PART 3Harold looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you own more of Merritt than Richard thinks you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, I said nothing.<\/p>\n
Experts Stunned: Easy Solution for Years of Joint Pain and Arthritis
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\nThe room seemed strangely quiet.<\/p>\n
I turned another page.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
A list of shareholders.<\/p>\n
My name.<\/p>\n
Beside it was a percentage.<\/p>\n
I already knew the number.<\/p>\n
But seeing it printed there made everything feel different.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard doesn\u2019t know?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows there are outside investors,\u201d Harold said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know the largest individual position is yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave a small laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo all these years, he\u2019s been telling me how successful he is while I\u2019ve been one of the people financing that success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore importantly, Lucas, there\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the second folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why I asked you to come in immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the document.<\/p>\n
It was a proposed acquisition agreement.<\/p>\n
Merritt was preparing to purchase another company.<\/p>\n
But something about the paperwork bothered me.<\/p>\n
I read the buyer\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Then the seller\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Then I looked at Harold.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis company is owned by Richard\u2019s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Richard is using Merritt\u2019s money to buy an asset from his own family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what the documents indicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold gave me the number.<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s almost double what the company is worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I slowly closed the folder.<\/p>\n
The Thanksgiving dinner suddenly seemed very far away.<\/p>\n
The expensive wine.<\/p>\n
The catered food.<\/p>\n
The people Richard wanted to impress.<\/p>\n
The way Victoria had told me I didn\u2019t belong.<\/p>\n
The way Daniel had looked at his plate.<\/p>\n
I understood something now.<\/p>\n
They hadn\u2019t been embarrassed because I was poor.<\/p>\n
They were embarrassed because they thought I was insignificant.<\/p>\n
There was a difference.<\/p>\n
Harold watched me carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked out the window.<\/p>\n
People were walking along the sidewalk carrying coffee, talking on phones, rushing to meetings.<\/p>\n
Everyone seemed to have somewhere important to be.<\/p>\n
I remembered Ruth.<\/p>\n
She had always told me that money was useful, but knowing when to use it mattered more.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Harold raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want every document reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery transfer. Every loan. Every related-party transaction. Every signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped at the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name appears in several of the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned around.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployment agreements. Bonus structures. A future equity arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he involved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on what you mean by involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked down at the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked back to the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind out.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Harold?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t contact Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t contact Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I left his office and drove home.<\/p>\n
For the first time in years, I didn\u2019t feel like calling my son.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t feel like explaining myself.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t feel like asking why he had allowed his wife\u2019s parents to humiliate me.<\/p>\n
Instead, I went into my garage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PART 3Harold looked directly at me. \u201cBecause you own more of Merritt than Richard thinks you do.\u201d For a few seconds, I said nothing. Experts Stunned: Easy Solution for Years of Joint Pain and Arthritis 9 Kinds of Ancestors You Could Find on Your Family Tree 8 Reasons Your Car Insurance Rate Changes The Smart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5870,"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5869\/revisions\/5870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storydosee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}