The Love Of Money - S01 E250

Story 1 day ago

The Love Of Money - S01 E250

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 250

"Erin," I whispered, touching my assistant on the shoulder. "How much does Astrid Håkansson have?"

"Um... three percent," she said, glancing at her notes.

She was my only hope. I glanced at her, but her attention was on something in her lap. Her phone, maybe? Fuck! If only I'd gotten her number instead of the other way around!

I looked at Carla sitting next to her, hoping she could help me get Astrid's attention, but Hiro's trophy wife watched the next person to vote with rapt attention, God, the woman loved drama.

That next person just so happened to be Nina Gerrard. No... Nina Haley. She was my aunt and had married a guy named Michael Haley. He worked closely with my grandfather until killed by my great-uncle. I'd been so distracted by everything else that I hadn't even thought about her.

Leaning forward, I looked down the table to get a better look. She sat near the end, wearing a loose-fitting blouse and clicking a pen repeatedly as she stared at Chandler. She appeared in her early fifties, but her hair showed no signs of gray. Instead, it was all one uniform, bright, copper color-probably from an expensive dye job--and fell down her shoulders in voluminous waves. Her dark blue eyes penetrated as she waited for Chandler to call on her.

"Nina?" he asked.

"Maddox," my aunt said. "You hear that, Pruden? said, Maddox!"

"I heard ya," Wayne said over the phone. He sounded like he wanted to reach through the line and strangle my aunt, and I would have wondered what that was about were I not distracted with trying to secure a win.

I leaned closer to Erin and whispered, "How much does Nina have?"

"Six," Erin whispered back. That made sixteen percent.

I felt a buzz from my phone and checked it. There was no name, and I didn't recognize the number. I opened it and read the message: I've done the math. You only win if you get my vote.

Next was Michael Ross, the man representing my brother and sister. He wasted no time in declaring for Maddox. The twins had five percent each, which brought Maddox to twenty-six percent.

I quickly texted Astrid back: What do I need to do to get your vote?

I looked up at her, but she was watching Amber Bell, who Chandler called on next.

"Oh," Amber said, looking up from her tablet as if she'd forgotten where she was. She adjusted her glasses, glanced around the room, and said, "Brantwood Holdings votes in favor of... Kelly Maddox as CEO." She ended her statement with a definitive nod, promptly looked back down at her tablet, and started typing furiously on the little keyboard again.

With a whopping fifteen percent, that brought it to forty-one percent. Maddox was closing in fast. I glanced back at Astrid, who was finishing writing something down on some of the notes she had. Then she checked her phone... she sure was taking her sweet time. I nudged Erin and showed her the text I received, and she looked at me questioningly. I mouthed, "Astrid," as subtly as I could.

The phone buzzed in my hand with another message: I want a seat at the table.

What the fuck did that mean?

I texted back a question mark, and we stared at the phone intently as it indicated that she was typing.

"Very good, Chandler said. He sounded defeated, but I couldn't even spare him a glance. My heart was in my throat. "Kelly Maddox?"

Another message popped up on the phone: I want a job at VistaVision. High-level. I also need to know you'll have my back

I didn't understand what she meant by having her back, but I immediately replied: Yeah, you got it. The job is yours, and I'll watch out for you.

I hit send, confident that Chandler would give Astrid almost any position if it meant keeping him as CEO. However, she'd need to explain the 'watching her back' part. I was a little concerned that I might be writing too big of a blank check that I couldn't cash, no matter how much money I had.

What if Astrid was in a never- ending war with the Russian Bratva or the Japanese Triad? I wondered if I was making particular judgment calls about this woman just because she was a pretty face, and I was trying to avoid that.