The Golden Chance (36 page)

“What kind of things?”

“The wrong things. They're not important any longer.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “You're not at all like your father, thank God. A part of me knew that all along, and that's the real reason I didn't go through with the divorce three years ago when the future looked darkest.”

Darren reached out and pulled her into his arms. His eyes were very clear and serious. “The world of politics can get rough, Vicky. There may come a time when I'll get sick and tired of it and want to walk away from it.”

“It doesn't matter. I'll walk away from it with you if that's what you want. All I care about is you and me and Jordan.”

He nodded, stroking her hair. “You and Jordan are the most important things in my world.”

Victoria smiled tremulously and stepped back. Her eyes were shining. “That's settled. Your serve, I believe.”

“She gave the shares back to Darren today.” Eleanor finished pouring tea from the silver Crossley pot and busied herself with the spoons. She did not look at Hilary. “Such an odd, unpredictable girl.”

“Perhaps she's decided she's caused enough trouble.” Hilary sipped her tea with an outer calm she did not feel. Frantically she tried to assess the new information. This was the last move she had expected from Phila after their confrontation. Maybe it was all going to work out, after all. “I'm surprised Nick allowed her to do it.”

“Darren thinks she made the decision on her own and that Nick probably is not at all happy with it.”

Hilary considered that, cautious of her feeling of vast relief. Perhaps Phila's loyalty to Crissie and therefore to Crissie's lover had won out. She might not have felt right about turning the shares over to Hilary directly, but she would know that giving them back to Darren was almost the same thing.

Hilary wondered if Nick would get rid of Phila now that she was no longer of use to him. It seemed likely. He was a businessman, after all. He knew when to cut his losses.

“I imagine that will be the end of the relationship between Phila and Nick,” Hilary observed aloud. “Nick is too smart to keep a liability around for long.”

Eleanor nodded slowly. “She's certainly not his type.”

“It would have been a bit awkward having her in the families.”

“Extremely awkward. But I don't suppose there was ever any real possibility that he would have actually married her. There was no need, unless that was the only way he could have gotten hold of the shares.”

“Well, this certainly simplifies things,” Hilary said, hoping she was right. “You and Darren will be able to make your own decisions now.”

“Yes, of course, dear. Darren and I only want what is best for C&L.”

“And for Darren's career,” Hilary added pointedly.

“Naturally.” Eleanor smiled with vague satisfaction. “The fund-raiser went off rather well the other night, didn't it?”

“It was definitely a success.” Hilary recalled the scene in the women's rest room and wanted to throw the bone china teacup against the wall.

“I heard that even Barbara Appleton and her husband wrote out a sizable check.” Eleanor frowned. “Strange, isn't it? I've always found Barbara so distressingly liberal in her views. I'm surprised she was interested in contributing to a Republican campaign. Vicky said it had something to do with her interest in child-welfare issues.”

“A contribution is a contribution. It doesn't matter where it comes from, does it?”

“Very true, dear. Perhaps Barbara has seen the light at last. After all, my son is going to make a real change in this state, and everyone wants to back a winner. Who knows how far Darren will rise in public office or what he'll accomplish in the future?”

“Provided he has family backing and family money behind him.”

“That goes without saying, dear. More tea?”

“Goddamn it, what the hell does that mouthy little gal think she's doing now?” Reed's voice was so loud that Nick had to hold the phone five inches away from his ear.

“Disobeying my explicit instructions, for one thing.” Nick munched a cracker with some cheese on it. Phila had just returned from her daily trek to the Pike Place Market. Every time she went she discovered a new and more exotic cheese. He didn't know the name of this particular specimen, but it held strong overtones of goat.

“Well, what in hell are you going to do at the annual meeting if you can't control her shares?”

“Same thing I've been planning to do all along. I'm going to try to get myself elected chief executive officer of C&L.”

“Christ almighty, she's a real little maverick, isn't she?”

“Only in some things.” Nick looked up as Phila came into the room carrying two glasses of wine. “In other ways she's quite predictable.”

“She's going to run you ragged.”

“Yeah, I know. It's probably my karma.” Nick took a glass from Phila's hand. She sat down beside him and curled her legs under herself. He smiled at her magenta top and turquoise pants.

