The Maverick Meets His Match (3 page)

“Given the credit crunch, we thought this would be a better way to fund,” Brian offered. “And Ty, who, I’m pretty sure, had no intention of owning a rodeo company anytime soon, agreed. It was generous of him.”

Mandy rubbed a hand across her eyes and wondered if the world had gone mad. Generous of Ty? He was buying into one of the most respected rodeo suppliers in the business and now had the majority vote. How did that make Ty generous?

“As for the time period, this is where your grandfather recently changed the will.” Brian shifted his gaze to include Ty. “And this is where I parted company with him regarding the terms. I want you both to know that up front. I do not approve of these terms. Absolutely I do not.”

Panic rose up inside of Mandy as rapidly as flood water from a hurricane. This was going to be bad. Very bad.

Ty rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like the sound of things. JM may have been the smartest businessman he knew and his mentor ever since Ty had won the scholarship, but that only meant JM wasn’t above doing the unexpected now and again. “Why don’t you just tell us what this is all about, Brian?”

Mandy scowled and glared at him, her pretty green eyes narrowed in accusation. She hadn’t always been so pissed off at him. No indeedy.

He still remembered the first time he saw her ten years ago. She’d slipped into the barn and, as he shoveled out an especially large pile of manure, she walked past him. He turned to catch the back of a pair of long shapely legs, a tight butt in cut-off jeans, and a mane of wavy brown hair floating down her back. He’d made a mental note to find out who she was, and find out he did.

“Well, JM has a deal he wants offered to you both.” Brain shifted in his chair as if trying to get comfortable. It was a bad sign when a lawyer squirmed in his seat. “Previously, Ty was to run the company for one year. In that time he would assess the firm’s future prospects and determine next steps. But in accordance with the new will, Ty has the option of extending his stewardship to a total of two years with Ty continuing to have complete authority to determine the company’s future, or whether it even has a future. At the end of Ty’s tenure, if the company isn’t sold, control would revert to you, Mandy.”

Mandy’s gasp was loud and deep as she slapped a hand on the table, creating a distinctive smack.

He could understand her reaction. This two-year amendment was a new wrinkle, even to him. At least the two years was an option. He could still exit after a year. By then he should know what was best for Prescott and what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

His tenure at the land development company had left him well-off but with a bitter taste in his mouth. It would take him some time to set up a rival company. Prescott could hold the key to that, or at least the ranch could. If he could get agreement from the family to develop that property, he’d make a name for himself. Because if the rodeo company sold, there’d be little reason beyond sentiment to hold on to the ranch. Selling the ranch could make the Prescott family not just well-off, but wealthy. And Ty even wealthier.

Not that he wasn’t looking forward to managing the rodeo company for a period. He needed a break given the corporate politics he’d been embroiled in the past few months, which had almost broken him. And then had come JM’s death.

He was counting on hard physical labor to get him mentally back on track. Different work from lawyering and negotiating land deals. Work that involved his hands as well as his head.

“And Ty, there’s a bonus in this for you as well,” Brian added, spearing Ty’s attention. “But there is another option, along with conditions, for the both of you to consider.”

“If it means I can run this company sooner, I’ll do anything. Anything,” Mandy said with a determination that almost made Ty laugh. As nicely as she filled out a pair of jeans, and it was very nice indeed, Mandy Prescott was a handful. While he was looking forward to being involved in the business, managing Mandy was not likely to be one of the highlights, considering she thought he was the devil incarnate. Unless, of course, they could come to some mutually beneficial terms that involved the bedroom. That would certainly turn the dynamics favorable.

He enjoyed a challenge, particularly when the effort was worth it. And he had no doubt with Mandy the effort would be well worth it. The hardest decision he had ever made with regard to a woman was when he’d walked away from Mandy ten years ago.

He could still see the hurt in her eyes, the tear that had traveled down her cheek, as he’d denied every instinct and told her no.

It had been the right decision. But it hadn’t been an easy one.

Brian stroked his chin. “Well, Mandy, that statement will surely be tested.”

