Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“I don’t understand,” my mother says. “This didn’t happen when your father was in charge. When he was in charge everyone got what they needed.”
“Yes, he did it by not paying taxes,” I reply, though I explained this a million times. “I had to sell equipment to keep us from getting taken over by the government. I had to sell stock. My personal stock. Our aunt now has it. I’m sorry, Claire. I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I’ll handle this for you, sis.” Paul stands in the doorway, wearing a button-down and slacks. He’s in for a client meeting, or at least that’s what he told me. I suspect he’s here to make me look as bad as possible in front of his overly privileged sister. Who has a fifteen percent stake in the company as one of her father’s heirs. Paul had been given more, but they don’t have enough between them to challenge me alone. I’m the majority holder, but there are some other relatives who hold small shares. Luckily most of them understand business. He tried to wrestle control away before, but I held him off.
Still, I’m not fighting this battle today. “Good for you. See, Claire, Paul is going to pay for you to stay in a way overpriced apartment so you can make contacts with the people you drink too much with. All’s well that ends well.”
My mother huffs. “It shouldn’t be like this. Harper, both you and Paul’s educations were paid for by the company disbursements.”
“Would you like to check the accounts, Mom? I can show you where we’re running light on cash. We’ve been undercut by some of the bigger companies recently, and I’m still digging out of the IRS debacle Dad left behind.”
She stands, her shoulders going back. “You should have respect for the dead. Your father ran this company the best way he knew how. So did your uncle.”
“Our parents made sure we always had what we needed.” Paul has to chime in. “And I wonder if we’re getting undercut or if we’re not making the right impression with new clients.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I have to ask since he’s obviously talking about me. I’m the forward face of the company.
He shrugs. “It means we’ve lost bids, and I don’t think it’s all about money. Make of that what you will. Come on, Claire. Let’s go back to my office and we can talk. I’m not going to make you drop out of school.”
Claire shoots me the nastiest look as she joins her brother. I do not feel bad in any way.
Unfortunately, my mother is still here, and I do feel bad about that. “You are going to break this family if you keep this up. Harper, I didn’t raise you to be unkind.”
“How is it unkind?” This isn’t an argument I can win since logic means nothing, but I feel compelled to try. “I know you don’t understand, but a lot of what Dad and Uncle Alan did was illegal.”
“How is it illegal to help family?” my mother asks, all self-righteousness.
“Because it’s company funds and there are rules about it.”
She shakes her head, obviously dismissing me. “We’re a privately held firm. That’s how your father explained it. As long as we made our payroll, the rest of the funds were ours to do what we wanted with. Your father never missed paying his people.”
“No, just the government.” I don’t understand how she can ignore this point.
My mother waves that away. “Like they deserve anything.”
I’m tired of arguing. “It doesn’t matter. We’re governed by laws, and if we don’t follow them, they can seize everything. The money is not there to keep up the lifestyle Claire has obviously become accustomed to. You love her so much, why aren’t you offering to pay for it yourself?”
My mother frowns. “That’s not my place. I can see you’re going to be unreasonable about this, so I’ll drop it. But you should understand you’re not making friends here. There’s talk about replacing you.”
“If you do that, Paul will have this place in federal hands within two years.” I need her to understand the ramifications of backing Paul. “If you get the aunts and cousins together and oust me, you might have a year of the old days, but then the company will go under.”
“Well, I suppose I don’t understand business the way you do, but this isn’t how your father did things.” She appears on the verge of tears. “I don’t understand why things have to change. This is not the life I wanted at all.”
I sigh and sit back, feeling sympathy for her. She hadn’t wanted my father to die and leave her a widow. In her mind, she’d done everything she could to have a comfortable life, including putting up with a philandering husband. “I’m sorry. I wish Dad hadn’t died, but we’re here and I’m doing the best I can.”