The Love Of Money - S01 E243

Story 2 months ago

The Love Of Money - S01 E243

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 243

"The Cost Of Doing Business"

Introduction:

The board meeting heats up.

"You know who this is?" I demanded, jabbing my finger at the woman I'd last seen holding me prisoner.

"Yes. This is Miss Amber Bell. She's a solicitor representing Brantwood Holdings." Chandler said, looking confused. Everyone in the room looked confused, and despite the outrage I felt, embarrassment blossomed like the first few kernels of popcorn. Doubt started to seep through the cracks in my mind.

Turning my attention rallied my confidence, however. She was a dead ringer for the wornan standing with the mercenaries while Natashya had a gun to her head. "This woman was in Vegas last weekend! She was one of the ones holding me hostage!"

"I... don't understand," Amber said, and my heart skipped several beats. The vocal fry... the cadence of her voice... this was the woman who lied about holding Emily and threatened Natashyal She was the one who asked me about the flash drive! She gave me a fucking hand job while I was tied to a chair!

"Where were you last weekend?" I spat.

"I was in Alexandria, Virginia," Amber said, looking puzzled. Her brow furrowed, causing her glasses to slip down the bridge of her nose. "I was meeting with a client"

That doubt resurfaced thanks to how confident she sounded in the answer and how genuinely confused she looked. What the fuck was I supposed to say to that? Shouldn't I call her a llar? Then what? It was my word against hers. Plus, it dawned on me that I probably seemed a little unhinged, and the last thing I wanted to do was start publicly accusing a stranger of lying and looking even crazier.

More than a few seconds passed without either of us saying a word, and no one else chimed in. I glanced behind me to see Helen, Erin, and Chloe standing just inside the door. I was hoping Chloe would recognize her-he'd been there after all. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a hint of recognition on her freckled face. I guess that shouldn't have been surprising. My bodyquard had been too that shouldn't have been surprising. My bodyguard had been too busy dodging bullets to notice some accounting nerd, and by the time the shooting was over, Amber had disappeared through another door.

Pet usual, Helen's face rivaled those found at the World Poker Tour, while Erin looked like a deer caught in headlights. The look on her face said, "Abort! Abort!"

Someone coughed awkwardly in the silence.

"Marcus," Chandler said. "Might I have a word?"

I could feel the eyes of every person in the boardroom burning holes in me. "Yeah," I said, following him out of the boardroom and down the hall with Chloe, Erin, and John on my heels.

About ten feet down was another, smaller, unoccupied meeting room. Grayson led me and the ladies through the doorway while John stayed outside so no one would disturb us. As Erin shut the door, Chandler whipped around and steepled his fingers in front of him, doing a phenomenal job of controlling his temper. I'd never seen him this close to exploding.

"Meaning no disrespect, Marcus, but couldn't you have handled that with a bit more tact?"

"Tact?" asked. "Tact!? That woman is responsible for killing people at that party! Ray died because of her! She had me beaten, she interrogated me... some guy peed on me, and you want me to pretend that we're cool?"

"Sir," Chloe said, her tone cool and professional, "Are you sure she's the one?"

I wanted to say I was one hundred percent sure, but was never really one to fully trust myself, and this was no exception. Sure... she was the spitting image of the woman I saw that night, but there was a lot of gunfire, and it wasn't like I got a long look at her. Her voice solidified it, but I don't know if would have picked up on it without the visual component. No... as convinced as I was that she was the woman from Vegas, I couldn't be one hundred percent sure.

"I'm one hundred percent sure," I said to Chloe.

I must have been pretty convincing because Chloe didn't hesitate.

Pulling out her phone, she began scrolling through her contacts as she said, "Alright." She turned and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

With her phone to her ear, she turned to look at me and said, "To find proof." Then she was gone.

"How do you want to proceed?" Chandler asked.

That was a good question. "What are my options? Can we postpone the meeting?"

Chandler shook his head emphatically as he slashed the air with his hands. "Out of the question. Perhaps if you had fallen ill or something, but after that display, if we didn't follow through today, there would likely be a call for a vote of no confidence, and since I'm the CEO they would be voting on, I wouldn't get to cast my votes.

"Couldn't they do that anyway?" I asked, suddenly afraid I'd really fucked up.

"They bloody well might," he said. "A no-confidence vote could serve as a last-ditch attempt, but it can be challenged in court, and If there's not a solid justification for it, the no-confidence could be overturned. However, the majority owner of the company going crazy just before voting his preferred candidate might be solid justification."

The poor man looked anxious enough to tear his hair out in large clumps. "How about you give me a few minutes to unruffie any feathers, and then you rejoin us in, say... ten minutes?"

Deferring to his expertise, I nodded, "If you think that's best."

Relief seeped into his features, and he visibly relaxed, his shoulders sagging as he exhaled. I hadn't realized how tense he looked.

"Thank you, Marcus," he said, giving me a tight smile as he laid a hand on my shoulder. "Chin up. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting out of a sticky wicket.

The smile I returned was just as brittle as his. Chandler headed for the door, then paused with his hand on the knob and looked back at me. "You really think she's guilty?"

I nodded. "Yes. She's a psychopath."

"Well," Chandler said. "It's not the first time I've dealt with psychopaths in boardrooms. The business environment seems to attract them." His smile became a lot more genuine... more Chandler. "Not to worry. Not much she can do besides take away your company and all." With that, he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.