The Golden Chance

  “For the past few days you've been claiming those shares were Crissie's inheritance.” Nick followed her into the kitchen.

  “Crissie's dead.”

  “That's not news. She's been dead for nearly three months.”

  “I guess I'm finally accepting that fact.” Phila sat down at the table again and picked up her fork. “It was hard, you know. I think I was afraid to let go of her. There were times when she was all I had and it was hard to envision a world without her in it.”

  Nick opened a cupboard and found his bottle of scotch. “You want to tell me what happened while I was gone?”

  “Not much, really. I had a talk with Eleanor today, and I felt like a piece of garbage afterward. It jolted me. It also put things into perspective.”

  “What did you say to her? Or was it something she said to you?” Nick watched her coolly as he poured his scotch.

  “I said some nasty things to her. Afterward I felt as though I'd kicked a dog when it was down. She's obviously worked for years on shoring up an image of family unity. It was cruel of me to casually rip it apart.”

  “What exactly did you say?”

  “I reminded her it was her husband who had caused the problem of Crissie.”

  “A logical deduction.”

  “But one Eleanor has chosen not to make. She doesn't want to admit that someone in the family, her own husband to be precise, had created the problem. She wanted to blame it all on an outsideer. The family must remain inviolate at all costs.”

  “But you pointed out the truth?”

  “A totally useless exercise in reality therapy. She won't ever acknowledge it, and why should she? She's built her life around the families. The image of the Castletons and Lightfoots is more important to her than anything else. What right do I have to mess with her little world?”

  “I thought you wanted to avenge Crissie Masters. Represent her interests in the families. What about all that business about Castletons and Lightfoots bearing a moral responsibility for what happened?”

  “I realized today that I'm tired of playing Lady Avenger. Crissie's dead and no one's responsible, not even Crissie. She was the victim of cosmic bad luck. The universe is full of it.”

  “I don't know if I can handle a Philadelphia Fox turned existentialist. I liked you better when you were paranoid about conspiracies.”

  She looked at him. “I'm glad you're still finding something amusing in all this. You really do enjoy playing your little games, don't you, Nick? You should. You're very good at them.”

  He scowled at her, swirling the scotch in his glass. “You really are in a hell of a mood, aren't you?”

  “You want to talk conspiracies? All right, I'll talk conspiracies. Let's start with you telling me how your trip to Santa Barbara went?”

  He winced around a swallow of scotch. “You were the one who called my office down there? Martha said the lady hadn't left her name. I thought it might have been Hilary.”

  “Maybe we both called,” Phila suggested, annoyed.

  “No. Martha said only one woman called asking for me by name. Had to be you or Hilary.”

  “Why did you check in with your Santa Barbara office in the first place? Worried someone might suspect you had lied about your little business jaunt?”

  “It was one of the risks involved. Just out of curiosity, what made you suspicious?”

  “I don't trust Castletons or Lightfoots any more than they trust me,” she said.

  “Ah, that's my old Philadelphia.”

  “I'm glad you find it all so damned funny.”

  “I went to Seattle, not Santa Barbara.”

  “Did you?”

  “Do you care?” he retorted.

  “Not particularly. Not any more. It's your business.”

  “Damn right.” Nick set his glass down on the tiled countertop. “And I intend to get it back in August.”

  Phila nodded slowly, toying with the salad greens. “Everyone knows you're up to something. People keep warning me you're using me.”

  Nick leaned back against the counter, his eyes gleaming behind the lenses of his glasses. “What do you think?”

  “That they're right, of course. You're using me.”

  “Any more than you're using me, Phila? You seemed to be having a great time in bed.”

  “Oh, I was. But the party's over. I'm tired and it's time to go home.”

  “Where's home? Holloway?”

  She shook her head quickly. “No. Not there. Someplace new. Seattle, maybe.”

  He nodded. “I've got a place you can stay in while you hunt for an apartment and a job. A condo near the Market. You'd love it.”

  She was floored. “Why would you want to do me any favors? I've told you I'm going to give the shares back to Darren. You don't have to pay me off for returning them.”

  “I'm not trying to pay you off for them. I'm offering you a bribe so you'll hang on to them until the August meeting.”

  “Why should I do that?”

  “I need them,” Nick said softly. “More importantly, I need you.”

  She experienced a small rush of pleasure that she tried to suppress immediately. “How?”

  “I want the others to know you're going to back me at the annual meeting. I want them to think you believe in me.”

  “I see.” She clamped a lid on the surge of disappointment, just as she had damped down the initial hope. “But I think I'm losing this somewhere. Why do you want the families to think I'm going to back you?”

  “Because if you continue to do so, there's a fair-to-even chance that the owner of one of the other large share blocks will throw his or her lot in with us.”

  “And if one of the others does decide to back you?”

  Nick smiled slowly. “Then I get my old job back.”

  “You'll get control of Castleton & Lightfoot again?”

  “Yeah. That's the scenario.” He poured himself another glass of scotch.

