Page 31 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

GRANT

G rant’s heart twisted as he strode from the house.

He wanted to stay home, to comfort his wife who was ailing both physically and emotionally.

Her worry over Kyle, while somewhat annoying to him, made him love her all the more.

She threw her heart into loving his family, no matter how oddly created it was.

He had his problems with Kyle, but he hated seeing his wife worry over him this much. He twisted his fingers into fists as he crossed to the garage. If his son had run off to pout over Julia’s rejection of him, he’d kill him himself for worrying Julia like this.

His jaw tightened as he slid behind the wheel of his car, a momentary pang of fear flashing through him as he entertained the possibility that something had happened to Kyle.

With a shake of his head, he pulled down the driveway. The video didn’t look like anything had happened. Kyle willingly got into the car and drove away.

He wrapped his knuckles tighter around the steering wheel, back to being ready to wring Kyle’s neck for upsetting his wife.

As he drove, his mind regressed to the meeting he’d had with both of his children only a few days ago. He’d asked them for a drama-free life for Julia as she settled in as his real wife.

He shook his head. That had gone up in smoke. He’d have to work harder to keep her safe and protected from the chaos surrounding them.

His office building came into view, pulling his thoughts from his family to the business he hoped to wrangle back from the DG Industries threat. He pulled into his parking space before he took the elevator to the top floor.

At this hour, most offices were dark, though several members of the finance team hunched over their computers, analyzing massive spreadsheets of data from the day’s stock trades.

Grant strode past them and Evie’s empty desk to his office where he collapsed into his chair with a sigh.

Mike Donovan shuffled in a moment later.

“I don’t like this, Mike,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “How bad is it?”

“It’s not good. We need to strategize.”

Grant heaved a sigh, his fingers twisting into a fist. “How the hell did this happen?”

“DG Industries seems to have a fair amount of liquid assets to orchestrate this.”

Grant stretched his neck, his features tugging into a grimace. “I’ll bet they do.”

“I’ll assemble the team in the meeting room. We’ll be ready in five.” Mike left him behind.

He flicked his gaze to the dark computer monitor. In the dim light, he caught sight of his distorted reflection, the strain on his face amplified by the curve of the screen.

He’d fought this battle for over two years, yet it showed no signs of slowing. Along the way, he’d found an unlikely ally. One who had made him happier than he ever imagined he could be.

His lips curved as he conjured the image of Julia’s face. It faded as he wondered how she would react if he lost Harrington Global. While she may be understanding, he wouldn’t be as kind to himself.

If he lost everything he’d built over his lifetime, he’d be a failure. He clenched his jaw as he allowed determination to fill him. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen.

They’d find a way to stop the takeover.

He rose from his seat and left the confines of his office behind, navigating to the conference room.

“Where do we stand?” he asked, his tone demanding as he sank into the chair at the head of the table.

“We’ve gained some ground,” Ben answered before he flicked his gaze to the wood table he sat at. “But not enough.”

“Then keep buying.”

“The problem is…” Ben shifted in his chair as he finally raised his eyes to Grant. “We’re running out of capital.”

“What do you mean?” Grant screwed up his face. “We secured all the funds we needed. That’s what you said days ago.”

“And then the stock prices fluctuated. We didn’t expect DG to keep buying at their rate. We’re gaining more stock but at a higher price. I’m concerned that we’re going to run out of liquid funds well before we make a dent.”

Grant scrubbed his face as his mind worked to piece together the situation as it stood. “So, what you’re saying is, we don’t have enough to become a majority shareholder.”

“Or to stop DG Industries from getting to a point where they can trigger a board vote, yes,” the man said with a nod, sweat beading on his brow.

Grant’s nostrils flared as he slammed a fist down on the table. “That’s not what I want to hear.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Harrington, but we need to rethink our approach.”

“Borrow more money. I’ll sign whatever you need.”

“No bank is going to give us another capital infusion,” Ben answered with a shake of his head. “We’re too deeply leveraged now.”

Grant heaved a sigh as he shook his head. “I’ll find someone. Harrington Global is the biggest name in the business. And as soon as the Solaris project is completed, we’ll have solidified our place as the company in the field. We just have to stave off this attack.”

Silence met his statement. His eyes went wider as he stared at the grim faces around the table. “Well? Is that it? Just more money? That’s the only problem?”

Ben bobbed his head.

“How much?”

With his lips pressed into a thin line, Ben shoved a paper over showing the new estimates for stock prices and the cost to acquire enough to stop DG Industries from owning them. Grant heaved a sigh at the high number.

“I’ll make some calls. Just keep pushing forward.”

“I’ll be in my office,” Ben answered as Grant rose from the table. “Once you have an update, let me know, and I’ll get the pieces in place.”

Grant nodded at him, his own response as he strode from the room. His gut twisted at the number on the paper in front of him. Given the already deep debt they’d taken on to stop the hostile takeover, this number made him uncomfortable.

His mind stretched to come up with a creative solution around taking on additional debt, but he didn’t find any suitable ones. It wouldn’t matter anyway. Once he’d strengthened the bottom line, they could pay these back easily. He just needed to buy some time for that to happen.

He settled into his chair and grabbed his cell phone, ready to make calls to friends in the banking industry who owed him a favor.

Before he could, he spotted a message from Sierra. Wish me luck!

He furrowed his brow as he swiped it open and studied the picture she’d sent. Clad in black from head to toe, she grinned at the mirror. For a second, he wondered if she’d sent this to the wrong person.

He responded: Luck with what?

Her answer came quickly. My first sleuthing mission. I’m so excited! Finally, Julia took me with her instead of stupid Kyle…or you.

