“Yes. Though your success is admirable, it’s been a considerable cause of concern within my family about the unsteadiness of your own. I don’t want our project to be part of some dispute that could cost precious time and money,” Hastings said with false concern.
I saw the glint in his eye, and I knew instantly what he was doing. He knew his worth, and how easy it would be to leverage more money from us. If we lost this Hastings deal, other donors would pull out of The Foundation.
I could have taken the bait and let him string me along. I had given up so much of myself to The Foundation. What was one more concession?
But Lord Hastings had chosen the worst day to confront me.
I leaned back in my chair, steepling my fingers. “Well, that is a shame,” I said. “I thought we would work well together, but it’s a good thing you have other charities willing to bid on your project.”
I caught the slight fall of Lord Hastings’s face just before he regained his composure, but Darcy didn’t hide his scowl. “What?” he snapped.
I raised a brow at his attitude. “I think you heard me perfectly. If you don’t want The Foundation to participate, then I completely understand. We were willing to offer an extra two hundred and fifty million on top of your original asking price, but, obviously you care far more about the organisation of the project instead. Which I highly respect. Trust should be at the forefront of any decision you make,” I said, keeping myself steady as I looked at them pointedly.
If they really thought I would be pushed into using more of The Foundation’s funds on them after their attitude, then they had sorely misjudged me. I wasn’t to be messed around with.
That was the reason I had made it to the Director position in the first place.
I waited them out as they both weighed up their options internally. I didn’t expect Darcy to hold himself back, and Lord Hastings got there first.
“Now, now, we can always talk about this.” He cut over Darcy before he could voice his outrage, lightly tapping Darcy’s forearm as a hint to keep his mouth shut.
“We simply feel it’s only right that you offer us more insurance if we are to go ahead with the Foundation’s sponsorship, given the situation.” He gave me a placid smile tofinish.
“Oh, insurance, is it?” I asked, cocking a brow. “How much did you have in mind? Because Darcy’s immaculately produced plan,” I placed my finger on top of the binder in front of me, “clearly outlined the costs and predicted time frame.” I looked at Darcy with a nod. “I am very impressed by the way. You did a good job with this.”
“It would be of great benefit to you and The Foundation to sponsor us at our full worth. I would call it more of a generosity. To ease the project along,” Lord Hastings said, too patient for my liking.
“Ah, I see. Very well then,” I replied. “I’ll arrange for us to go through the official channels, as it seems like you’d rather handle this publicly. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the Board thinks when they hear of this. They were so supportive of the project as well.”
“Wait, hang on.” Darcy choked. “You can’t just—” But Lord Hastings tapped him again, and he backed down immediately.
I’d never seen Darcy do what someone told him to, even Lord Hastings. I had to wonder what he had hanging over his grandson’s head to force him to behave.
“Do let me know when the bidding starts,” I said. “We’ll have to try again once it opens up. Though, just to inform you, we’ll most likely be reducing our original offer, including the added bonus.”
There was a pause as my words sunk in. Lord Hastings restrained his anger, and his grip on Darcy’s arm kept him down like a good little boy.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Harry?” Lord Hastings said through gritted teeth. “You’ll regret going against me.”
“Noted,” I replied, twisting my lips. “I was under the impression that loyalty was something you valued in your business practices. I imagined that would translate into your charitable work as well.”
I had wrangled with those people for years, and had hoped that the vote would have made them settle. I didn’t know why I believed that it would change after I had won the vote.
“You’ve been friends with my family since before I was born,” I said, holding Lord Hastings’s glare with a steely gaze of my own, “and you’ve sat on the Board since the Foundation began, but I understand your need for greener pastures. So, thank you for your time. I appreciate that you made the effort to come all the way to my office.”
I rose, stepping around my desk. They watched me in shock as I stood in front of them. I folded my arms, looking down at them expectedly. Neither of them moved.
“Would you like me to show you out?” I said as I dropped his hand. “Since you’ve obviously forgotten your place.”
Lord Hastings flinched back, his eyes wide in surprise. It was rare that I ever spoke to anyone at work so frankly. Even Mum would have laughed at that one.
I’d booked half an hour for their meeting. I could stand there for as long as needed until Anita dragged them away.
Darcy’s scowl deepened as Lord Hastings pushed himself up on his cane. I reached out a hand. He took it, and we shook, as if we made a deal instead of me politely telling them to fuck off.
“Thank you both for your time,” I said as I moved to shake Darcy’s hand.
By the time the door slammed behind them, I was thoroughly exhausted and done with people.