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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Three
Edward
The Quartermaine Mansion
AJ strides in the front door and throwing his coat over the bannister can't help but humming a happy tune.
"AJ!" Edward harumphs. "I don't see what you are so happy about unless perhaps you have fallen into a vat of vino somewhere! This is terrible! Carly and Jason are moving in together. Robin is out of the picture. As long as Jason is right there there is no way that Carly will listen to reason. Michael is further away that he has ever been!"
"That's what you think, old man." AJ mutters beneath his breath.
"What did you say?" Edward roars.
"I said I've been thinking on just that situation and have already taken action. I just came from meeting Carly. Carly will be furnishing my new house."
"House? House! What do you mean house?! Why are you buying a house? We want my great-grandson to MOVE in here, or have you forgotten?"
"The house is not for Carly; it is for ME."
"What are you up to?"
"With Carly moving in with Jason I needed an excuse for Carly to be out from under his thumb. I knew that she likes to decorate and it will give me plenty of opportunity to prey on her insecurities."
Edward starts rubbing his hands together. "Brilliant, my boy, brilliant! But we have to bring up the timetable. Damn-- I never thought that Robin would give into Carly's tactics. I thought the girl had more spunk than that."
"Grandfather, when it comes to spunk I think we know who wins the battle between Carly and Robin. It wasn't fair to Robin to think that she could hold her own with Carly."
Edward hurumphs again. "Wait a minute... if Carly wants to decorate we can have her decorate the east wing."
AJ shakes his head. "That wouldn't work. Come on Grandfather, it is too suspicious. Carly might be impulsive but she can smell most traps a mile away."
"Well then why do you think she is going to go along with you?" Edward flares defensively.
"Because I'm telling Carly something that she already believes."
"And what is that?"
"Why that it was the biggest mistake of my life to move back here. And that getting out is the first sign of sanity that I've shown in over a year."
"Telling the girl what she wants to hear, I can understand that it's normally a billiant strategy but AJ-- how are we going to get Michael back under this roof if you are working to convince her that the family is leaving in droves!"
"First give her a neutral site. Then leave the rest to me. Now I need to talk to you about ELQ and Ned. There is a boardmeeting coming up. I want to be in that director's chair before the meeting."
"That wasn't our deal!" Edward blusters.
"When this all comes down and Carly attends by my side representing her son I don't want there to be a backlash against me. This always seems to come down to a vote. And when Jason no longer has Michael; I don't want a pity vote by the parents to keep you from fulfilling your agreements."
Edward frowns. "Carly Roberts Benson at a board meeting. I know I don't like the sound of that. The girl is disruptive: trouble. Look at that scene she made at the grille. She could say anything."
And that would be different from any other member of the family, how? AJ thinks before replying "We are going to have to sweeten the pot to get Carly on our side. You knew that all along."
"Cash! I was thinking a cash payout."
"The thing about cash is that runs out. A piece of the company would give an income for her and Michael unrelated to Jason. It would make her independent of him. You could write it up in such a way that it was Michael's stock and that his parent vote it for him but that Carly gets the income."
"I don't like it; I don't like it at all. If this doesn't work then it means that... that... rapscallian Jason has another piece of the company."
"Then make it nonvoting stock with a trustee that votes the shares by proxy. That's where I come in. You wouldn't want that stock in Ned's hands and Carly wouldn't trust it in either yours or mom's."
"Oh ho Don't think I don't know where you're going with this! You want another vote at the table." Edward shakes his finger at AJ.
"Exactly, but the only way I can get it is if I deliver; isn't that right, Grandfather?"
"By the next board meeting you say?" Edward inquires greedily already mentally bouncing Michael on his knee.
"That's why I need the proxy as soon as possible. This family is a tough sell already. I need something that is going to balance out what Jason has been telling Carly for the last year as well as all the bonehead things we have fallen into by trying to rush this."
"Now that was all Tony Jones; you remember that, young man. If that darn Carly's aim had been a little bit better we wouldn't be in this fix now. It would have just been a matter of time before those idiots at the PCPD would have found something to nail your brother on." Edward shakes his head at the imcompetents that his tax dollars had paid for. "My lawyer will have the paperwork done by tomorrow-- I'll use my own lawyer on this now ELQ so we can keep this quiet. Good work, my boy glad to see you are staying on top of this!" Edward strides out to call his attorney.
AJ moves over to the patio doors and looks out to his grandmother's rose beds that are resting for the year. Crossing his arms he plans his next move. That's one down.