One Special Moment - Brenda Jackson [8]
“I’m waiting for an answer, Mr. Hamilton.”
He looked up again and met her gaze, grateful he was a little better in control. “Such as the fact that Wingate Cosmetics is about to be faced with a hostile takeover attempt by Morton Industries.”
Colby sat up straight and stared at him with openmouthed shock. “What? Are you sure?” she asked in a whisper.
“I’m positive. A very good friend of mine named Jacob Madaris is a top-notch player on the New York Stock Exchange. He handles most of my investments and is known to have inside information about a lot of things.”
Shakily, Colby reached out to steady herself by grasping the arms of the huge chair she was sitting in. “But why? How?”
Sterling watched her reaction to the information. “Correct me if I’m wrong but according to my sources, Morton Industries released your brother from their employment several years ago when he failed to divulge the ingredients of a certain perfume he had created. I gather they liked the fragrance and wanted him to sign over the rights to them.”
Colby sighed. “Yes,” she replied softly. “He created it as a present for my eighteenth birthday and named it after me. It’s called Colby. I’m the only woman who wears it.”
He nodded and inhaled the tantalizing aroma of her. It was a subtle but extremely potent scent. There was something about it that was totally alluring. He was familiar with various feminine fragrances, but somehow the one Colby wore seemed unique and exclusively hers. He couldn’t imagine the scent on any other woman.
“What your brother may not have known is that he did exactly what they expected him to do by going into business for himself. They sat back and waited patiently for him to make it into a lucrative company. Now they’re ready to take things over.”
Colby gasped. “You can’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do. I doubt your brother is aware of it, but Morton’s about ready to file with the SEC. It’s only a matter of time before their intentions are made public. Then it will be virtually impossible for him to do anything about it. If they’re successful, they will gain complete control of Wingate Cosmetics. If the perfume Colby is registered with the company, regardless of the fact it is not being publicly marketed for sale, it will become the property of Morton Industries. And I have a feeling nothing will please them more than to put it on the market. Also, this new creation of your brother’s, the one you called Awesome, will fall into their hands.”
“I can’t let that happen.”
Sterling met her gaze. “You can’t stop them.”
Colby stood quickly to face him. “But you don’t understand. I have to do something. Everything James’s ever owned is tied to that company, his life savings, his heart and his soul. He’s worked so hard to make it a success. He and his wife are expecting their first child and the pregnancy is a risky one. It’s not fair that Morton Industries can just come in and reap the benefits of his hard work.”
Sterling witnessed her outburst. The anger she was feeling was openly expressed in her features.
“It’s not fair,” she said. “It’s just not fair, and I won’t let them do it.”
“And just how do you plan to stop them?”
Colby slumped back down in her seat knowing she didn’t have a clue. “I don’t know, but I’m going to call James immediately. He’ll think of something.”
“It’s too late. The wheels are already in motion. There’s nothing he can do.”
Colby frowned. “How can you say that? It’s his company.”
“Not for long. Anytime a company goes public with stock options something like this can happen. Especially if the company is doing well financially. And according to this,” Sterling said, spreading out a financial report on the table in front of them, “Wingate Cosmetics is doing rather well. Your brother should be proud of what he’s accomplished.”
Colby appreciated his compliment of her brother’s hard work. “It wasn’t easy for him. He works hard and long hours,” she said softly, thinking back to how his marriage had nearly suffered because of