“What are you going to do if you don't beat Hilary at the meeting?” Reed asked in a more subdued voice.

“I've still got another job to go back to, remember?”

“I remember. What about Phila? Will she be going back to that other job with you?”

“Definitely. That's not open to debate the way the future of Castleton & Lightfoot is. Got to go now, Dad. I'll see you at the meeting. If you've got half the brains I've always assumed you have, you'll vote for me.” Nick hung up the phone before his father could respond.

“The wine,” Phila announced, “is supposed to complement the cheese perfectly. Brings out all the subtle nuances.”

“Is that what they told you at the wine shop?”

“Yep.”

“I've got news for you, Phila. There is nothing subtle about goat. You don't want to draw out the nuances, you want to drown them. This wimpy Riesling isn't going to do the trick. It would take a gallon jug of dollar-ninety-eight red to get the job done.”

She smiled serenely. “I'm still learning the fine points of trendy cuisine.”

“I've noticed.” He crunched another cracker with cheese on it. “You do realize the families are in chaos?”

“Are they?”

“Hilary must be going nuts trying to figure out what you're up to now.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I've given up trying to figure you out. I'm just going to ride the roller coaster to the end of the line.”

“And if it doesn't stop where it should?”

“Then you and I leave for California the day after the annual meeting,” Nick said without any hesitation.

Phila eyed him cautiously. “Are you sure you'll still want me around if what I'm doing keeps you from saving C&L?”

Nick smiled deliberately. “Yeah, Phila, I'll definitely want you around if you cause me to lose the company. I'll want to work out all my frustrations on your sweet ass.”

“That sounds like fun.”

Much later, in bed that night, Nick lay awake thinking about his own words. After having come this far, it was more than a little disconcerting to lie there seriously contemplating losing C&L at this stage.

But it wouldn't be so bad, he realized. It would be a damned shame if C&L got broken up into bits and pieces and run by outsiders, but sometimes that was the way things went. Everyone would survive.

As long as he had Phila, Nick decided, losing C&L wouldn't be the end of the world. She talked blithely about this being a golden chance for the families to reunite but the truth was, she was his golden chance in more ways than one. But damned if he was going to tell her that at this juncture. He knew that deep inside she was worried she might be wrong about the outcome of the annual meeting and that was just fine with him.

If he was going to sweat it out, she might as well sweat, too.

Reed looked up from his evening paper as Tec mixed martinis at the small bar. “Mariners won.”

Tec dropped a toothpick loaded with giant green olives into a glass. “Yes, sir, I heard. That's the kinda thing that can make a man contemplate returning to his religious roots, ain't it?” He carried the drink over to Reed.

“I suppose you also heard the shares are back in Darren's hands?”

“Yes, sir. That little Phila is just one big surprise after another, ain't she?”

“Goddamn right.” Reed munched an olive and went to stand in front of the window to watch a sleek yacht glide through the waters of Puget Sound. The Bainbridge Island homes had been built with an expansive view of the water, just as the summer cottages in Port Claxton had. “I wonder what that son of mine thinks he's going to do now?”

“Anybody's guess, sir. Nick always did play 'em close to the chest.”

“I'll say one thing. I was dead wrong three years ago when I told him he didn't have any guts. He's got 'em, all right.”

“Beggin' your pardon, sir, but it takes more'n guts to walk back in here after what happened three years ago and try to take over the company. Takes a pair of stainless-steel balls.” Tec broke off as Hilary appeared in the doorway. “Evenin' ma'am. Can I fix you a martini?”

“Yes, please, Tec.” Hilary smiled wearily as she walked into the room. She sat down gracefully in the green silk damask-upholstered Chippendale chair. “Hello, Reed. How was your day?”

“Fine. Played eighteen holes with Sweeney over in Bellevue. Won twenty bucks.”

“Congratulations.” Hilary took the drink from Tec. “Thank you, Tec. That will be all for now.” She dismissed him with a nod and waited until he had left the room before she spoke again. “Well, it will all be over one way or the other tomorrow, won't it?”

Reed didn't turn away from the view. “You make it sound like Judgment Day.”

“Probably because that's the way I see it. The families will be sitting in judgment on me and on everything I've done for Castleton & Lightfoot during the past three years.” Hilary smiled again, briefly. “I hope I'm not found wanting.”

