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Charlie nodded as he stepped toward her, hands in his pockets. “The decree, which was created by your great-great-grandfather, states that if there is no one in the line who can run the organization, it is to be dissolved and no longer known as Preston Corporation,” he explained. “If you are unwilling to take on the leadership role, the company will be sold and all employees terminated prior to any sale.”
Taylor closed her eyes, sank into the banquette seat, and leaned her head back against the leather headrest. Her dark curls bounced into her face, but she left them there.
Of course there was a decree, of course. And of course it stipulated that all employees were to be terminated—the people for whom Preston Corp. was a livelihood. That just raised the guilt factor for Taylor. As if the economy wasn’t bad enough, now she was sentencing people to living in their cars if she didn’t claim her horrible birthright.
Her heart beat faster, her breathing hitched, and Taylor realized she was crying. “Fuck,” she muttered through her tears. And suddenly she had a moment of clarity. Sliding her fingers under her glasses, she wiped her eyes and sat up, setting her sights on Charlie, who was looking grim and concerned.
“So, I am supposed to run a company that has been run into the ground because if I don’t, people will lose their jobs, right?”
Charlie nodded, appearing relieved that Taylor finally understood.
“But if Cedric spent it all, then how the hell am I going to keep them employed anyway?” she asked sarcastically.
The relief left Charlie’s face and, if it were possible, he looked even more stressed than he had just moments before. “There is still money coming in, but things have fallen into disrepair. That is one of the biggest issues, and we do need further income for that. Cedric was diverting that money to himself instead of putting it toward repairs and remodels before he fired the board.”
“Well, wasn’t he just a crafty coyote,” Taylor muttered, leaning forward. “But that still does not answer the question of what the hell I am supposed to do to keep this company going and how to repair it without any money.” Taylor swiveled her hands in an okay-let’s-get-on-with-it motion. “So what’s the plan?”
Taylor noticed that both Charlie and Todd visibly tensed. She rolled her eyes skyward. God, how much friggin’ worse could this get?
Silence surrounded them for several seconds, and Taylor could take it no longer. “What?” she asked sharply.
“Well … we need to acquire funding for all the things—”
Taylor had a sudden epiphany, “Wait, why aren’t we just selling all the crap Cedric bought? Why aren’t we getting the funds that way?
“Because he was a moron,” Todd said quickly.
Taylor looked to Todd. “That is the smartest thing you have ever said. Care to elaborate?”
Todd just looked disgusted. “He bought everything as himself, good old Cedric Preston. He had no middleman or pseudonym. People saw him coming from a mile away, and they raised prices beyond market value, seeing only dollar signs.” Todd shook his head as he reiterated the tale to Taylor. “And dumbass Cedric questioned nothing, just bought. Even if we sold everything, we would never recoup all the losses.”
Wow, even Taylor knew you shouldn’t do that. Walt Disney used fake investors to buy the land for Disney World, , so the prices wouldn’t be driven up because of his name, for crying out loud. It was Billionaire 101.
“But his purchases were not all bad,” Charlie cut in. “When investors and holders saw him buying, and spending, they assumed things were going well, and stocks rose slightly. All the questions about how well we were really doing stopped coming. So to rush out and sell his, uh, acquisitions and such would cause commotion that Preston Corp. just cannot afford.”
Taylor was baffled, “Hasn’t his death caused commotion as it is?”
Charlie and Todd looked at each other quickly and then at the floor.
Taylor had a light-bulb moment. “Let me guess, no one knows?”
The silence that followed was all the answer she needed.
“What did he do?”
“Overdose,” Todd explained.
“Yeah, well that figures,” Taylor muttered to herself. Cedric was so selfish he would die making sure he got himself the highest of all. “When?”
Todd looked at his watch, “About ten hours ago, give or take.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. They hadn’t wasted anytime. “So, where is he, and who else knows?”
“He’s on ice,” Todd quipped.
“In a private morgue,” Charlie added more eloquently. “Only Todd and I know his whereabouts. Well he, I, and two others.”
“And the two other people would be …?”