The Love Of Money - S01 E284

Story 4 days ago

The Love Of Money - S01 E284

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 284

His jaw snapped shut, and he blinked, clearly not expecting that from his mild-mannered client.

“Fine,” I said, stalking back around the table. “We’re done here.”

“Mr. Upton! Wait! Can’t we just talk about this!? There has to be another solution! He won’t come near your account! We’ll keep you completely quarantined from him! And if you leave Helen alone—”

“Not happening,” I said, whirling on Karl. “Even if Helen wasn’t part of this, I’m not supporting a firm that has a partner that wanted to literally murder me with his own hands! As for Helen, VanCamp’s lost his wife. He just doesn’t know it yet. She’s leaving with me. Today.”

“Mr. Upton,” Karl said. “You’re talking about starting a feud between our firm and you. You can’t possibly—”

I laughed. “I’ve got Hiro Tanaka gunning for me, and apparently, he’s one of the scariest men on the planet! You think I’m scared of YPV?”

“Mr. Upton—”

“No. I’m fucking tired of all the games. I’m tired of hearing about how scary everyone is. You know who I think was one of the scariest men out there? My grandpa. Well, guess what… I’m the Gerrard now, and I’m saying that Roger VanCamp’s days are numbered.” I glanced from Karl to William, letting both of them know they had a choice to make.

“So, you have until I walk out that door to make up your mind. Either Roger VanCamp goes, or I do.”

William and Karl looked at each other, and if I hadn’t known better, it appeared as if they were communicating telepathically. Eventually, Karl nodded to William, who sighed, dropped the tran*********** back on the table with the pile of damning evidence, and reached for the phone sitting on the conference table.

“This is going to end badly, Marcus,” Karl said, looking back at me. The expression on his face made me think I was making him shoot his dog.

“I’m going to make it worse, Karl. You’re going to make Helen the new partner at YVP. She gets everything Roger has.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am. It’s part of this deal.”

“Why?” Karl asked.

“Because I need someone at YPV I can trust,” I said, and the look I received from Karl suggested that was unnecessarily harsh. After all, it looked like they were staying with me. “Not that I can’t trust you, but I’ve been working with Helen for a while now. I’m comfortable working with her. Besides, I’m used to the name. I want another VanCamp in the driver’s seat with you.”

“I don’t know if we can make that happen,” Karl said.

“You’ll figure it out,” I replied. “Do this, and you have my full support… and my business.” I glanced at Vikram, “Oh, and give Vikram here a senior position. He’s sharp and has integrity. You guys should reward that.”

Karl nodded as if that last request was the least of them. He already looked like he was going to be sick.

“Roger,” we heard William say. “Are you in your office? Good. Karl and I are coming to see you. We need to talk.”

***

I probably wasn’t doing the guys any favors by going with them to see Roger VanCamp, but I didn’t give a shit. I wanted to see his face as I took everything from him.

As we walked into his office's reception space, a young woman with thick, dark brown hair and a fair complexion stood up hurriedly and made her way around her desk toward us. She was about 5’4” and some change in heels, had a lovely cream complexion, and almond eyes, favoring Ashlee a little.

“Mr. Yunger! Mr. Price!”

“Don’t worry, Candice,” Karl said. “He’s expecting us.”

“Alright…” she said, watching us pass while she stood awkwardly beside her desk.

Yunger rapped on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. All three of us entered, followed by Chloe, and I shut the door behind me. My eyes wandered around the room for any sign of Helen or Ashlee, but neither were present. The only other person in the room was Roger, who was standing behind his desk, slightly bent over it with his palms resting on the surface. As soon as he saw me, he straightened.

“What’s he doing here?” Roger asked, his stance showing the wariness I could hear in his voice.

Karl took a deep breath and said, “Roger—”

“What is this?” Roger asked, gazing at the three of us as we stood in front of his desk.

Karl and William both glanced at me as if asking me with a look whether I really wanted to follow through with this. When I didn’t say anything, William turned his attention back to his soon-to-be-ex-partner. “Roger, we’re here to ask you to resign as a partner of Yunger, Price, and VanCamp.”

The room remained so quiet after William’s statement that the persistent tick of the grandfather clock sounded like construction equipment. William simply stood there, his jaw hanging crooked and bouncing, almost as if he were working a jawbreaker between his teeth. His steely gaze bounced back and forth between the two older men, and then he started to nod as if finally making sense of the words William had just said to him.

“Why?” he asked, surprising me with how calm he’d been, and for a moment, I had a single shred of doubt about whether or not this was the unhinged person who had beaten me in Vegas. That man had been beside himself. The Roger I was witnessing seemed calm and collected in the face of professional ruin.

“We think,” Karl said, choosing his words carefully, “This might no longer be the best place for you to work. Your talents—”

Everything on VanCamp’s desk went hurling into the wall as the man suddenly swept his hands across the surface. His face was twisted in a snarl, and his well-groomed hair fell out of place. “DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” He screamed, flecks of spittle flying over the desk. His words were punctuated by the crash of a phone, computer, keyboard, picture frames, and other paraphernalia crashing to the floor. William and Karl both jumped in place, completely taken off guard by the display, and I couldn’t blame them. Frankly, I was surprised I wasn’t glued to the ceiling after the sudden display.