A Brother's Honour

At exactly ten o’clock, Freeman called the meeting to order. Since this was an unscheduled meeting, he asked for a motion that the secretary not read the minutes from the last meeting. His motion was seconded.

Freeman then addressed the meeting, once again offering his sympathies to the Granger family for their loss. He then, pretty elegantly Jace thought, indicated the reason for the meeting. Freeman stated that the company was about to change leadership and direction at the worst possible time. And that although he respected Richard’s decision in wanting a Granger to run the company, he had been vice president for two years and felt more than capable of taking the company where it needed to be. He offered to have the Grangers work under him for a while to learn the ins and outs of the company, after which time, he would gladly step down and let the brothers take things over. However, he stressed that now was not the time.

Jace glanced around the table. Everyone was listening attentively, a few were taking notes and some had nodded. He was glad they’d made the move to buy up stock yesterday. His keen sense of discernment allowed him to pinpoint the people Freeman already had in his pocket. So Freeman’s claim that he would only take over for a short while was a bunch of bullshit, and they all knew it.

After Freeman stopped talking, the secretary asked if anyone had anything to say before votes were cast. Jace knew it was his time to speak, and he stood up to do so. “This company was started by my great-grandfather over seventy years ago and was later run by my grandfather, father and then, in my father’s absence, my grandfather again. On his deathbed Richard Granger asked that my brothers and I take over the day-to-day operations of Granger Aeronautics. All of you know how much my grandfather loved this company, and he would not have made such a request had he not felt that we could succeed in what he was asking us to do and that it was in the best interest of this company. He had faith in us, and I’m hoping you do, as well. I am ready to take over as CEO and move this company in the right direction. I ask for your vote of confidence.”

Freeman then asked for a vote, indicating for his secretary to do a roll call. From the smile on his face, it was apparent he was fairly certain he would come out on top. However, Jace saw that smile turn to concern when, during the roll call, it was obvious that a number of stockholders had gotten rid of their stock yesterday.

The roll call had been done in alphabetical order, and Jace wasn’t surprised when Freeman had five times the number of votes Jace could cast due to proxy. He saw shock and then anger appear in the older man’s eyes when he saw how many voting shares Jace, Caden and Dalton had obtained.

It was a close vote, and the last person on the roll call was Sandra Timmons. Shiloh was her proxy. She had enough shares to cast the deciding vote. Jace refused to look over at her, figuring that Caden had been doing it enough for the both of them.

The secretary spoke up. “Shiloh Timmons, proxy for Sandra Timmons. How do you want to cast your vote?”

Jace literally held his breath. He didn’t release it until he heard Shiloh say in a clear voice, “I am voting for Sandra Timmons, thirty shares for the Grangers.”

* * *

“Your girl saved the day, man,” Dalton said after the meeting had adjourned. “I was sweating bullets there for a minute.”

“She’s not my girl,” Caden said as he stood at the window in the conference room and looked out. “And I wish you’d stop insinuating that she is.”

Dalton, who was leaning back lazily in one of the conference room chairs, shrugged broad shoulders. “You and Shiloh were close growing up.”

Caden turned around. “Yes, and if you recall, that was before...” He paused, knowing he didn’t have to go into any details. Dalton knew. Each of them had felt the pain of suddenly being ostracized by their friends.

“She was just a kid, Caden. A kid who had to do what she was told. Can you imagine her going against old man Timmons? If you remember, the man was an asshole.”

Caden did remember, but there was more to his and Shiloh’s history than Dalton knew. More than anyone knew. And he wasn’t about to enlighten his brother about anything now.

Jace entered the conference room. “I just talked to Vidal. He’ll make sure the transition is done as smoothly as possible. Everything is set.”

“Set how?” Dalton wanted to know. He had several million dollars in Granger shares, and he intended to get a return on his investment. Stuart would have a cow when he heard about what he had done. The first rule when investing is to make sure you don’t lose money. That meant he needed to stay on top of things so that rule was not broken.

