Chapter 111: A Surprise Apperance

Emerald’s POV

I stopped in my tracks.

There was something unmistakable about that voice, but it was the scent that confirmed what my ears had already suspected.

I knew that scent well enough by now to recognise it without seeing the person.

I turned around. My surprise was immediate.

Michael was standing a short distance away, looking at me with a small, knowing smile.

For several seconds, I could only stare at him.

He was dressed casually, nothing like the more polished outfits I had grown accustomed to seeing him wear.

His wide-legged brown trousers were paired with a stylish white top tucked neatly into the waistband.

Even though he looked as though he had travelled recently, his hair was, as usual, properly combed.

My eyes stayed on him. "You?"

His smile deepened. "Yes."

I glanced at him again, still trying to reconcile his presence with our conversation from this afternoon.

"But you said you were in Los Angeles."

"I was."

"And you said you would be back soon."

"I said I would."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "This is what you call soon?"

"Yes."

I stared at him for another moment, then a laugh escaped me. "You are really something else."

Michael fell into step beside me as I continued toward the restaurant.

"Let me guess, you’re heading out for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "There’s a small restaurant about ten minutes from here."

He nodded, walking at an easy pace beside me. I glanced at him. "Have you been waiting for me long?"

"No."

His answer was immediate. I looked at him with some curiosity. "What about your car?"

"I parked it in the visitor’s parking lot inside your dorm."

I nodded, but that only left me with another question.

I still couldn’t understand why he had shown up at my dorm without saying anything about coming back to Boston.

Earlier, when we exchanged messages, he had made it sound as though his return was still uncertain.

I glanced at him again. "Why did you come here?"

He turned his head toward me. "Don’t you have something to talk to me about?"

I stopped myself from looking too surprised. "How did you know that?"

"You asked me twice when I was coming back." Then he gave me a brief glance. "It wasn’t difficult to figure out that you wanted to discuss something with me."

I smiled. He had a point. "I suppose you’re right."

He nodded. "What did you want to ask about?"

I adjusted the strap of my handbag and continued walking. "Let’s have dinner first. We can talk about business afterwards."

"That’s fine with me."

We continued down the street, neither of us in any particular hurry. The evening was calm, and the restaurant I had mentioned soon came into view.

It was a small, modest place tucked between two other businesses. There was nothing particularly impressive about the exterior, but I had eaten there a few times and liked the food.

We walked inside and found an empty table by the window.

I took the seat opposite Michael. He looked around the restaurant briefly before settling into his chair.

I watched him for a moment before speaking. "I hope you don’t mind that this place isn’t fancy."

A smile appeared on his face. "I’m fine here." Then he leaned back slightly. "Besides, even if I weren’t, I don’t think I would have much right to complain. I invited myself here without telling you I was coming."

I laughed softly. "That is true."

Just then, a waiter approached our table with two menus. "Good evening. Are you ready to order, or would you like a few minutes?"

"We are ready," I said, picking up the menu. Michael followed suit. After we had given our orders, the waiter took them and left us.

"I noticed something about Mercer Technologies," Michael said. "The price per share has increased by five per cent."

I replied, "I noticed it yesterday while I was making the purchase."

He nodded. "That increase works in Kelvin’s favour. The shareholders will be pleased with him."

I frowned. I didn’t like hearing that.

Michael noticed my reaction. "Don’t worry about it," he said. "In fact, it may work in your favour."

"How?"

"If your holding company continues buying shares at the rate it has been, Kelvin may eventually receive a report about the purchases. But a five per cent increase in the share price gives him something else to focus on."

I listened.

"The shareholders will be praising him. He will want to keep that momentum going, which means he will be concentrating more of his attention on meetings, financial reports and whatever decisions he believes will push the share value even higher."

He paused.

"Your purchases won’t immediately look like a threat to him. Even if he notices the volume, he is unlikely to attach much importance to it while everything around him is telling him that he is doing a good job."

I considered his words. That made sense.

Kelvin had spent years believing he had secured his position. If the market was rewarding him and the shareholders were satisfied, there was little reason for him to imagine that someone was quietly accumulating enough shares to challenge his control.

I relaxed slightly. "That does make things easier."

"It should."

Our food arrived before I could say anything else.

The waiter placed the plates in front of us and left after making sure we had everything we needed.

We ate without discussing business.

The food was simple, but good enough that I enjoyed it It was only after we had finished eating that Michael leaned back in his chair and looked at me.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

I placed my fork down. "Finances."

His expression remained attentive.

"I’ve been thinking about how I am going to continue buying Mercer Technologies shares. I still have enough set aside for the purchase I need to make this Friday and another one next Thursday. But after that, I won’t have much disposable cash left."

I paused.

"I don’t want to sell any of the properties in my name just to raise money for the shares. Those are assets I would rather keep."

Michael nodded.

"I could ask my father for the money, but it would have to be a substantial amount. If I suddenly ask him for that kind of money, he will want to know what I need it for."

"And you don’t want to tell him."

"No. I don’t." I took a breath.

"The other investments I made are going to start giving me returns, but they won’t mature for several months. I don’t want to wait that long. If I stop buying now, I’ll lose the pace I’ve established."

Michael remained quiet.

"I’ve been trying to figure out what else I can do," I continued. "I just don’t know which option makes the most sense."

"How much do you need?"

I hesitated. "I don’t know yet."

He nodded as though he had expected that answer. Then he reached inside his pocket and brought out a small pocket jotter and a pen.

I watched him place them on the table. He unlocked his phone and began working through some calculations.

"You are currently holding the three per cent you received through the lawsuit settlement."

"Yes."

"How many shares do you currently have?"

I gave him the figure. He entered it into his phone, checked something, then wrote another number in the jotter.

His attention moved between the phone and the page as he worked. "What is the current price?"

I gave him the figure I had seen earlier. He made another calculation as I waited. After a few minutes, he finally put the pen down.

"If you want to increase your position by another five per cent, this is the amount you need."

He turned the jotter toward me. I looked at the figure, and my eyes widened slightly. "That much?"

"Yes."

I looked back at him. He didn’t seem concerned by the amount. "I can give it to you."

"You’re serious?" I stared at him. "You can give me that amount?"

"Yes."

I studied his face, trying to determine whether he was joking. He wasn’t. "But why?"

"We will discuss that later." He picked up his glass and took a slow drink. "But I have a condition."