Jilt Trip

“They’ve stuck him back here in the storage room,” Saunders called over his shoulder. There were answering voices and then the door fully opened. Saunders entered, followed by Julian and Bob.

And Nikki.

Carter was unaccountably glad to see her. In spite of their turbulent history, they were friends and he valued that friendship—his only one with a woman.

“You had me worried, there.” Carter clasped Saunders on the shoulder. Everything would be fine now.

“We have to talk to you,” Nikki stated.

Carter nodded. Anything. “Let’s get this ceremony over with and I’ll slip away during the reception.” He pushed Saunders toward the door.

“Now,” Nikki ordered just as Saunders dug in his heels.

In surprise, Carter turned and saw that the others all wore grim expressions.

Clutching papers, Nikki walked toward him.

“Use the podium,” Saunders suggested, dragging one away from the wall.

“Julian—” Nikki nodded to him as she opened folders “—stand by the door.”

“Gotcha.” Julian opened it, and checked both directions before closing the door and leaning against it.

“What’s going on?” Carter demanded. They were starting to alarm him.

“Stock transactions,” Nikki told him.

“Not that again.” Carter felt his anger rise. All morning, they’d pestered him with their takeover theories.

“Look.” Bob, his chief accountant, adjusted his glasses and pointed to several columns of figures. “This is Belden Industries’ stock activity over the past two months compared with this same period last year.”

Carter glanced at the figures. “So? That doesn’t prove anything.” Carter looked at their unsmiling faces. Obviously, he’d have to study those figures at greater length. “Well, there’s certainly nothing there so startling that I’d have to postpone my wedding.”

“These are the buyers and sellers,” Bob continued as if Carter had said nothing.

“Your future father-in-law has bought a sizable chunk.” Nikki pointed to the entries under Karrenbrock Ventures.

Carter looked hard at her. “Again, so? I consider that a vote of confidence.”

Nikki exchanged a glance with Saunders.

“According to the prenuptial agreement, you promise to transfer ten percent of your holdings in Belden Industries to Dee Ann on condition of your marriage,” Saunders said.

He remembered that Saunders and Nikki had howled over that one. “You knew that long ago,” Carter said.

Nikki pointed to Bob’s figures. “Added to the Karrenbrock holdings, that ten percent would entitle them to a seat on the board of directors.”

Carter smiled. “I’m putting the stock in Dee Ann’s name. It’ll still be in the family.”

Nikki’s eyes widened and Carter felt a pang of guilt. Stressing Dee Ann’s new status was too harsh, he supposed, but they were interrupting his wedding, damn it.

Saunders cleared his throat. “It would be considered Dee Ann’s separate property—hers to do with as she pleases.”

“And there’s nothing to stop her from selling her share to her father,” Julian said from his post at the door. “Should he choose to exercise his rights, Karrenbrock would be in a position to seriously weaken Belden Industries.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Carter insisted.

“Or,” Nikki said, “her father could give her his holdings.”

Carter hadn’t considered that. “And I bet that’s exactly what he’s going to do!” he said. “A wedding gift. I’ve been trying to buy back some Belden stock.”

They looked unconvinced.

Carter spread his hands. “Look.” He forced a light laugh. His friends’ grim faces were more appropriate for a funeral than a wedding. “Dee Ann has no interest in business.” He directed his next remarks to Nikki. “She’s not like you.”

Nikki tilted her chin up. “So I’ve been told.”

Meeting her stare, it occurred to Carter that she wasn’t taking his marriage as well as he’d thought.

“Okay. I’ll concede that you all have legitimate concerns.” Relief flickered across their faces. “Let’s go have a wedding and we’ll discuss it later.”

“It’ll be too late then!” Saunders sounded panicked.

Ignoring him, Carter searched the pile of empty dry-cleaning bags and various wrappings on the ancient sofa, located the best man’s boutonniere and removed the plastic. The carnation was still fresh. “Hold this.” He handed the flower to Bob, unpinned his own and thrust it at Nikki. “Pin that on Saunders, would you?”

“But…you can’t still be going through with the wedding after what we’ve discovered?”

“Careful with that,” Carter advised himself as he pinned on the fresh carnation. Saunders should be doing this. Or Nikki.

“There’s something else,” Nikki added with an edge of desperation in her voice.

When Carter heard it, he felt a surge of pride. Their concern for his company went far beyond that of mere employees. They considered it their company, too.

However, he reminded himself abruptly, it wasn’t their company and this nonsense had to stop. “Later.”

“No!” Nikki gripped his arm on one side, Saunders on the other.

“Hey! You’ll wrinkle my jacket.”

“Carter.” Bob opened more folders. “Karrenbrock Ventures owns Lacefield Foods. Two weeks ago, Lacefield bought stock in Belden Industries.”

That caught his attention. “Let me see that.” Carter took the folder from his chief accountant and scanned the information. Sighing, he handed it back. “It isn’t much.”

“Not by itself,” Bob admitted. “But I suspect that more of the companies in these files are subsidiaries of Karrenbrock Ventures.”

“It’s a bad time to be signing away ten percent of your holdings,” Julian said.

Carter studied the faces of his trusted employees and friends. Julian, his executive vice president, the unflappable connoisseur of art and women. Bob, the balding accountant. The always-anxious Saunders, and Nikki…