“Freeman and I have reached an understanding,” Jace said easily.

Dalton sneered. “Understanding, my ass. I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I,” Caden said, leaning against the wall. “Hell, Jace, the man was trying to take the company right from under our noses.”

“He didn’t think we were ready to take over things,” Jace said somberly.

“Can’t blame him, since I thought the same thing myself,” Dalton said. “But I still don’t like what he tried to pull. So now that we’re in, are you going to give Ms. Bradford a call?”

Jace pulled the business card Vidal had given him from his pocket. “I might as well. Vidal showed me a number of profit and loss statements, and this company is so deep in the red it’s not funny.”

That’s not what Dalton wanted to hear. “But it can be turned around?”

Jace heard the concern in his brother’s voice. “You’ll get a return on your investment.”

A hopeful look appeared in Dalton’s eyes. “Promise?”

Jace held his brother’s gaze. “You know I don’t make promises, Dalton.”

How could I forget? Dalton thought. The last time he had asked Jace to make a promise had been during their father’s trial. He wanted Jace to promise him that their father would not have to serve time, and that he would be back home with them when the trial ended. They’d already lost their mother, and the thought of losing a father had been unbearable to Dalton. Jace had refused him that promise, and Dalton was glad he had. It would have been a promise that was broken.

“Yes, I know,” Dalton said. “I forgot. I usually don’t get out of bed before noon, and my brain was not functioning so well this morning.”

“But I see your eyeballs are,” Jace said. “When you were checking out that receptionist this morning, I could swear you had X-ray vision.”

Dalton chuckled as he loosened his tie a bit. “Wish I had. Damn, she looks good. I want her for my office assistant.”

“If you do get an office assistant, I’m going to make sure she is not on the list.” Jace eased down to sit on the edge of the table. “Speaking of your own offices, they’ll be ready for you to move in before the end of the day.”

“I only want an office if I get to pick my office assistant, and I want her on the list, Jace,” Dalton said, grinning. “And I don’t want my office next to Caden’s unless it’s soundproof. You know how he has a tendency to play his sax at odd times.”

Dalton had expected Caden to come back with some ear-blistering retort, and when he didn’t, Dalton turned to gaze over at his brother. Jace looked over at Caden, as well. Caden had gone back to staring out the window, dismissing their presence.

“I think what Shiloh did at the meeting got to him,” Dalton whispered under his breath.

“You think so?” Jace asked. Personally, he thought so, too. And he had a feeling there was something else going on there but had no idea what. Why was Caden acting so uptight about a woman he hadn’t had any contact with for close to fifteen years?

“Which office do you get?” Dalton broke into Jace’s thoughts to ask, deciding to leave Caden to whatever thoughts were going through his mind.

“The one that was Granddad’s. I’m keeping Dad’s office the same way Granddad has kept it all these years. Intact.”

Richard had always assumed his son would be freed and had kept Sheppard’s office basically as he’d left it. Jace planned to do the same. That was another promise they’d made, the one regarding their father. And it was another he intended to keep.

“I want to go see Dad.” Dalton broke into Jace’s thoughts.

Jace looked at Dalton. He noted from the corner of his eyes that Dalton’s statement had also grabbed Caden’s attention.

“I suggest we all go see him,” Caden said, moving closer to the table. He dropped down in one of the chairs.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m sure losing Granddad was hard on him,” Jace said, glancing at his watch. “Getting out to visit him today or tomorrow might be difficult with everything that is going on. I’m trying to set up a meeting with Shana Bradford as soon as I can. According to Vidal, if anyone can get us out of the red, she can.”

* * *

Shana Bradford smiled up at the man who’d made her coffee. “The coffee is great as usual, Dad.”

He was the one man she most admired. Widowed, her father had raised her and her sister Jules alone, which hadn’t been easy while working as a policeman defending the streets of Boston. He had retired a few years ago, wanting a quiet life, and had decided to settle in Charlottesville, the place where her parents had first met while attending college.

