Getting Married by Theresa Alan Read Free Book Online Page B

and my right hand man. Michael, this is Eva Lockhart.”

    “It’s good to see you again, Michael,” I say.

    “You two know each other?”

    “We do. I’ve done some work for WP in the past,” I say.

    “So, do you also know our chief scientific officer Doctor Edward Lyons and Anthony Victorino—”

    “Your chief financial officer. Yes and yes,” I say, nodding to both men, who nod back.

    I take a seat at the table with the others. Kyle remains standing.

    “Well, as you know, we called you in because WP is at a crossroads,” he says. “We have the opportunity to make bold strides into the future or to let opportunity pass us by.”

    “I would phrase it more like, ‘we have the opportunity to ravage our reserves on a risky and untested product, or we have the chance to ride the rocky economy out by staying true to our core competencies,’” Michael says.

    “But Michael, our cash flows are strong—”

    “Our cash flows are strong, but if we don’t have the reserves to weather a downturn in the market, we risk becoming another WorldCom, growing too far too fast.”

    “It is a gamble, but I believe as you research this acquisition, Ms. Lockhart, you’ll find that this new product of Ridan’s will revolutionize how diseases are diagnosed, using a noninvasive methodology in which a tube is inserted down a patient’s throat—”

    “Ridan is not the first to patent such a product,” Michael says. Dr. Lyons nods in agreement.

    Kyle ignores Michael and continues touting the strengths of Ridan’s new diagnostic equipment, only to be contradicted at every point by Michael. You don’t have to be a psych major to figure out what’s going on here. Michael has twenty years with the company while Kyle has eight. Michael is well into middle age while Kyle is in his fresh-faced early thirties. Michael was responsible for the acquisition of one of the leading drugs on the market for fighting osteoporosis and a major moneymaker for WP. Kyle has not yet accomplished anything of that scale. My guess is that Michael thought he should have been named chief executive officer and he will do anything to prove that Kyle was the wrong choice. Kyle knows that his appointment has upset a lot of people since he has so little experience, but if he can make a successful acquisition, it will earn him authority and respect he doesn’t currently command.

    The meeting lasts three long, heated hours, and when I leave, I feel like I’ve put in a ten-hour day.

Chapter 5

    I t’s Rachel’s husband Jon’s birthday today, and Rachel is throwing a barbeque to celebrate. The barbeque starts at four on Saturday afternoon, and the sun is roasting the dry air of Colorado when Will and I pull up to Jon and Rachel’s house. As Will parks, I recognize the car in front of us as Gabrielle’s.
    I met Gabrielle when I was working on getting my MBA. Gabrielle was working on her PhD in sociology at the same time I was getting my master’s. I was waiting in line to get coffee from the stand at the student union and I went to pay for my latte, handing the kid behind the counter my twenty because that was all I had. He pointed to the handmade sign that had a twenty dollar bill sketched on it with a red bar in a circle over it, like you have on no-smoking signs.

    “I know you’d prefer not to take twenties, but it’s all I’ve got,” I said.

    “I’m sorry, I can’t take it. I’ll run out of change.”

    “But you don’t understand. I’m in graduate school and I’m having a caffeine emergency. My entire future could be destroyed if I fall asleep at my final presentation tonight.”

    “No can do, lady.”

    “Here. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

    I turned to see a petite woman with dark hair and glasses forking over the three bucks I needed to obtain the precious beverage.

    “Thank you, so, so much. You are a life-saver. You’re earning like a million karma points.”

    “Don’t worry about it. I’m a grad