He grumbled at the end of the statement, though his real hang-up lay with the first part. What sleuthing mission? Why was Julia out of bed and running around in the middle of the night?

His chest tightened a little as he hurried to type a response to Sierra. What? Julia is supposed to be asleep. What is going on?

He drummed his fingers against the desk as he waited for Sierra’s response. But she got some kind of lead on Kyle and then she and Alicia were sneaking out, but I caught them, and they let me come with them…but Alicia won’t let me have a gun.

His heart ramped up as he read the text. A gun? Good. You shouldn’t have a gun. And if a gun is needed, none of you should be doing this. What kind of lead? Why isn’t Max handling this?

His mind whirled as he waited for her to respond. What the hell were they doing running around in the middle of the night tracking down leads? What lead? Where had it come from? And why wasn’t Max following up on it?

As he waited for his daughter to respond, he dialed his security head. The man answered in two rings, his voice groggy with sleep. “Mr. Harrington, is there a problem?”

“Yes, Max, there is a big problem. Why the hell are my wife, daughter, and sister-in-law out in the middle of the night tracking down leads on Kyle?”

“I’m not sure I understand, sir.”

“Let me explain it again,” he growled, “Sierra, Julia, and Alicia are out tracking a lead on Kyle. Why isn’t the security team tracking it?”

“I don’t know what lead they’re tracking. We don’t have any active leads right now.”

“Then what are they doing?” Grant murmured, more to himself than to Max as he tried to piece together the limited information he had. His unease grew with each passing second. Had they received some information from Lydia? She’d used phone calls to lure people before. Had she done it again?

“I’m not certain, but I can follow up–“

“Never mind,” Grant snapped. “I’ll figure it out myself.”

He jabbed at the end call button and navigated to his message thread with Sierra, finding her answer awaiting him. Some video from that Alex guy. And then he said he saw Kyle’s car somewhere then it disappeared.

He read the message, his features pinching as he came up with more questions than answers. Before he could ask any of them, Sierra sent another message. We’re here. Gotta run, Daddy!

“Where is here?!” he shouted at the phone before he shook his head and pressed the call icon next to Sierra’s name. The line trilled a few times before he got her voicemail.

With a disgusted sigh, he tossed it down on the desk. His wife and daughter were out running around the streets somewhere searching for his wayward son. He had no idea where or what information they’d received from the strange tech guru, Alex Stone.

He didn’t care much for the man, and now he had even more reason not to like him. His stomach twisted into a knot as he grabbed his phone again. His call to Julia went straight to voicemail, too.

He cursed under his breath as he let the phone fall to his desk and launched from his chair. He crossed to his wet bar, poured a bourbon, and downed it. He wiped at his lips with the back of his hand before he poured another. He didn’t like the newest turn of events.

And whenever they managed to find Kyle, he’d likely kill the man himself for causing this much trouble.

He stalked back to his desk and eased into the chair, grabbing his phone as he took another sip of his drink. He tried Julia’s phone again, but she didn’t answer. Another call to Sierra also was ignored.

His jaw clenched as he placed another call to Max. “Mr. Harrington, I’m tracking Mrs. Harrington’s phone and–“

“Good, find her. She’s not answering calls. I want to know what’s going on.”

“I will find out, sir.”

“You’d better. I don’t know what the hell I’m paying you for, but apparently, it’s far too much. Alex Stone managed to find a lead and send my wife and daughter out into the wee hours of the morning. I don’t know how you missed it.”

“All due respect, sir, Alex Stone is a legend. I’m not sure his skills are surpassed by anyone at this moment, so…”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. I want results. Find Julia and Sierra and let me know the moment you do.”

“On it, sir.”

He grumbled as he ended the call. His night had gone from bad to worse, and he still had the desperate phone calls to make.

He puckered his lips as his mind pieced together a narrative he could spin to secure the funds they needed.

The desperate early morning calls already put him at a disadvantage.

They’d likely smell the fear on him before he even got to the ask.

He hated being in this position, but he had to raise those funds. With a heavy sigh, he placed the first call. After apologizing for waking the man, he launched into his request. Silence met his ask.

“Uh, I’d have to pull some numbers tomorrow. Can I get back to you by week’s end?”

“No, Lloyd, I need an answer now. I need to move quickly on my end. It’s just a temporary stopgap. We’ll have this repaid within three months.”

“There is no way I can approve something that big.”

“What can you approve?”

“Maybe…a tenth of that?” His questioning tone made Grant bristle.

“A tenth? That’s insulting. Harrington Global has been a loyal customer of your bank for decades. You can’t stand by us now?”

“Look, Grant, I don’t make all the rules here, and…we just approved a sizable cash infusion to HG last week. We can’t do another one of that size.”

“Well, then maybe HG can’t do business with you anymore either.”

“I sincerely hope that’s not the case, but I doubt you’ll find any other banks that can accommodate your request.”

Grant twisted his hand into a fist as he tried to control his frustration. “We’ll see. Sorry for waking you.”

He ended the call, cutting the man off mid-sentence. It hadn’t gone the way he hoped. As his thumb hovered over the call button to his next option, he paused. Images of Kyle danced through his mind. Where was he, and what lead was his wife and daughter chasing?

He shoved it from his mind, trying to make progress on the other front. Four phone calls later, he’d failed to secure even half of the funds they needed.

With a deep sigh, he leaned back into the supple leather of his office chair.

Things were not looking good for Harrington Global’s desperate gamble.

And he hadn’t heard anything about his family.

His mind played a tug-of-war as he tried to focus on a solution for at least one of his problems. But panic began to swirl within him as he wondered if he’d lose on all fronts.