Flash by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online

inherited fifty-one percent. Controlling interest. For all practical purposes, I own Glow."
    "So Winchmore said." She drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. Her jaw tightened. Her cool smile, however, did not waver. "Well,
partner
, you'll need a quick rundown on the status of the situation at Glow, Inc."
    He was amused by the new attempt to establish herself in the driver's seat. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I stopped by the Glow offices before I came here today. I told all of my managers that I'll want an initial status report by tomorrow morning."
    "I see." She studied the toes of her stylish silver-gray oxfords. "I realize you'll want to cash out as quickly as possible. No problem. I've already talked to Melwood Gill, the chief financial officer at Glow. He says we can put together a generous offer to repurchase your shares in Glow."
    "I've already spoken to Gill. I told him that it won't be necessary to waste any more time structuring a buyout offer."
    She went very still. "I beg your pardon?"
    "I'm not open to an offer," he said gently. "I don't want to sell my fifty-one percent of Glow to you or anyone else. I intend to take Rollie's place as president and CEO of the company."
    Her mouth opened, but no words came forth. She closed it again. Briskly she removed her oxford-shod feet from the desk and sat up straight in her chair. She folded her hands in front of her. "I naturally assumed you'd want to be bought out"
    "You assumed wrong. Naturally. Don't worry about it. A lot of people make that mistake with me."
    "But you can't possibly be interested in running a company like Glow."
    "Why not?"
    "Well, because—" She unclasped her hands and spread them wide. "Because it's not what you do. You're a venture capitalist. You don't run businesses, you arrange financing for them."
    "I've been doing venture capital for over a decade. I'm bored with it. I'm selling my company, Sloan & Associates, to my vice-president. I'm ready for something different."
    She stared at him. "You're telling me you want to take an active role in running Glow?"
    "I'm telling you that I own controlling interest in Glow, and I will be calling the shots," he said very patiently. "Is that clear enough for you?"
    "But that doesn't make any sense."
    "It does to me."
    She glared at him. "Venture capitalists are all gamblers at heart. You get your kicks from taking risks on wild-card investments."
    "I'm ready for a change. On the plane trip back here to Seattle I had the opportunity to give the problem of Glow's future a lot of serious thought."
    She gave him a thin smile. "How nice for you."
    He ignored the sarcasm. "The company is at a very vulnerable stage. It's in a different position now than it was two years ago because of the R&D commitment. But it has not yet carved out a new, stable market niche."
    "Glow is poised to do extremely well."
    "One misstep during the next two years and the company will implode. If that happens, you and I won't be sitting around discussing who's going to be in charge. We'll be hiring bankruptcy lawyers."
    She stiffened. "Things aren't that precarious. You're trying to scare me into agreeing to give you full control."
    "I'm not
asking
you for permission to take charge of Glow," he said. "I'm telling you that I have already taken control of it."
    "Glow has been a family-held business for nearly fifty years. You have no right to just walk in and take over."
    "Correction. Glow was not a family-held business. It was owned by one man, Rollie Chantry. The fact that he employed most of his relatives at one time or another, is beside the point. None of them own any shares in the company."
    "Correction," she retorted smoothly. "I now own half of Glow."
    "The last time I checked my calculator, forty-nine percent did not equal half of anything."
    "Let's get something straight here, Mr. Sloan—"
    "Good idea." He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. He linked his fingers loosely together and watched her