“Magnificent? Such high praise.” I turned my head and he kissed my cheek.
“You are.”
Magnificence aside, I was nervous as hell, and jittery from lack of sleep the night before. Part of me wished Dad hadn’t told me about the meeting at all. I’d almost rather be caught unaware than be in the emotional place I was. He’d given me just enough information to worry over, but not enough to be comforting.
“I wish I could crawl into that head of yours and reassure you.” Lucah said, tapping the top of my head.
“That sounds both painful and invasive,” I said as I went to grab my purse and Lucah his briefcase.
Ryder waved goodbye from the couch, where he had a bowl of cereal perched on his stomach and was flipping through the channels.
“Have fun at work, kids,” he said, waving.
“Don’t break anything,” Lucah said as we closed the door.
I couldn’t have gotten through the day without Lilia. She made a list of the things I needed to do and kept sending me emails reminding me of each thing while keeping me thoroughly supplied with decaf. I was hoping for the placebo effect since any coffee would probably be bad for me in my current state.
I thought about going to see Dad and asking him if he could fill me in, but I didn’t want to put any more pressure on him than he was already under. I just wanted it to be over. For me to go back to enjoying work, and for Dad to go back to looking healthy and happy. That was all I wanted.
“It’s time,” Lilia said, knocking on my door when it was time to go to the meeting. She’d offered to come, since I probably wouldn’t be in a position to take any notes.
Violet was also coming from her office and she smiled when she saw me. Lilia slipped past me to take her seat.
“How are things going?” Violet said as a few other people trickled past us to sit down.
“Oh, you know,” I said with a shrug. “How are things with you?”
She shrugged. “Same old, same old.” We both seemed to be trying to keep things on a business level. “Cute shoes.”
“Thanks, yours are gorgeous.” She turned her foot and let me admire the yellow pumps with little bows on them. More people filed past, saying hello and greeting me. I kept a smile on my face, even when Hal walked by. I smiled so much it hurt. I’d kill those bastards with kindness. I’d drown them in it.
“Well, we should probably go in,” Violet said, motioning to the room.
“Right,” I said, and she walked in and took her seat and I took mine next to Lilia. Lucah wasn’t here, and I wished (in addition to the time machine) that I had a way to beam him up from his office so he could be with me. Not because I couldn’t do this on my own, but just to have him here. My security boyfriend.
This time another member of the Board, Mr. Buckley, called the meeting to order. I tried not to stare at Dad, but it was hard. Mr. Buckley read the minutes of the last meeting and then the agenda for this meeting. Nothing earth-shattering. It was an absolutely normal meeting, which we actually hadn’t had in a while.
But then Hal cleared his throat and stood up. I tried to keep my face impassive, but I wasn’t sure if I did very well.
“Before we get to that, I think we need to address something.” Dad’s face was grim when I turned my head to look at him. This was it.
Everyone else’s attention snapped to Hal and there were several looks of confusion, but most looked like they’d expected this. Of course they had, they’d planned it.
“As everyone is aware, this company has been through a lot recently, and some of the stockholders and members of the Board are wondering if this . . . unpleasantness could have been prevented.” Hal walked from his chair to the front of the room. He passed by me and I had the overwhelming urge to back my chair up and trip him. But I refrained. Lilia scribbled something on her legal pad and pushed it toward me. I had a momentary flashback of doing the same thing with Lucah. But that was a completely different situation.
What’s going on?
I took my eyes off Hal for the two seconds it took for me to scrawl a response.
Wait and see.
Hal was continuing to go on about how the company had been through a lot and the importance of leadership and so on and so forth. Just get to the f**king point.
“This company was founded by Walter Clarke and he’s been our fearless leader for many years, but, as I said, some feel that it is time for him to pass the torch to someone else.” He was about to continue when another voice cut through the room.
“No.”
24
Dad stood up and the attention instantly switched from Hal to him. Lilia inhaled sharply, sensing the shift.
“Hal, I know what you’re trying to do, and I’m going to ask you not to do it. This isn’t the way. I’ve known you for over half my life and I’m asking you not to do this.” I’d been looking at Dad, but I had to stop. He wasn’t talking to Hal Marksman, member of the Board of Directors. He was talking to his friend Hal that he went golfing with and whose wife was friends with his wife and with whom he had shared numerous trials and tribulations.
“Walter, you know this isn’t personal. This is for the good of the company.”
“The good of the company? Really, Hal? This is my company. I AM this company. Everyone in this room is. We wouldn’t be where we are without each and every one of you. Yes, we have been through a lot, and we have put measures in place to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. Everyone in this room is part of that. So let’s drop this and move on. Move forward.” He was giving Hal an out. To get out without things getting ugly. I held my breath and hoped Hal would take it. I did a quick scan around the room with my eyes, trying to judge what everyone else thought, but I couldn’t tell.
Hal cleared his throat again.
“We’re past that point already, Walter. We need to take action now. If you don’t voluntarily step down, we will have to vote you out. It’s come to that.” Hal wasn’t going to budge. It was as if everyone in the entire room was holding their collective breaths. Dad shook his head sadly.
“Well, good luck, Hal. I already have the majority of stockholders on my side. If you call a vote, you will lose, and then I will be forced to call a vote and impeach you. Please don’t make me have to do that. You will lose and you’re a valuable member of this company and a friend. Don’t end it like this.”
For the first time since he spoke, Hal was speechless. He hadn’t counted on that. Dad continued.