“What does grandfather’s will say?”

Mandy looked ready to jump right out of her seat.

“Just remember, I’m only the messenger.” Brian looked back at the paper in his hand. “The will states that if you agree to marry Ty Martin and he agrees to marry you…”

Ty felt like he’d been hit with a stun gun as Mandy surged out of her chair.

“Marry? What is this? Some cruel joke?” She whirled around and faced Ty, accusation in her eyes.

Ty was thinking the exact same thing. He held up his hands in surrender. “Believe me, I’m just as shocked as you are.”

Brian signaled for Mandy to sit down. “Just hear me out. I know neither of you are interested, but I have to read it out nonetheless.”

Mandy thudded back down in her chair. She was one peeved female, and Ty couldn’t blame her. What was JM thinking? Marry Mandy? She hated him, and while he did have plans to change that, it wasn’t in exchange for a wedding ring.

As Brian read out the legal language that specified the terms, Ty could feel the pressure on his ribs increase like one of Prescott’s two-thousand-pound bulls had just sat on his chest. When Brian finished, he looked up.

“Ostensibly, what it means,” Brian explained, “is that, assuming you married, cohabitated, and stayed married for at least six months, thirty-one percent of the company represented by the remaining shares would be split so that, Mandy, you would get sixteen percent additional with voting rights, and, Ty, you would get fifteen percent with voting rights. This would make Mandy the majority stockholder, though neither of you would have the controlling interest individually. Being married, however, your combined stock holdings would result in a controlling interest.”

“Hah, he must of been out of his mind,” Mandy said, crossing her arms under those nice breasts of hers, her foot jiggling like it was preparing for lift off.

Ty had to agree with her assessment, even though JM must have drawn up that provision right after he’d asked Ty to buy into the business, serve as Mandy’s mentor, and determine what was best for the family’s financial future. JM had not seemed the least bit addled. Physically weak from the rapid advance of cancer and the treatments, but still mentally sharp.

Brian shook his head. “No, he was not. I won’t go into everything, but among other precautions, legal and otherwise, your grandfather had a preeminent psychiatrist attest to the soundness of his mental state.”

Mandy shook her head as if she could make the provision disappear. Ty sunk back in his chair and stretched out his legs. No cause for alarm. This woman wanted nothing to do with marrying him, even if he did manage to get her into his bed. Right now that prospect wasn’t looking too good.

Still, it hadn’t taken but a second for his mind to leap from marriage to having sex with Mandy, especially given she looked damn attractive all fired up. Images of taking her to bed, running his fingers through that hair, and finishing what they’d started ten years ago crowded his mind, making his groin pound. He gave a mental shake in hopes of getting rid of those images.

Nope, they were still there.

Mandy leaned forward, breasts resting on the table as she bit her lip. She had very kissable lips, as he remembered. And breasts. “Why would my grandfather think I would ever agree to such a thing?”

Ty sure had no clue what the old man could have been thinking, because not even the promise of additional stock, which surely would be worth a nice chunk of change, would be enough to get him to the altar. Why JM thought either of them would consider such a life-changing step was the wonder.

“Because Ty has a mandate to assess the long-term viability of the business, and according to the provisions of the will, Ty retains the voting rights of the remaining thirty-one percent of shares for up to two years, at his option, if you don’t marry.”

“I don’t understand.”

Ty did, and Mandy wouldn’t like it. But business was business, like JM always said.

Brian cleared his throat as if the words had gotten stuck there. “With fifty-one percent of the stock between what he owns outright and the voting rights JM has assigned over to him, Ty has the votes and the mandate to sell the business if he feels the financials warrant that step. And up to two years to do it. That is,
if
you don’t marry.”

Mandy’s face turned a chalky shade of pale. The chair she was sitting in seemed to swallow her up as she drew back into its leather embrace. He could see the import of Brian’s words sinking in as her jaw tightened, her eyes rounded, and her lips thinned.

“You wouldn’t.”

