After the Party Read Online Free PDF Page A

the bitter taste in his mouth.
    Damn the five members of the board of directors who were being so spineless!
    Damn the investors for their lack of faith!
    Damn his cousin for being so disloyal!
    And damn his uncle for...for...
    Chase set the glass on the counter and ran the back of his hand across his mouth.
    None of this was his uncle’s fault—even if Elliot seemed to have thrown in the towel.
    A wake, dammit. One to which the media would be invited. To Chase’s dismay, what he found himself focusing on was the very attractive woman hired to plan it.
    He ran a finger idly around the rim of his empty glass as he recalled Ella Sanborn’s intriguing face, pinup curves and mile-long legs. When his mind threatened to slip into fantasy mode, he forced himself back to the present. Ella was sexy and gorgeous and quirky enough to keep a man guessing what she would say next. But was she competent to handle such a huge job?
    She’d fallen into the gravy, he thought, recalling the “contract” Elliot had signed. It was dealings such as this that put the more conservative members of Trumbull’s board of directors on edge. Handshakes and hastily scrawled “contracts” were not how Fortune 500 companies were supposed to do business.
    His phone rang as he contemplated pouring himself a second drink. A glance at the caller ID had him considering letting it go to voice mail, but there was no sense prolonging the inevitable.
    “What do you want, Owen?” he said in lieu of a greeting.
    “Chase. We’re cousins. We grew up the under the same roof. Do I really need a reason to call you?”
    They might have grown up together, but they had never been close.
    “You only remember that we’re related when you want something,” Chase replied. “So what is it?”
    He heard an exaggerated sigh and then, “I’d hoped to speak to you in person after the board meeting.”
    “That wasn’t a meeting. It was a frigging blood-letting. How could you do that to your own father?” Chase’s temper flared anew just thinking about it and his tone turned sharp. “You all but hung him out to dry.”
    “No. I was honest with the board when I was asked my opinion of his mental state. When are you going to admit that my dad needs to retire? If he goes now, he goes out on a high note and the company can be saved.”
    “For God’s sake. It’s his company!” More than that, Trumbull Toys was Elliot’s life. Chase expected Owen, of all people, to understand that.
    “It was his company. Now it belongs to the shareholders.” Owen took delight in adding, “You were the one who convinced him to take Trumbull Toys public.”
    A move that had made good sense six years earlier, but one Chase regretted now.
    “Then they need to be made to see reason.”
    “What they’re seeing are the most recent sales projections. My father...has lost his edge.”
    “He hasn’t lost anything.”
    “We both know that’s not true,” Owen replied with a hint of sadness in his tone. “He lives in his own little world half the time.”
    “It’s called being a creative genius. It’s what makes him so good at coming up with new toys.”
    “And so lousy at being a father,” Owen shot back.
    “Is that what this is about? Family grievances?”
    “I wish!”
    “Do you?”
    “Look, his memory, his judgment, both have gotten worse since my mother died. When are you going to admit that, Chase? You may not think so, but I’m looking out for the future of Trumbull Toys. Dad needs to step down.”
    “He needs...he needs a little help.”
    “On that much we agree. Meanwhile, he’s not up to leading the company.”
    “He built it from nothing. Without his vision and creativity, there would be no company. How can you side with the stockholders and those board members who believe he should be ousted?”
    Chase hated to consider it, but he couldn’t help wondering if Owen might be responsible for the dementia rumors that were only succeeding in making a bad