“You've done a hell of a job with the company, Hilary.”

“Thank you, Reed. Your approval means a great deal to me. C&L is more important to me than anything else in the world. It's my life. I wonder if you and the others will remember that when it comes time to vote for the next CEO.”

“Hard thing to forget.” He ate another olive.

“A lot of things can be forgotten when the prodigal son returns home. That's understandable.”

“It's been three years, Hilary.”

“Yes, but has anything really changed? Once before, Nick walked out on all of us, not just me and the baby, but the company, too. What is there to say he wouldn't do it again if he regained control of C&L?” She got up and moved over to stand beside her husband. “The thing we all have to ask ourselves is, what does Nick really want?”

“What do you think he wants?”

Hilary took a deep breath. “Revenge. I think he wants control of C&L so that he can turn around and destroy it. He's never forgiven any of us for what happened three years ago. He was the heir apparent, the man with the golden touch. He saw C&L as his future personal kingdom. When you and Burke refused to let him take the company in the direction he wanted, he lost his temper. He took out his rage on me first, and then on all the rest of you. I don't think he'll be satisfied until he's destroyed the company.”

Reed stirred his martini with the spear that had held the olives.

Hilary waited a moment longer before she said, “There's only one thing I really regret.”

“What's that?”

“I'm sorry I lost the baby. I would have liked to have given you the grandchild you've always wanted, Reed.”

Of course the baby had not been Nick's, Reed thought. He wondered how he could have been so blind three years ago. Phila was right. Nick was his son, and no son of his would walk out on his child.

Nick walked into the plain, unpretentious office that C&L had used as a boardroom since before he was born. This was the room in which all the major decisions regarding C&L's future had been made. Today it would witness the one that would determine the company's survival.

Tradition. C&L had long since reached the point where its annual meetings could have been held in plush, modern, corporate-style surroundings complete with paneled walls and thick carpets, but it clung to tradition. Even Hilary had not dared mess with this particular ritual, Nick thought as he examined the familiar surroundings.

“There you are, Nick.” Reed, dressed in a pair of golfing slacks and a polo shirt, was sitting at the round table in the center of the room. “We're all ready and waitin'. Let's get on with it. Got a one o'clock starting time at the course.”

“Wouldn't want to delay you,” Nick said.

Eleanor, Darren and Vicky were already seated at the table. Hilary, looking serene and elegant in a white silk suit, was just drawing up her own chair. She arranged a stack of folders neatly in front of her and glanced up without speaking as Nick sat down beside his father. The others murmured their greetings.

“Coffee,” Tec announced, carrying a pot into the room.

“Thank you, Tec. You may go now,” Hilary said.

“Yes, ma'am.”

Hilary looked around the table. “I believe we're ready to begin.”

Phila, loaded down with two huge bags full of fruit, vegetables, cheese, pesto and wine made her way up First Avenue from the Market and hoped she had not made a very serious mistake.

Perhaps she should have hung on to those shares. She might have been wrong about Nick already having all the support he needed within the families. What if Hilary had done some major damage during the past few days?

Phila tried to tell herself that Darren was not a fool and neither was Reed. They could see for themselves that they had all misjudged Nick three years ago. She did not expect Eleanor to shift allegiance because the older woman had her own reasons for backing Hilary. But Darren was an independent thinker. He would not be swayed by his mother's vote. And Vicky would vote with Darren.

Phila tried to add up the various components of the situation in a variety of ways, but there was no getting around the fact that without her, Nick needed the support of at least two others on the board.

But he needed to take control of the company with as much family support as he could get, Phila reminded herself as she leaned a shoulder against the glass doors of the condominium lobby. It would be so much better for everyone concerned if the outsider stayed out. The Lightfoots and Castletons needed to settle the future fate of the firm among themselves.

Phila freed one finger to punch the elevator button and glanced at her watch. By now the meeting was in full swing. She wondered how long an annual C&L stockholders meeting lasted. She was going to go nuts waiting for Nick to walk back through the door this afternoon.

The elevator doors slid open on the top floor, and Phila stepped out into the carpeted hall. She struggled with her keys and packages as she approached Nick's apartment.

