? Suppose he wanted to move to a more exciting place or follow his dream of being a music executive? There was no way Crystal could leave Hughes Farm and honestly, she didn't want to. She enjoyed the quiet beauty of the farm, harvesting vegetables and working with the Starlight girls. Could Douglas be satisfied with a simple life like that?

You are so getting ahead of yourself,
Crystal chided silently as she pulled into the parking lot of the café.

As she exited the car, Crystal tried not to let her doubts cloud her excitement to see Douglas. When she walked in and saw him sitting at the table with an older man she didn't recognize, she couldn't help but be curious. Was this one of the board members trying to talk him out of leaving his job?

“There she is,” Douglas said when he looked up and locked eyes with Crystal. He rose from the table and crossed over to her. “Hey, babe.” Douglas leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“You seem as if you are in a good mood,” she said.

“Oh, I am, and you will be too when you meet Dr. Emory Taylor.” He nodded toward the man sitting at his table.

“Who is he? Are you sick?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.

Douglas laughed and linked his arm with hers. “I'm not sick. Come on and allow me to make the introductions.”

When they approached the table, Crystal smiled at the older man, who reminded her of Frederick Douglass with his snow white afro and chocolate skin.

“Well, hello,” he said, slowly rising to his feet to shake her hand. “You are a vision.”

“Thank you.”

“Dr. Taylor, this is Crystal Hughes,” Douglas said. “Crystal, this is Dr. Emory Taylor, head of the Duval County Historical Society.”

“It's great to meet you,” she said, excitedly shaking his hand.

“I wish we would've met a lot sooner,” he replied. “I've been following the developments at Hughes Farm for years and I've always wondered why you all weren't on our registry already.”

Crystal shrugged. “I guess I didn't know how it worked.”

Douglas nodded. “I figured, so that's why I wanted you two to meet. We need to make sure Hughes Farm is protected from now on,” he said.

“How do we make that happen?” Crystal asked.

“First,” Dr. Taylor began, “we have to write to the National Registry of Historic Places. Second, I'm going to need you to get me the history of the farm so that I can write the letter to the registry. And finally, we wait.”

“And,” Douglas said, “since Welco has backed off building the business park on your farm, we should have enough time to wait for the decision without worrying about court cases and bulldozers.”

Crystal smiled. “And this is the perfect time to do this because my father's here and he knows all about the history of the farm.”

“Joel Hughes is back in town? Why, I haven't seen him since he was knee-high to a grasshopper.”

“Why don't you come to the farm?” Crystal asked. “We can have dinner and you and my dad can catch up.”

Douglas leaned in to Crystal and whispered, “Hopefully they will spend a long time catching up so that we can play a little game of our own.”

She fought back a smile and squeezed his thigh underneath the table. “Shall we go, gentlemen?” Crystal asked as she slowly rose to her feet.

“Yes,” Dr. Taylor said. “Now, Crystal, tell me something. Do you all still grow that sweet corn?”

“Oh, yes. I think Mom was talking about roasting some for dinner.”

Dr. Taylor rubbed his round belly and smiled.

The trio left the café and Crystal felt a warmness inside her as she and Douglas locked eyes. She couldn't believe that he'd gone so far out of his way to help save her family's farm. It made her believe that he cared for her just as much as she'd grown to care for him. Now, if she could get her father to see the kind of man that Douglas was, she'd be free to love him without worrying that she would lose her father.

Once they arrived at the farm, Crystal was surprised to see Waylon's car was still there. She hoped she wasn't about to walk into more arguing. Crystal took a deep breath and waited for Dr. Taylor and Douglas to join her.

She locked arms with Douglas. “Here goes everything,” she whispered in his ear.

“It's going to be fine,” he replied.

Crystal opened the front door and was greeted by the sound of laughter and calm voices. “What in the world?” she whispered as she led everyone into the kitchen. Inside, she found her parents and Dena and Waylon chatting like old friends.

“Well, well,” Dr. Taylor said. “If it isn't all of my old students.”

Joel rose from the table and crossed over to the older man and gave him a tight hug. “It's great to see you,” he said. “What brings you to our farm?”

“I'm now the head of the Duval County Historical Society. Retirement didn't suit me,” he said.

“Crystal, when Dr. Taylor taught history at Reeseville High School, he was the toughest teacher around,” Joel said as Waylon nodded in agreement.

“He took points off for everything,” Waylon said.