  Phila felt chilled. The rain was falling in heavy sheets against the old windows. “What makes you think that my backing you with Crissie's shares will encourage any of the others to do so?”

  “You, my sweet, are shaping up as the Good Witch. You're annoying the hell out of the families, but some of the members are starting to think you may have a few good points.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as the primitive, rather naive qualities of honesty and integrity.”

  “Even if they do suspect me of having left-wing, antiestablishment tendencies?”

  “Yeah. You're putting doubts in their minds about me, Phila. This wasn't quite the way I planned it, but I think things are going to work out. They're all starting to wonder if I really was the bad guy three years ago. I'm hoping that if you spread enough doubt around, it'll act like the manure you lectured us about at Eleanor's dinner. It'll do some good.”

  “You mean it will benefit you.”

  “Right.”

  “Who's the Wicked Witch in this story?”

  “One guess.”

  “Hilary?”

  “Yeah.”

  Phila shook her head. “I don't think I like it. Any of it. I'm tired of being used.”

  “You don't have much choice,” Nick said. The steel core was showing again. “You haven't had any choice since the day you inherited the shares.”

  “I told you, I'm out of the vengeance business. If you're trying to get back at Hilary because she let everyone think you walked out on her and the baby three years ago, then you can do it on your own. You're a big boy. I want to get on with my own life.” Phila looked down at the salad. She was never going to be able to eat it. She stood up and carried her dishes over to the sink.

  Nick put out his hand and caught hold of her wrist. His eyes were the color of the rain outside. “I think we need to discuss this a little further.”

  “No. I've made up my mind. I'm leaving tomorrow.”

  “I want you to support me or at least pretend to support me until th
e August meeting.”

  “Why should I? What's in it for me?” Phila asked, suddenly feeling truly angry.

  Nick stared at her for a long, considering moment. “What do you want out of it?”

  She exhaled heavily. “Nothing. I can't think of anything I want from a Lightfoot, so I guess that means no deal.”

  “Phila, I need your help.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Believe me, everything hinges on you. Things are at a very delicate stage. If you walk out on me now it could tip the balance of power back in Hilary's direction.”

  “I'm not interested in helping you get even with your ex-wife, damn it!”

  “Jesus. You think I'm going through all of this just to get even?”

  “Why else would you be doing it?”

  “I'm doing it to save Castleton & Lightfoot, you little idiot. Which means I'm doing it for the families, whether they like it or not. My own personal problems with Hilary are the least of it.”

  Phila wriggled her captive wrist. “Let go of me.”

  Nick hesitated and then released her. He folded his arms across his chest. “Please help me, Phila.”

  She went over to the window. “What did you mean about trying to save Castleton & Lightfoot?”

  “Before I tell you the story, you've got to give me your word you won't say anything to any of the others.”

  “If something is threatening the company, why shouldn't they be told?”

  “Because at this stage Hilary could still cover her tracks and get away with what she has planned.”

  Phila hesitated, knowing he was shamelessly pushing her buttons and she was responding. She could already feel herself weakening. “All right, tell me about it.”

  “Your word of honor you'll keep quiet until the August meeting?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right, here it is in a nutshell. About six months ago I started picking up rumors of secret negotiations that involved Castleton & Lightfoot. It was hard to tell what was going on at first. All I got were bits and pieces here and there. I had to be careful about checking out the gossip. I didn't want word to get back to Hilary that I was on to something.”

  “What did you learn?”

  “With the help of a couple of friends who were in a position to check the rumors, I found out that Hilary was preparing to sell off a chunk of Castleton & Lightfoot to an outsider, a guy named Alex Traynor.”

  “Who's Traynor?”

  “A fast-moving, very smooth Silicon Valley character. He's been walking a fine line down there in California for the past couple of years. Buys into high-tech firms, bleeds them dry and then sells out, leaving a carcass behind.”

  “Why would Hilary want to sell off part of the company she controls? It doesn't make sense.”

  Nick shoved his hand through his hair. “I don't know. I've asked myself that question a hundred times. Maybe Traynor has convinced her he can make Castleton & Lightfoot bigger and stronger than it already is. Or maybe she's got something else in mind. All I do know is that she's going to do it after she gets the backing she needs at the August meeting.”

  “The others won't back her in a move to sell off shares to outsiders. Good grief, Nick, that's the last thing they'd do. Look at how hard they're working to get Crissie's shares back.”

  “The others aren't going to know what's happened until it's all over. Hilary's not stupid. She's not going to put a simple motion before them to sell off some shares. She's just going to get them to vote her a greater range of powers.”

  “Why would they agree to give her more power?”

  “Everyone on the board has his or her own reason. My father simply doesn't care enough to get involved anymore, apparently. He'd rather play golf. Darren wants more freedom to jump into politics in a big way. He'd rather turn the entire company over to someone else to run so long as that someone else promises to back his campaign. Vicky always votes the way Darren tells her to vote and she wants a political future for Darren tells her to vote and she wants a political future for Darren, too.”

