Down the Rabbit Hole

She could feel the top executive studying her. “Darda and I have had several long, intense meetings, both here in New York and at my firm in London.”


Beth folded her hands primly in her lap. Since joining her aunt’s firm, she’d worked harder than any of her contemporaries, hoping to prove to Darda that she was worthy of the position. Darda had taken over her late brother’s small law firm and turned it into one of the most prestigious in the state. As president and sole owner of the Darda Campbell Agency, Darda had a reputation for being a tough, take-no-prisoners negotiator who showed not a drop of mercy. Now, with a contingent of top foreign firms paying court, rumors were rampant that they were about to be swallowed up by a giant conglomerate and half the firm would be sent packing. A second rumor speculated that they would all receive promotions and huge bonus checks to go along with the firm’s expansion.

Beth figured the truth lay somewhere in the middle.

Without preamble Alan announced, “The Darda Campbell Agency has accepted our offer to merge with Connifer-Goldrich.”

Beth blinked. So, it was true. Her father’s once-tiny firm would now be part of a multibillion-dollar international conglomerate that specialized in negotiating impossible deals for developers coveting exotic properties around the globe.

Alan fixed Beth with a look. “I’m sorry to say we’ll be cutting back on your department, since we already have enough in-house lawyers.”

Beth braced herself for the ax that was about to fall on her head.

Instead, Alan’s next words had her looking up in surprise.

“But, since you’re part of Darda’s family, we’d like to keep you on.”

He turned to Darda. “Why don’t you tell her the rest?”

Darda’s lips were carved into her famous ice-princess smile. A smile that never reached her eyes. “You’re being offered the deal of a lifetime. The firm is sending you to Scotland to meet with a . . . difficult client. He happens to own a huge tract of land that a client of Connifer-Goldrich wishes to develop. There are stepsiblings, I understand, who very much want to sell, as the will states that they will be given one-third of any profit from a sale. But the client has sole discretion on the entire estate, and right now he’s resistant to any sale. If you can get him to sign a contract, you’ll be given a title with our new firm and a very generous bonus.”

Beth didn’t bother to ask what would happen if her impossible mission failed. One fact had been drilled into her from the time she was a little girl: If she wished to please Darda Campbell, failure was not an option. “Do you have the particulars?”

Alan picked up a USB flash drive and passed it across the desk. “This is everything we have on Colin Gordon, whose nickname is the Beast of the Highlands. He’s called that because he’s known as an angry, no-nonsense loner who would rather hike the mountains or fish in an icy stream than sit by the fire in his grand lodge. We’ve tried in the past to entice him to sell, but he has no need of more money, and he’s impossible to deal with.”

“The stepsiblings?” Beth looked hopeful. “Can they be counted on to persuade him?”

Alan shrugged. “Let’s hope so. Though Colin Gordon calls his estate a humble hunting lodge, it’s actually a palatial estate set in the heart of the Highlands, where the people are often as fierce as the land and the weather.”

“Why would anyone want to plan a development in such a place?”

Alan looked over. “It’s a privately owned paradise for sportsmen. Lakes teeming with fish. A forest, closed to hunters for hundreds of years, that is home to many rare species, including red deer and even the occasional Scottish wildcat. Quaint villages nearby would be snapped up by upscale retailers, eager for a new venue.” He paused a moment before asking, “So? Think you’re the one who can make this happen?”