Baker had dropped everything and flown here because he’d had a tip from his father—a friend of Travis’s—that the man was going to put his company up for sale and retire.
Just like dear old dad did a few years back without so much as telling me his plans beforehand.
“Last week, there hadn’t been.” Travis grinned. “Then, five days ago, I met with a pair of gentlemen from Colorado. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. We just signed the papers this morning, finalizing the deal.”
Clearly Travis was pleased as hell with the deal. And just as clearly, he didn’t seem to notice that Baker was pissed.
Better put the attitude away. He did and instead focused on something the other man had just said.
“Colorado?” Baker couldn’t believe the irony of that statement. A few years back it had been a couple of operators out of Wyoming who’d swooped into his hometown of Denver and stolen his birthright—his legacy. And now someone from his home state had once more dashed his plans.
Baker had finally decided to get over the loss of his own father’s business—a business that should have been his. At the time he’d learned of the sale, albeit several months after the fact, he’d hired a lawyer—and then two more. Each one of them had told him the same thing.
They, and the courts, had claimed they could find no grounds to reverse the sale and no grounds for a lawsuit. The business had been wholly owned by his father, Carrick Baker, and the sale had been legal in every respect.
Hell, his father had been happy as hell over the deal. As happy as Travis appeared to be, now.
Owen knew the truth. Those two conmen from Wyoming had convinced his father that the business wasn’t worth much. Sure, the man had had a couple of bad years, but the potential of Baker’s Sports Supplies had been undeniable! But no, they’d convinced Carrick that their offer was the best he could expect, and then they’d wrapped everything up in legalese good and tight when they’d done the deal.
Owen had been right to be alarmed, to try and undo that transaction. One only had to look at the success that business was now for proof that the company hadn’t been on its deathbed the way those cheaters had claimed. So maybe it hadn’t been as successful as it could have been at the time it had been sold. Owen could admit that. But he himself had been planning to come home to Denver, to convince his dad to sign the company over to him.
He’d had a great business plan in mind, and all he’d needed was what he’d been entitled to—his own father’s business. His very own legacy!
If he’d had control, Baker’s Sports Supplies would be even more successful today than that company those conmen had created, Edgers, had become.
Owen would have come home sooner if he’d known the old man had been thinking of selling. But his father had said nothing. In fact, it wasn’t until he’d read an article in the New York Times, several months after the fact, that he’d discovered his dad had sold everything.
He sold my multi-million-dollar legacy right out from under me.
An echo in his mind whispered that the business had never been worth much under his father, and then it was gone. No, but he would have made it worth that much more, and in record time, too. In the aftermath of that devastating loss, Owen had done what he could to make his way in the business world on his own. He knew he’d done everything right, yet nothing had quite worked out for him. He’d used bankruptcy as a tool to manage his finances, and for a time, it had worked. But then, his debt had gotten a little high, and he’d wondered if he was going to lose even the shirt off his back.
Then he’d met a man, Joey Rowe, a man in need of a partner with a solid business plan. That man with a plan was, of course, himself. He’d gone into super salesman mode—he really was the best salesman ever—and he’d convinced Rowe that he was the best bet. He’d taken the advance payment, and then he’d hurried down here with enough of that advance left to buy Travis’s business. With no offers on it, he knew he could lowball him.
And once more I’ve been scooped out of a good deal by another pair of assholes.
A part of him had to wonder if the damn universe wasn’t out to get him. Owen didn’t know what expression he wore, but Travis’s expression turned from stoic to something akin to amusement.
“I can assure you that you don’t have to worry that I was cheated. I recall how Carrick thought you were quite concerned for him when he sold his business.” Travis gave him a little smile. “I would have likely sold to the Kendalls even without your father’s hearty recommendation.
“I have to retire now. There’s no other option for me. Knowing that Travis Sporting Goods is going to be a part of the Edgers, Inc. family has simply taken a huge weight off my shoulders.”
“My father recommended them to you?” And then the rest of what Travis had said sank in, and he realized that the universe really was having a good laugh at his expense. He’d been fucked over, twice, by the same two conmen.
“I called him right after they appeared here and made their offer. Carrick couldn’t say enough good things about them. Of course, I also inquired with the Better Business Bureau in Denver. My lawyer looked into their financials—they’re an up-and-coming company, with a sound, unique business model.”
“That sounds just fine, then.” What else could he say? Twice now, those damn Kendalls had ruined his plans.
“They have big ideas for Edgers, Waco. They shared a few
