Initiative (Suncoast Society #31)(53)

Ed frowned. “You need to buy him out.”

“His shares aren’t worth anything.”

“Not as-is, no. Is it worth your peace of mind to have those two shares back in your hands where you know his parents will never be able to get to them?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “It absolutely is.”

“Then buy him out. Use it as incentive to get him to leave voluntarily before the deadline.”

“For how much?”

“However much you want. What can you afford?”

The dealership’s financial officer had just gone over the previous month’s numbers with her Friday afternoon. They’d had another good month, and Susie had earned a salary bonus from the corporation as a result.

Not to mention she was still sitting on most of the payout from John’s life insurance policy.

She thought about Jack’s salary. He was a decent salesman…when he showed up. Based on how little he showed up, and some rumors she’d heard, she knew he had another job on the side. His pay at the car dealership wouldn’t even top twenty grand that year at the rate he was going. His main benefits were health insurance and the car.

Of which he’d been seriously downgraded in that department.

“Twenty grand and paying his health insurance until the end of next year. And he can keep the car.” The car would have been a write-off anyway. Most trade-ins like that were, barely making at auction the expense of transporting them there in the first place.

“Sounds more than fair to me,” Ed said. “I can draw up a contract to that effect and have him sign everything over. We can get him in Monday afternoon and do it.”

“That fast?”

He grinned. “You’re family,” he said. “You get special treatment. Besides, it’s a pretty straightforward contract. For the sum of twenty thousand dollars, and for his health insurance premiums to be paid for him until the end of next year, and the title to the car, he resigns his job and turns over full control of his two corporate shares and rescinds and forever forsakes any claims he has to them in the future. Easy.”

“You don’t know Jack the way I do,” she grumbled. “Life with him is not easy.”

Grant gently poked her. “Let the legal beagle talk. That’s why you pay him.”

“Hell, I’m the one who helped draw up John’s will,” Ed said. “It was mostly Kaden who laid it out, but still, I’m the one who ended up with it.” A melancholy expression crossed Ed’s face before he seemed to return his attention to them. “As long as Jack agrees, that’s it. Easy.”

She slowly nodded. “When do you want to do it?”

“Set it up for Monday afternoon. Don’t tell him what it’s about. In fact, it’d be best if you weren’t around at work for most of the day.”

“I was already planning to take the day off.” She smiled at Grant.





Monday afternoon, Susie felt less nervous with Ed there in the conference room with her, but she would have felt a lot better had Grant and Darryl been able to be there as well. Right now, they were waiting in Ed’s office, hidden out of sight.

From the wary look on Jack’s face when he walked in—alone, thank goodness—Susie knew she should shut up and let Ed do all the talking. She’d actually been chickenshit enough to let Kristin deliver the news to Jack that his presence was requested at Ed’s. Jack was almost as intimidated by Kristin as he was by Susie, except he knew he couldn’t try pulling any bullshit with Kristin or she’d put him in his place.

She had before.

So when Kristin had called Susie a little after lunch to report that Jack would be there as requested, she’d breathed a sigh of relief.

“What’s this about?” Jack asked as he settled at the table, across from Susie.

Ed slid the paper over to him. “A quick transaction. Sign over control of your two shares.” He explained everything to him.

Jack frowned. “I should probably talk to my attorney first.”

Ed reached for the paper. “Okay, but this offer expires at five p.m. today. No extensions.”

Jack pulled the paper back toward him as he shot a glare Susie’s way. “Why are you so hot to buy me out all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden,” she said, unable to help herself. “It’s the first time I’ve felt strong enough since you killed my husband to deal with this. Believe me, I would have done it a lot sooner if I’d felt up to it.”

Ed reached over and touched her shoulder, quieting her. “My client wants this part of her life behind her. I’m sure you can understand the emotions involved here. It would be best for everyone if this were handled quickly.”

“So…I just walk away? That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Ed said.

“What about my parents?”

“What about them?” Ed asked before she could. “They are not part of this transaction.”

“Are you going to be buying them out, too?”

“That’s confidential between us and them,” Ed said, his tone turning chilly. “Just like this transaction is confidential.”

Jack sat back and studied the paper for a long, quiet moment. “I loved John,” he said. “You know that. I’m sorry this happened. I never meant for it to happen. He was my big brother, for chrissake.”