"It's all here, in black and white," Dad said. "We don't know who, but how is fucking clear enough."

Dad had interrupted us just at the point I'd thought Spencer was finally beginning to break. But instead, he retreated further into his chair, his lips pressed silently into a thin white line.

"Huge chunks of Mason stock have been purchased over the last fifteen months. We knew it… prices had been heading up for some time…" He shook his head, looking suddenly very much his age. Reid and Blake came through the open doorway, their faces grim. "Different brokerage firms… only small amounts of stock at a time... "Dad put a hand on his chest. "It just seemed like the business was gaining strength, what with the merger coming… God help me, I didn't see. The purchases were so small, and spread over time… but when I realized how much they'd added up to…

There's no way to know for sure how wide the shares are spread." He looked at me with dread in his eyes. "Or even if they are widespread."

Blake stepped forward and eased Dad toward a chair. He stood behind him, a concerned hand on his sagging shoulder. "It's not anyone's fault," Blake said gently. "Hell, we don't know there's even a problem yet, not for sure.

We all saw the same thing… our numbers were rising. It wasn't unexpected. Things were looking damned good… It was only when we added it up. Put the whole picture together." He looked at me pointedly. "If it was an individual… even a small group… and if they already had a large number of shares in the first place…"

For a moment, it felt like the room had started to move around me. I was standing, but put a hand on the desk to steady myself. "You're telling me there's a chance we've lost controlling interest in our own company…? It's impossible. As a family, we own more than fifty one percent. Even if it was an individual who managed to buy up every other share, we'd still retain control." My mind was racing. "It would be damned near impossible for someone to get even forty percent… and no one could do it without inside help…" This couldn't fucking be happening...

Ben entered the room, with Mom at his side. She went straight to Dad and put her arms around him. Her usually smooth brow was heavily creased, her hands fluttered around him nervously. I looked around the room at all the people I loved, who had all depended on me to keep Mason Steel alive and strong. I had a wife now and someday, god willing, a family of my own. There was no way in hell…

"Warner on line one," Veronica's voice cut through on the intercom. "It's Mr. Wyler…"

I swallowed hard against the cold, sick feeling in my gut. The room, which had been quiet before, was utterly silent now. I sat and picked up the receiver.

For ten long minutes, I listened. I nodded silently, jaw clenched and aching. Every eye in the room was on me, and none of us were breathing. Bill wasted no time. Neither did I.

"We did," I answered him. "Only just now… and yes… precisely the same. I swear on my honor as a Mason, this isn't going to happen. Not for either of us." I met the eyes of everyone in the room. Everyone except for Spencer.

I hung up the phone and crossed the room to where he sat. I looked down at him. He didn't have the fucking guts to stand, to even face me. "It's not just Mason Steel," I said evenly. "Warner's been bought up too… same thing. Small amounts of stock purchased over time. Spread out, so it wouldn't attract attention too quickly." I had to work to draw a deep breath, to calm myself.

"I said I'd try to protect you, if you told me the truth. I meant it, Spencer." I kept my voice low, in spite of the anger raging inside. "Maybe I still do…"

He looked up, the corner of his eye twitching. "I tried to, boss. So many times I wanted to…" He licked at dry lips. "I just wanted everybody to be happy. I didn't think it through… I never thought it all the way through…"

He looked toward the window, his expression almost blank. He was quiet, and for a moment it seemed as if he'd forgotten us all.

"It didn't seem so wrong. Just small amounts at first… But then more and more… I was nearly bankrupt by the end… but still, it wasn't good enough… Nothing was ever good enough. She just kept asking for more time… promising we could have more than just a friendship… I was such a goddamn fool.

And all the time… all the time, she was just playing me…"

I knelt down, forcing him to face me. He looked ill, broken. I put my hand on Spencer's thin shoulder. "You told me that ‘we' needed more time…

Who did you mean, Spencer…

when you said we?"