  “And Eleanor is also determined to give Darren his chance to run for office,” Phila finished slowly. “Besides, she trusts Hilary. Feels she must support her. She'll give her whatever she asks for at the meeting.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But none of them would back her if they thought it meant hurting Castleton & Lightfoot. Why not just explain to them what's going on?”

  “I told you, Hilary's still got time to cover her tracks. I've got no real proof, just rumors off the California network and a file on Traynor that's stored in the office safe in Seattle.”

  “What's in the file?”

  “Nothing incriminating enough to prove my point, unfortunately. I went through it yesterday afternoon. Given the information I have from my contacts, I know it means Hilary is dealing with Traynor, but I can't prove she's going to sell off a chunk of C&L to him. I need to get control of Castleton & Lightfoot away from her long enough to smash the deal with Traynor. I can do that if I get my old job back in August.”

  “You intend to get yourself appointed CEO again. To do that you need a majority of the shareholders on your side.”

  “You've got the picture.”

  Phila stared out into the storm. “Do you really believe that with my backing you will convince one or more of the others to support you?”

  “It's my only real chance. What it comes down to, Phila, is that I think you can convince at least one of them to trust me again.”

  “Which one? Your father?”

  “Maybe,” Nick swirled the last of the scotch in his glass. “Possibly Darren.”

  “What about Eleanor?”

  “I think she's too convinced Hilary's the Benevolent Queen who can give Darren his shot at a political career. Also, Eleanor has the most to protect in terms of the past, as you found out today. She won't be able to trust you because you were involved with Crissie. She can't admit anything good could have come out of that mess with Crissie Masters.”

  “What if I can't get any of the others to go along with you?”

  “Then I lose, and Castleton & Lightfoot goes under.”

  “You're taking a huge risk.”

  “A calculated risk,” he corrected with a wry smile. “I'm good at those.”

  Of course he was. Phila swung around to confront him with a rush of tight fury. “Tell me something, Nick. When you came looking for me was it because Eleanor had asked you to get the shares back from me or had you already figured out a way to use me to retake control of the company?”

  He shrugged. “When I learned about you, I realized I had been dealt a wild card. I wasn't sure at the time what I was going to do with it. I wasn't even sure what to make of you at first. You weren't what I expected so I just decided to play it by ear.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “Someone who would have accepted a quick payoff for the shares. I realized almost as soon as I met you that would be the wrong approach, though.”

  “So you offered me a chance to wallow in my anger and frustration over Crissie's death, instead. And I jumped at the opportunity.” Phila shook her head. “Damn, but I hate being manipulated, Nick.”

  “I know. So do I. But don't you think that in this instance, we're both guilty of using each other? You were quick enough to take advantage of what I was offering.”

  “Don't try to make me feel guilty. I already feel stupid. That's bad enough.”

  “Why should you feel stupid?” he asked, his mouth hardening. “You got what you wanted out of the deal.”

  “A chance to torment Castletons and Lightfoots for the way they treated Crissie? That's a joke. They're already tormenting each other very nicely. They don't need me to add any more fuel to the fire.”

  “You weren't sure of that a few days ago. If your mind is more at ease about the whole thing now, if you've really been able to accept Crissie's death, then you've accomplished your goal. All I ask is that you let me accompl
ish mine.”

  Phila just looked at him, too weary even to cry. Then she turned and started to leave the kitchen. She got as far as the doorway before she lost her self-control. Rage boiled up within her, washing away the exhaustion. Her fist slammed against the door frame.

  “Why did you have to take it as far as sleeping with me?” she got out in a choked voice, whirling around to confront him. “Why couldn't you have kept it on the level of a simple business deal?”

  Nick didn't move, but there was tension in every line of his body. When he spoke his voice was soft. “I've told you from the beginning that our going to bed together has nothing to do with all this.”

  “That's pure bullshit, and you know it. You used the fact that I was attracted to you, just as you want to use my shares. Just as you want to use me as a Judas goat to lead one of the others over to your side in August.”

  “What about me?”

  “What about you?” she said through her teeth.

  “You've been happy enough to use me in bed. Just as you were happy enough to use me to gain entrée into the inner circle of the families.”

  Phila shut her eyes against the fury that was threatening to overwhelm her. “No. It wasn't like that.”

  “Wasn't it?”

  Her eyes flew open. “I didn't sleep with you to get that entrée.”

  “I didn't sleep with you to get those shares.”

  Phila felt dazed and cornered. “I guess,” she said slowly, “when you get right down to it, neither one of us can afford to trust the other. Not in bed, at any rate.”

  “Can't we?”

  “No.” She turned away again and went purposefully out into the living room. She came to a halt in the middle of the floor, realizing she had no particular destination in mind. She had just needed to escape the kitchen.

  “Phila,” Nick said quietly behind her, “don't run out on me. Help me. Please.”

  “Why should I, damn you?”

  “I told you. I need you.”

  “To save Castleton & Lightfoot.” She thought of Vicky and little Jordan and Reed and Darren and Eleanor. “It seems to me you should all be able to save yourselves.”

  “We can't do it without your help.”