Ty hardly felt like giving her an explanation now, but there would be no good time to explain, no time when she’d want to hear what needed to be said.

“Your grandfather was worried about having enough money for the family over the long haul. I think the recent downturn in the economy fueled that concern. He asked me to analyze the rodeo operation and determine if the operation could provide enough income for the family through the coming years, given the investments that would be needed in livestock, and the state of the industry, and…” Ty looked straight into her eyes. Sometimes the only way to say bad news was directly. “And the quality of the leadership. If I think there is too much future risk, I am to sell before Prescott’s reputation can be tarnished.” He took a hard swallow. It was the truth, but no doubt a harsh one for Mandy to accept.

He’d hoped to serve up the idea of selling the company as an opportunity when and if the analysis warranted it. But maybe it was better she knew the truth from the beginning, considering he would be probing pretty deep into Prescott’s business practices.

He watched her face as she processed the news, saw her eyes turn glossy as tears filled them. Hell. He could handle anything but a woman’s tears.

It wasn’t but a heartbeat, though, before she faced him squarely with the fierceness of a warrior ready to battle and with the tears, gratefully, at bay. “Does that include the ranch land?”

It was almost a relief to see her back in fighting mode instead of silenced by an unintended blow. He preferred her like this, he realized. Strong and resilient. JM would have been proud of his granddaughter’s spirit.

“Planned communities are sprouting up here in the West, and though the housing market has been hurt across the country, Wyoming is in better shape than most states,” Brian began. “There could be a small fortune to be had for the ranch. And if the rodeo company is sold, the need for the land will be negligible given the meager return on investment on cattle herds. From the figures I’ve seen, it’s the rodeo company rent that makes the ranch profitable. But selling the deeded land of the ranch would be at your and Tucker’s option. The company would be Ty’s decision.”

She cast her eyes downward and shook her head.

“The ranch piece is something for me to look at, Mandy, and for you and Tucker to consider.” Ty knew from experience that money could do a lot of persuading, and a land deal this size could mean real wealth for the Prescotts. And a coup for him and the new company he planned to form.

“You’re a developer though. That’s what you do. And that must have been why he picked you.” Her monotone couldn’t disguise the cracks of emotion in her voice.

“That was one reason.”

And the other was that JM knew Ty would be objective in his assessment, wouldn’t let sentimentality, or his own interests, interfere with the cold, hard facts. Ty had built his reputation on being cool and detached when it came to making profitable business decisions. And that’s why he was also no longer at the land development firm. Some people didn’t want to know the truth. Some people preferred to make deals based on connections, paybacks, and, worse, gut instead of reason.

Head bent, Mandy continued to stare at the table’s polished surface as if the answer was written in the grain of the wood.

Brian cleared his throat again. “Should you consider marriage instead, JM expected Ty to use a prenup to protect his own assets. The provisions of JM’s will would protect Mandy’s interest. If you decide not to marry, JM has granted Ty a sort of consolation gift for all he’s asking of you, Ty.”

“Isn’t it enough he can sell the business? Why does he need a consolation prize?” She jerked her chin in his direction as if there was some question as to the “he” she referred to.

“It’s a gift, Mandy, not a prize. Ty, under the circumstances I outlined, if you decide not to marry but instead to just manage the business, you would receive JM’s ranch house and the surrounding hundred acres of land. The boundaries of these acres are prescribed in the will and would be taken from the deeded ranch land held in trust for Mandy and Tucker.” Brian looked up and met his gaze. “I guess he felt you needed a little piece of Wyoming to call your own.”

Mandy gasped. “That’s prime land. We have barns and corrals on that land. It’s Prescott land.”

“You and Tucker would still have over 30,000 of deeded and leased acres if you decide to hold on to it,” Brian noted.

“But he’d be living in
my
grandfather’s house. That belongs in the family.”

“I guess he hoped you two would marry so it would indeed remain in the family. If you marry, the ranch house is a wedding present to Mandy, so if you choose the marriage option, regardless of what happened after you married, that house would be yours, Mandy.”