“Because I knew you all could do better. I expected nothing less. To allow you folks to slack off would've done a disservice to you all. Besides, none of you seem to be any worse for the wear.”

“You're right about that,” Joel said. “Care to join us for dinner?”

“I thought you'd never ask. Tell me, will there be roasted corn?”

“Of course, Dr. Taylor,” Erin said. “Please have a seat.”

Once the doctor sat down, Joel turned to Douglas and Crystal. “So, what's going on here?”

“Well,” Douglas said. “Don't you think it's time that Hughes Farm becomes a historic landmark?”

Joel smiled. “Well, I'll be damned. I just keep getting proved wrong today.”

“What will having this farm declared a historic landmark do?” Erin asked as she crossed over to the stove.

“It means that no one will be able to tear it down or purchase it,” Douglas said. “And everyone will know how important Hughes Farm has always been to this town, county, and state.”

Crystal stroked the back of Douglas's hand as he explained his plan.

“And,” Crystal interjected, “once the farm is safe from future corporate takeovers, we're going to work on expanding Starlight House and using more land to grow more fruits and vegetables.”

“That's a great idea,” Erin said.

“I want to do what I can to help those girls,” Douglas said.

“Wait a minute,” Waylon said. “You're funding this?”

Douglas shook his head. “No, I stepped down as CEO of Welco today.”

Waylon leapt to his feet. “You did what? You let Clive force you out? Why would you do that?”

“I didn't let Clive force me out. As a matter of fact, he's no longer a member of the board, provided that you take over as temporary CEO.”

Waylon blanched. “I'm retired.”

“Aww, Waylon,” Dena said. “If you expect to marry me, you're going to need a job. After all, you have years of gifts and make-up diamonds to buy.”

Waylon turned to Dena and smiled. “I guess I do, but I said I wouldn't work for . . .”

“You set the rules, this time,” Douglas said. “You have a board in place that's going to be hands off and you know you want to do it.”

Waylon looked over at Joel, who shrugged. “No offense, son, but it's not like you're being Junior's lackey—you're going to be in charge this time,” he said.

Douglas held up his hand. “No offense taken. So, will you do it?”

Waylon nodded. “But only because you asked me, Trey. And if I do this for you, you're going to have to do something for me.”

“What's that?”

Waylon nodded toward Crystal. “You better treat her real good and don't let anyone or anything come between you two.”

Douglas wrapped his arms around Crystal's shoulders. “Those are the easiest terms I've ever agreed to.”

Joel cleared his throat. “Keep in mind that I'm going to be the one enforcing the penalty if you don't live up to those terms.” He flexed his muscles to drive home the point.

“Oh, Daddy,” Crystal said with a laugh.

Dr. Taylor shook his head. “The more things change, the more they stay the same. These two always played good cop/bad cop in school.”

“Oh, we weren't playing,” Joel said with a laugh.

Crystal crossed over to the refrigerator and poured Dr. Taylor a large glass of fruit juice and set it on the table in front of him. He smiled at her, then patted the back of her hand.

“You know, most of the young people in this town want to leave as soon as they graduate from high school, but what you have done on this farm has been amazing,” Dr. Taylor said.

“Thank you,” Crystal said with a slight blush. “This farm is a big part of me.”

Douglas glanced over at her and swelled with pride as he listened to his woman talk about how important the farm was to her, and he couldn't wait to start working the land with her. Make love with her on the lush land in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping. He could envision having picnics with Crystal and the Starlight girls on summer afternoons and soon adding a little Wellington baby to the mix.

Wait. Here he was with the baby thoughts again. He gave Crystal a slow once-over, imagining her belly swelled with his seed.
A daughter that I can spoil and give all the love I never received from either of my parents,
he thought with a smile.

Crystal caught his stare and the smile on his face as she crossed over to him. “What's going through that mind of yours?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Hmm, that's a conversation best saved for later. Maybe in the dollhouse.”

“You're going to stop clowning my cottage,” she quipped.

“Oh, I'm not clowning it,” he said. “We made quite a memory there.”

Crystal stroked his cheek. “Then we should make another one tonight. I have to properly thank you for all you've done for Hughes Farm.”

Douglas twirled her around and pulled her close to his chest. “I did it all for you. I see how important this was to you.”

“Ahem,” Erin said as she approached the couple. “We have to get started preparing dinner, and all this lovey-dovey stuff is going to spoil my food.”