Chapter 59：I have a feeling that we won‘t be competing

On a Saturday, Leo had just made plans to spend the day with Jessica when his uncle notified him of some last-minute business meetings with two of their clients who were suddenly getting curious about the Grants' investment services. After apologizing to Jessica, he joined his uncle and met the clients to update their investment portfolios.

―Am I going to have to do this every time someone panics and threatens to go with the Grants? Leo asked his uncle once the last client left the firm. ―I have a feeling that we won't be competing with the Grants for long, Jonathan replied.

―Either they will bankrupt us or we'll be able to beat them at their game with Mr. Walker's and Mr. Leroy's help. Leo hid his apprehension at the thought that they might be sitting ducks, just waiting for the Grants to wipe them out too.

He struggled to not think about it. While he took care of business, Jessica went with Helen and Mary to visit Mrs. Walker and her newborn son before she came home from the hospital.

Fortunately, he was done with the meetings in time to accompany Jessica to the play that her friend Mary was starring in. To his surprise, his uncle was there as well. He couldn't recall a time when his uncle attended a play.

On Sunday, Leo took Jessica to the orphanage so she could see Ryan. He noticed that Ryan seemed to respond better to her than Mrs. Tobias or Mrs. Edwards who attempted to bring him out of his shell.

―She's better at the game than she thought she was. When she was at Mr. Tyndall's house Friday night, she beat everyone there. Some of the men weren't happy, but it did them good to realize that a woman can play just as well as a man can. Leo couldn't recall a time when his uncle was interested in billiards. He had a nagging suspicion that his uncle was more interested in Mary than he was in the game.

He decided to keep the observation to himself. Instead, he joined Helen and Jessica in their discussion. He was pleased that Jessica thought to include him into her world by allowing him to join her at the orphanage and nursing home.

It meant that she was getting used to the idea of being his wife. When Monday morning came, Jonathan threw a copy of the newspaper in front of him on his desk at work. Leo glanced up from the proposal he was writing for Mr. Dean. ―You can forget the proposal, Jonathan told him.

―He just went bankrupt yesterday.―What? He wasn't sure he heard right. Leo picked up the paper that his uncle motioned to and had to read the headline twice before the news made any sense to him. Carl Dean Loans Goes Bankrupt, Taking Others Down With Him. The article explained how the owner of the loan business made unfortunate investing decisions, based on the advice from the Monroe Investing Firm.

―I'm already getting requests from some of our clients to close their accounts with us, his uncle said as he walked over to the window to look out of it. He solemnly crossed his arms. ―With Carl Dean out of business, that leaves Conrad Leroy's bank and Harrison Grant's firm as the only places where people can obtain loans.―But our investments are sound. I've made a considerable profit off of them.