She was wondering if she and Nick would be on their way to California in the morning as she opened the front door. She used her foot to nudge one grocery bag into the slate-tiled foyer. Holding the other bag in one arm, she closed the door behind her.

She was halfway to the kitchen when she realized she was not alone in the condominium. She opened her mouth, but the scream was trapped in her throat as a huge hand clamped over her lips.

“Did you think you could escape me, you lying little bitch?” Elijah Spalding hissed in her ear. The cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against her throat.

“Before we call for the vote,” Hilary said calmly, “I would ask that all of you think very carefully about what each of you wants for Castleton & Lightfoot. You've asked Nick what he envisions for the future of the company, and he's told you he will take it in a new and unproven direction. Are you willing to turn your back on the successful track record C&L has established in the field of military instrumentation?”

“Don't overstate the case, Hilary.” Nick looked expressionlessly at his ex-wife and wondered how he could ever have wanted to marry her. She wasn't his type at all. “I'm not going to make the transition all at once. We won't dump the government contracts until we have things working profitably in the commercial area.”

Darren frowned. “What about your plans to expand the Pacific Rim markets? That's easier said than done, Nick. Those are tough markets to crack.”

“I've spent the past three years developing contacts in those markets. When C&L is ready to move into them, the markets will be ready for us.”

Reed poured himself a third cup of coffee. “C&L has done just fine working for the government all these years.”

“Times change, Dad. There are other ways to grow and expand. C&L hasn't changed its basic mode of operation in nearly forty years. It needs some fresh conquests and some new direction. Nothing stays the same forever. The company is getting calcified.”

“We just finished an excellent second quarter and things look fine for the third,” Hilary interjected. “How can you say the company is calcified?”

“There are other factors besides the quarterly bottom line that have to be considered,” Nick said quietly.

“Such as?” Hilary challenged.

“Such as management foresight. We should be planning for the next century, not just a year or three years from now.”

“Government contracts aren't going anywhere. There'll always be a need for our kind of product,” Reed said.

“We've always done so well in the past,” Eleanor said. “I'd hate to see us change too quickly.”

Nick looked at her. “It won't happen overnight, Eleanor. I'll make sure we keep everything balanced before we make commitments in any direction.” This wasn't going to be easy. When it was all over, he was going to know he'd been in a fight. Castletons and Lightfoots were stubborn, hard-headed and opinionated. He wished he had Phila sitting beside him. He could have used a little moral support.

“You lied and they all believed you, didn't they? Did that give you a feeling of power, bitch? To have that whole courtroom believing your lies? Well, I hope you got a thrill out of it then, because I'm going to make you sorry you ever opened your mouth. I warned you I would punish you for the lies you told. I warned you, didn't I? Didn't I?”

He smelled. His huge body stank. Phila breathed quickly through her nose, feeling as if she were about to suffocate. She could not stand his hand over her mouth much longer. She was getting sick to her stomach. He was dragging her back out of the kitchen. In desperation, she let herself go limp.

When she sagged against him, Spalding released her mouth so that he could grab her more securely. The muzzle of the gun scraped her arm. “Lying bitch. Lying little tramp. You had no right to take those children away from me. They were mine. I was gonna raise 'em right. Teach 'em discipline and obedience.”

“The way you did little Andy?” Phila asked, forcing herself to keep her voice low so that he wouldn't panic and put his hand back over her mouth.

Spalding's frightening blue eyes blazed. “Andy refused to obey me. And I made it real clear to all the children that they had to obey me. I had to make an example of him. I had no choice.” He shook Phila so hard her head snapped back. “No
choice
. He was mine to do with as I wanted.”

“Did you make the others watch? Is that why they were all so frightened the next day when I tried to talk to them?”

“I told you, I had to teach 'em discipline. They had to know what would happen if they didn't obey me. Discipline is the key. And a kid learns discipline best when he's scared shitless. That's the way I learned it from my Pa.”

“I don't want to hear your crazy reasoning or your excuses. There are no excuses for what you've become and, deep inside, you know it. You're a murderer, Elijah Spalding. You're nothing but a child abuser and a child killer. The scum of the earth. Beating those children and killing poor little Andy wasn't all you did either, was it? You used some of them in other ways, too, didn't you? You raped some of them.”