Jules had been the first to follow their father to Charlottesville, where she established a private investigating firm. Shana had begun liking the area more each and every time she came to visit and, three years ago, after her breakup with her steady boyfriend, she decided to move her own firm here. She was glad she had. She loved Charlottesville and liked having her family close by again. And she made certain that she carved out time during her busy schedule to drop by to visit her dad and grab a cup of coffee, bring him lunch or show up for dinner.

She took a sip as she watched her father move around the kitchen. The space wasn’t all that large, but he actually looked lost. That was unusual, since her father generally exuded a strong presence. She immediately read the signs. Something heavy was on his mind.

“Dad, is there something bothering you?”

He quickly turned and looked at her, and she immediately noticed that his smile was tentative, nervous. He placed the dish towel on the counter, moved back toward her and sat down with her at the table. “No, there’s nothing bothering me, but there is something that I need to talk to you about.”

She lifted her brow as she set her coffee cup down. She couldn’t hide the concern in her features. “Okay, what is it?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then he looked at her and gave her that same smile she’d grown accustomed to over the years while growing up. It was that smile that let her know everything was going to be all right and that he would be there for her, no matter what.

She waited...and then he released the bombshell by saying, “I’m thinking about remarrying.”

Shana was glad she had stopped drinking her coffee, because otherwise she would have choked on it. Remarry? Her father? She drew in a deep breath before saying, “I wasn’t aware you were seeing anyone.”

Had Jules known and just not mentioned it? No, there was no way. That would have been headline news in Jules’s book, and her sister would have had the woman thoroughly vetted by now.

“I’m not seeing anyone, technically. Mona and I run into each other every so often in the grocery store.” He chuckled. “We talk over the fresh vegetables, but haven’t gone out on an official date.”

Shana was trying desperately to follow him. “And already you’re thinking about marriage?” she asked. Those had to be some strange-idea-inducing vegetables in that grocery store. Her father had to be the most logical man she knew, and she was beginning to worry because he was thinking illogically.

“Yes, just thinking of the possibility. She’s the first woman I’ve had thoughts about since your mom, so that must mean something. You know the story of how your mom and I were attracted to each other at first glance when we met that day in class?”

Yes, she had heard the story and had always thought it was special that the two had begun dating in their sophomore year and married a month after graduation, two years later.

“So tell me, what is there about her that makes you think of marriage?” she asked, picking up her coffee cup and taking a sip.

“She’s pretty. Dresses nice. Smells good.”

He’d gotten up that close to the woman? “What do you know about her, Dad?”

Her father leaned back in the chair and the smile that appeared on his face at that moment was one she had never recalled seeing before. It was different somehow from the ones he had for her and her sister, Shana thought.

“I know she’s friendly with a pleasant personality, and I like that. She’s also kind and generous. Everyone at the store knows her. And she teaches.”

Shana raised another brow. “She’s a schoolteacher?”

“No, a college professor at the University of Virginia. Political Science. I never liked talking about politics until now.”

Shana leaned back in her chair, as well. She just couldn’t imagine her six-foot-three-inch, sixty-two-year-old father hanging around the vegetable stand in some grocery store talking politics with anyone, never mind a woman.

But, then, to be fair, in all the years since her mother died, Shana had never known Benjamin Bradford to be involved with a woman. Oh, she knew he’d dated once in a while—she could still recall the packs of condoms she and her sister had found in his drawer one year. But he had never brought any of those dates home for his daughters to meet. Their mother had died of pancreatic cancer thirteen years ago, right before Shana’s fifteenth birthday. Jules had been thirteen. Now they were grown women with lives of their own, so it stood to reason that if he was ever going to be seriously interested in a woman, it would be now.

But still... Marriage?

“So her first name is Mona. What’s her last name?” Shana decided to ask. There was no harm in Jules checking her out. This was their father they were talking about.

“Underwood. Her name is Mona Underwood.”

“How old is she, Dad?”

He chuckled. “Hey, I never ask a woman her age.”

