I won’t say I was completely loyal to her, as well. But as our relationship went on, I decided to give it a try. I wanted to see if I was completely lost in my darkness, and I found out I wasn’t. I just needed the right motivation. When I saw Maxine, she was my motivation. So in three days, on Friday, my plan of a counter attack will commence. I couldn’t wait.
As I said before, my brother wasn’t completely on board until I showed him everything I had. I showed him how Bernstein was trying to take our business up from under us by using a shell company and feeding us information, so we would invest in it. He knew if we invested our funds, then our clients would do the same. And when we lost, so would they. Then we would lose our creditability.
Our father started pushing for this deal to go through for weeks, and so was Rick. Every time those two are excited about an investment, I take notice. Four years ago when they wanted to get into bed with Bernstein, they lost a considerable amount of money, and they also learned I wasn’t backing them. I told them they would enter that business deal without the backing of my company, and I meant it.
So when they lost a large sum of money, they were pissed when I shrugged my shoulder and told them, “I can’t help you.”
They somehow blamed me for their screw-up, saying if I would have cosigned, they would have had more backers and more money, and their business venture wouldn’t have folded. I, of course, felt they invested foolishly with blinders on, and they got caught out there. Ever since then, they have been after me. The only reasons why I won’t burn the both of them are Marcus and my grandparents. But after I showed him what our father was doing and also told him that Diane and Rick were seeing each other, Marcus was on board.
On Friday, I called a board meeting. When I entered the room, I had my lawyers behind me with stacks of papers. My brother and I sat next to each other, and I looked at the board of eight men and women.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I called this meeting to announce our separation of West Enterprises.”
Murmurs started, and my father and brother-in-law looked stunned.
I continued, “We have used the business for our purposes long enough. It’s time we return it to its rightful owner. Dad, the company is yours now as is. The contract is being passed out for you to look over and sign, but you have until Monday morning to agree to the terms.”
“Are you serious?” he asked.
I looked at my brother and then at the man that was responsible for my existence, “Yes. The company is yours to maintain and run as you see fit. Please take a look at the terms.”
My father, ever the business man, did just that. He then raised his eyebrows.
“So all current investments will stay in place?”
“Yes. Whatever clients you brought on will stay with you. But you cannot solicit any of mine. They stay with me. You have no rights to any software or paperwork from this company. Any said usage will be deemed breach of contract, and you best believe I will sue you. You have to find a new home. I trust you won’t have a problem finding a suitable place to run. As a matter of fact, your old office building still has the space open for you to occupy. However, effective two weeks from today, your badges and access will no longer be valid. So you have two weeks to find a new home.”
“Wow, two weeks isn’t giving us much time,” Rick replied.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find a way.”
My brother and I watched our father gain all the posture he lost when I took his company from him all those years ago.
“Do you find the contract acceptable?” I asked him.
“A few conditions…I want to take some people with me. These people worked with me and for me for years,” my father stated.
I nodded.
“That’s fine with me. Send me or Marcus the list of names and clients you intend to retain, and I’ll place an addendum on the contract. But dad, one more thing: This is it. You are on your own. I’m not bailing you out of anything. Stay away from my business, and I’ll stay away from yours.”
My father didn’t waste any more time. The company was worth close to $10 million, and I sold it to him for about $4 million.
When the meeting was over, my brother leaned over to me.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Bro, you know what they’re trying to do. I’ve shown you proof. We needed to get away from them now before we lose everything. Besides, it’s time…don’t you think?”
“You know he’s going to come after us, right?”
“Let him. Also, I have stripped all access to sensitive material about the company. Our IT guys think it’s a server issue, but I have some people on the outside monitoring what his people are looking at. You know he wouldn’t stand a chance against us. Besides, I have some serious deals coming that they think they know about, but really they don’t.” I stood. “Can you take care of the rest of the paper work? I’ve signed everything I need to.”