She shook her head from side to side. If there was any company she needed to merge with hers, it most certainly was Hastings. What she didn't understand was why they were putting up their company for sale. She had checked their financial records for the past 6 years and they were doing as well as a 10 year old shoe factory should do.
Source
The CEO, Matthew Hastings, passed away just 3 years after setting up his company and his daughter, Evelyn had managed it ever since. From Lydia's source, Evelyn traveled out of the states to school in Asia and the factory was NOW managed by her uncle, Hastings junior.
This Hastings junior was the one who contacted her and said they were going to sell off their company for merging. At first, Lydia thought it was a great idea but as time moved on, she figured that something was out of place so she requested to speak with Evelyn Hastings herself.
Hastings junior hadn't taken her calls or gotten back to her since she made that request.
A knock at the door of her study caused her to turn her attention away from the iPad in her hands. Her secretary and best friend, Amie, strolled into the office, a huge smile on her face.
“Hey” Lydia forced a smile as Amie plopped herself onto the leather chair at the other end of the mahogany desk.
“You've been locked in here ALL day. Is everything okay?”
Lydia ran a fashion accessory place. At 31, her fashion brand, Lydia's Taste, was the 2nd most consulted fashion brand for celebrities and the high class members of the society. She remembered the quarrel she had with her mom concerning going to college and the rebellious step she took afterwards which resulted in her signing up to attend a fashion institute and starting up her own brand about 4 years later.
The ride had been both bumpy and messy but 13 years later, she was celebrated not world wide yet but in the infamous New York City.
She turned her attention back to the brunette sitting opposite her.
“Yeah, everything is fine. I just have certain reservations about a company that wants me to merge with them”
Amie’s brows creased for a moment. “You were always looking for the right company to merge with so you could expand your business. What's wrong with this one?”
Lydia rose to strength her sore legs as she explained her experience with Hashtings junior to Amie.
“Why does it seem shady? I think you should contact Evelyn Hastings directly. What if her uncle is trying to sell off her dad's company?”
Lydia nodded in agreement and made 2 calls that could help her get through to Evelyn that evening. She also called her lawyer to ask if he had any information on the Hashtings for the past few years.
3 days later, Lydia was at the mall when her phone rang and when she took the call, she heard,
“Hi Lydia, this is Evelyn Hashtings”
Lydia excused herself and located the restroom so she could talk better.
“Hi Evelyn, are you in New York? I think we need to meet up, it's important” Lydia said. Evelyn scoffed over the phone.
“You don't trust that I would want to sell off the company?” Lydia fell silent as Evelyn spoke, “I did my research and saw that you run a fashion brand. Meanwhile you’ve been looking for a company to merge yours with so I decided to bring mine to you”
Evelyn was definitely in her right senses when she was asking to throw away all her father's work and all the investments made to build her company so far.
“If you're willing to sell then let's have a meeting with our lawyers as soon as possible. I thought there was a misunderstanding”
“I'm willing to sell. Where can I meet you?”
“I can host you here at Lydia's Taste if you're comfortable with the idea?”
“I'll be there”
When Evelyn Hastings walked into the Lydia's Taste building, Lydia knew why she wanted to sell her company. She looked way older than the young lady smiling in Evelyn's profile picture on social media. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was clutching a faded Chanel bag tightly, as if her existence depended on it.
In less than 2 hours, the show producing company once known as Hashtings had become another subsection under Lydia's Taste. Just like the accessory store, Wilkins had been added the year before.
Lydia took Evelyn's hand as she saw her and her lawyer out, “If you need anything, don't be scared to walk in here and see me, okay?”
Evelyn smiled sadly. “Thank you” she said and walked out of Hashtings’ new home.