“Yes, but I’m sure you have some idea. Take a guess.”

He scrunched up his forehead. “I recall she said she was thinking about retiring in a couple of years when she turned fifty-five. So I guess she’s in her early fifties.”

That meant he was anywhere from ten to twelve years older than this Mona Underwood. That wasn’t too bad. It could have been worse.

“Is she a divorcée, widow, never been married...?”

“Divorced. I do know that.”

Thank God. “How long ago?”

“For what?”

Shana rolled her eyes. “Since Ms. Underwood got divorced?”

Her father squinted his dark eyes at her. “Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated?”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Because you’re an ex-cop. Comes with the territory.”

She was about to ask a few more questions when her cell phone went off. “Excuse me a minute, Dad,” she said as she pulled her phone out of her purse. It was her office calling. “Yes, Joyce?”

“Potential new client. Jace Granger of Granger Aeronautics. He would like to talk to you in person and wants to know if you can drop by the office. And by the way, he has such a sexy voice.”

Shana smiled. “Calm down, single mother of three. Rein in those raging hormones.” Joyce, her office manager, was thirty-three and had been a divorcée for a year or so. Since she’d started dating, she seemed to be going buck wild.

A few moments later, after getting the information she needed from Joyce, Shana hung up the phone. “Okay, Dad, I need to go. I have an appointment,” she said, standing and heading for the door.

“Have I told you lately just how proud I am of you?”

Shana dropped her hand from the doorknob and turned around. Smiling, she walked back to her father, leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Not lately, but just knowing you are, is special.”

“I’m proud of Jules, too, although I worry about her sometimes.”

Shana nodded. Following in their father’s footsteps, Jules had been on the police force for two years before making detective. When it came to solving cases, she was a whip. Jules had finally fulfilled her dream and opened an investigation firm. Her cases took her all over the place and at twenty-six and single, her sister was loving it.

“Jules can take care of herself. We both can. We’re Ben’s girls, and he taught us how to fend for ourselves.”

* * *

A short while later, before starting her car, Shana punched in the phone number Joyce had given her. She leaned back, thinking of the conversation she’d had with her father. Jules was working a case in Miami, but as soon as her sister returned, they would talk. Ben Bradford remarrying? She wanted her father to be happy for the rest of his life, but she didn’t want him to settle for the first woman he found interesting, pretty, well dressed and good-looking.

“Jace Granger.”

The deep, masculine voice pulled her concentration to the phone call.

“Yes, Mr. Granger, this is Shana Bradford. My assistant relayed your message. I understand you would like to set up a meeting?”

“Today if possible.”

She glanced at her watch. That was unexpected, but it just so happened that her calendar was clear for the rest of the day as the Williams meeting had been canceled at the last minute. “I have some time right now as a matter of fact. Shall I meet you at your office?”

“No, not here. It’s almost lunchtime. Can we meet for lunch...that is if you haven’t eaten already?”

“No, lunch will be fine. Do you have a place in mind?”

“What about Vannon’s? Do you know where it is? If I recall, the food there is excellent.”

“It is excellent. It shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes to get there.”

“It will be the same amount of time for me. I appreciate your flexibility, Ms. Bradford.”

“No problem. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes.”

She clicked off the phone. It wasn’t unusual for clients to want to meet somewhere other than at their offices. Ninety percent of the time she was called in when there was trouble. If there was a problem within the firm, it was best for the employees not to find out about it until management had it under control. Understandably, people became antsy over the possibility of losing their jobs when a company wasn’t performing the way it should be. That was her job, going into failing corporations and doing what could be done to turn their businesses around. And she was justifiably proud of her track record.

Shana wondered what the problems at Granger Aeronautics were. She remembered hearing that the CEO had passed away. That in itself could cause turmoil within a corporation. The prospect of change in any form had a way of getting to people.

As she turned the ignition in her car to pull out of her father’s driveway, she couldn’t help but agree with what Joyce had said earlier. Jace Granger had a sexy voice.

