the family didn't need it, and his positions on various committees and boards were already being filled. Mensa would probably be honoring him with a chess
dinner, or whatever those types did.
“I don't care about the assets,” she said.
Her godfather's stony visage cracked, and he looked amused again. “Really?”
“I loved my father, Godfried. I'm not going to squabble over the scraps. And what does all this have to do with an emergency at the platform?”
“You do know your father was a board member, correct? He still had many friends at the company, which is where he came by those images, I'm sure.”
“Oh yes, I remember. I always figured you had the bigger influence, though.”
Godfried chuckled. “He was the largest shareholder in the country, Katelyn. He had twice the pull that I do. I know my position on the board offers me a lot of leverage, but at the end of the day, everyone answers to the shareholders.” Godfried was staring now, his green eyes burrowing into her. “The fact is, your father had a phenomenal stake. The fact is, most of his fortune came from Valley Oil before you and your brother were even born. Did you know that?”
Kate crossed her legs nervously. Her dress was too short, and she had to smooth down the hem with one hand. “And?”
“And he left it to you. His VO stock, I mean. Not to Robert and certainly not to me. To you. All of it.”
It took a moment for it to sink in. Kate stopped fidgeting with her dress and looked across the desk. “What?”
“Three hundred and eighty-three thousand, one hundred seventeen shares. I just looked up the share price while you were on your way in. It's sitting at eighty-four dollars a share. Do the math.”
“What?” she repeated.
And now Godfried really was smiling again, the crafty gunfighter showing through every crevice and age line. “You'll be at that meeting tomorrow not as an executive, but as the biggest oil shareholder in the country. In the meantime, I think it's best you let your security detail resume, don't you?”
“Do I... do I...” Whatever she wanted to know, she couldn't finish. Her whole body was trembling.
Godfried winked. “You're rich, sweetheart.”
3
Twelve hours later, Kate found herself on the top floor of Valley Oil's D.C. corporate offices. Imitation Victorian-era art lined the walls, statues decorated a nearby fountain, the rug beneath her feet probably cost as much as her car. It was oddly quiet, and oddly serene. If she closed her eyes, she could hear the gentle tap of the keyboard from the administrative receptionist, but that was all. The receptionist herself was a sculpted, bronzed figure, probably only a few years out of college. When Kate asked her name, she said, “My name? Oh! That's Merrie, dear. M-E-R-R-I-E, if you're interested,” though Kate wasn't.
She didn't have to wait long. An attractive man in his late forties strode past the reception desk and extended a hand to her just as she was getting comfortable. “Hello, Miss McCreedy. It's good to finally meet you in person.”
“Likewise, Mister Lucian.”
Michael Lucian was Valley Oil's head of international projects. Everything about the man was striking, from the sharp lines of his features to the colors he chose to accent his looks. His suit was a beautiful gray, the blue in his tie perfectly matching the blue in his eyes. The effect was planned but still disarming. Although Godfried had been keen to keep her inheritance a secret, now that the cat was out of the bag, it seemed everyone who was anyone at the company wanted to meet her.
“Please, call me 'Michael.'”
“Okay.”
“I was so sorry to hear about your father. He was a good man, and we'll miss him. It's terrible we have to meet
under these circumstances.” He smiled sympathetically at her. It was the kind of smile that could charm investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and, she reflected, probably had.
As Kate opened her mouth, the television