Spalding's heavy face turned red with his fury. “Those kids were given to me to do with as I saw fit. I was supposed to raise 'em. I had the responsibility to do it right. They were
mine
. I had a right to do whatever I wanted to them. I had to enforce discipline. I had to let them know I was in total control.”

Nick looked around the circle of faces as Reed seconded the motion for a vote. In that moment he knew Phila had been right. Win or lose, it was better this way. This was family business. If he did win, he needed to know the families backed him. If he lost, the hell with it. California and Phila were waiting.

“All those in favor of appointing Nick CEO, say aye.”

“Aye,” said Reed.

A curious relief went through Nick. If nothing else, he now knew for certain that his father believed in him again.

“Aye,” said Darren.

“Aye.” Victoria looked at Nick and smiled faintly.

Eleanor hesitated, glancing once at Hilary, and then she nodded brusquely, “Aye.”

Hilary put down the silver pen she had been toying with for the past few minutes. Her smile was as serene as ever, but her eyes were bottomless pools of bitterness. “That seems to settle the matter, doesn't it? Congratulations, Nick. You've won.”

A taut silence followed that observation. It was broken by Reed, who reached out to slap Nick on the shoulder. His eyes were gleaming with satisfaction. “Better call Phila and tell her the news. She'll be on pins and needles, if I know her.”

Nick's brows rose. “You think so?”

“Yep. Give her a call. That little gal will be a nervous wreck by now wondering what happened.” He reached for the phone and shoved it over in front of Nick.

Nick picked up the receiver and dialed, aware of the others watching him. It was as if they all wanted Phila to be a part of this morning's decision, he suddenly realized. They were treating her like family.

In the condominium the phone rang for the third time. “That will be Nick,” Phila said patiently. “He knows I'm here. If I don't answer, he'll be suspicious.”

The phone rang a fourth time.

“All right, answer it, damn it, but don't say anything to make him think I'm here or so help me, I'll wait for him after I've finished with you and I'll kill him, too. I swear to God, I will.”

With trembling fingers, Phila picked up the phone, trying to think clearly. She knew it would be Nick on the other end of the line. He was her only hope.

* * *

The phone rang four times before she answered. Nick knew instantly that something was wrong. Her voice was thin and breathless.

“Phila?”

“Oh, Nick. Nick I'm so glad you called.” The false cheerfulness burned Nick's ears. “Everything's fine here, but do you know, after you left this morning I realized I had forgotten to thank you for that gift that you and Darren and Reed and Tec gave me. You remember the present I'm talking about?”

“What the hell
are
you talking about?” Nick demanded, hunching over the phone.

“Yes, that's it. That's the one. Well, I just want you to know I'm going to get a lot of use out of it starting right now. Can't wait to use it, in fact. I…Oh, dear. I've got to run. I'll talk to you later, Nick.
Hurry home
.”

Nick slammed down the receiver and surged to his feet. Everyone else at the table stared at him in astonishment.

“Something wrong?” Reed asked.

“I'm not sure, but I think so.” Nick was already moving around the table, heading for the door.

Darren stood up. “What the hell's the matter, Nick?”

Nick paused briefly at the door. “What's the only thing any of us ever gave Phila?”

“We taught her how to use a gun,” Darren responded instantly.

“Exactly. She just told me she had an immediate use for our gift. And she asked me to hurry home.”

“Goddamn it,” Reed breathed. “You think it's the guy she put in jail?”

“I don't know. I'm not taking any chances. Eleanor, call nine-one-one. Tell them we've got a suspicious situation and we'd appreciate having it checked out right away. If you don't get the feeling we're going to get help in a hurry, call the manager of my condominium building and ask him to go upstairs and check on Phila. Tell him I'm on my way.”

Eleanor reached out immediately to pick up the phone. “Of course, Nick.”

Nick went through the door. “Thanks,” he called back over his shoulder.

“Hold on, a second,” Reed announced, shoving back his chair. “I believe I'll go along for the ride. Tec will want to come, too, just in case.”

“Count me in,” Darren said, rising swiftly to his feet.

Victoria was out of her chair. “I'm going with the rest of you.”

Thirty seconds later Hilary and Eleanor sat alone at the table. Hilary watched Eleanor punch out 911 and begin speaking in the imperious tones the older woman always used when she wanted instant results from the people she employed.