Shana then punched a knob on her console for Greta, her automated search engine. Bruce Townsend, a computer whiz who worked for both her and Jules, had invented the device, which was great for those doing investigative work. Shana had one installed in her car that shared her office network. All you had to do was tell Greta what info you wanted, and within minutes, she would recite all you needed to know.

“Greta, search your engines for information on Granger Aeronautics.”

“Affirmative,” was Greta’s quick, automated reply.

By the time Shana had turned the corner, Greta was reciting the history of Granger Aeronautics.

Chapter Eight

Jace arrived a few minutes early, so he sat near the restaurant’s window to enjoy the outside view. It was a beautiful summer day with a little breeze to offset the hot temperature. Traffic hadn’t been so bad coming from the office, and he had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the roads that hadn’t been there the last time he’d been in Charlottesville. It was progress that he appreciated, since they helped eliminate traffic buildup on the expressway, which was something he was used to in Los Angeles.

His thoughts shifted to the office he’d left. It surprised him that Freeman had suddenly decided that Jace, Caden and Dalton were the best thing for Granger Aeronautics and that he would be happy to work with the three any way he could. Jace shook his head. Did the man really have a choice?

On another note, someone had spread the rumor that the company was in financial straits, and employees were beginning to worry. Several who had worked for Granger for years, some before the day Jace was born, had cornered him in the hall and requested a private meeting. They had assured him he would have their loyalty the same way his grandfather had had through the years. He appreciated that. One even went so far as to warn him to keep an eye on Freeman.

Jace’s main concern was dealing with rumor control, since it was sending a panic wave through the company that the doors could be closing within a few months. Their biggest client was the federal government, and the last thing Granger Aeronautics needed was for the government to have a reason not to renew their contracts.

He took time to glance at the reports he’d reviewed right before leaving the office and noted they had not gotten as many jobs from the government as they had in the past, which was probably one of the main reasons for the decline in revenue. Over the coming weeks, he would have to roll up his sleeves and dive into every aspect of Granger Aeronautics to figure out why.

Jace rubbed the back of his neck, hoping he hadn’t bitten off more than he could chew. Over the years, his grandfather had kept him abreast of things going on in the company...although the old man had never told him about the recent turn of events in the company’s financial situation. But Jace was aware of their clients, the people depending on their products, and he wanted to make sure they were kept happy.

Granger Aeronautics had been one of the leading employers in Charlottesville for years. His great-grandfather, Sutton Granger, had been a Tuskegee Airman during the Second World War. At the end of the war, he and a fellow airman mechanic, Aaron Mann, had basically risked everything they had to form Granger-Mann Aerospace, located in Birmingham, Alabama.

Aaron Mann died unexpectedly in a boating accident, and since his family wanted no part of the company, Sutton bought them out and changed the name to Granger Aeronautics. A year later, the company moved to Charlottesville.

Jace knew the history; they all did. Their grandfather had drilled it into them and so had their father...although not quite as hard. He’d known it had been a disappointment to Richard when none of his grandsons had shown interest in continuing the legacy, but Jace figured their grandfather had known why, although he might not have agreed with it. It hadn’t come as any surprise to the old man that Jace, Caden and Dalton had wanted to move as far away from Charlottesville as possible. Their teen years after their father’s death hadn’t been easy, and the town had made it downright difficult at times. They had become known as the sons of a convicted killer.

Richard had planned to retire and leave things in his son’s capable hands before the murder happened. When Sheppard had been convicted, retirement had no longer been an option for Richard. He had worked tirelessly for the next fifteen years to keep the company afloat—for his grandsons, and for the return of his only son.

Jace, of all people, knew that his grandfather never gave up hope that one day the verdict would be overturned and Sheppard would walk out of prison a free man. When Sheppard had entered prison fifteen years ago, he had started positive programs for the inmates such as Toastmasters, Future Leaders of Tomorrow and the GED program. His efforts had been successful and were recognized by the media and even the governor.