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I gave him my best smile and stepped into the elevator.
We rode most of the way up in silence, and just before reaching the top floor, Alice turned to face me. The scowl on her face had not changed, and it made her look much older than she really was.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” she said, “but this has to be handled with some sort of finesse. Whatever’s got you on edge, forget about it until after the meeting. You need to win everybody back to your side. Just explain your medical condition and refute the drug charges.”
“That should be easy when they realize Dennis has been lying to them,” I said.
“Not really,” Alice replied. “Some of those suits have been waiting for a chance like this forever, but have been too scared to try and do something.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on, Chance,” Alice said in exasperation. “Who wouldn’t want to sit on your throne?”
“This board has been loyal to me from the get-go,” I shot back. “I handpicked every member.”
“Like Dennis?”
I didn’t answer.
“Just try and charm them back to your side of the battlefield,” Alice continued. “Dennis is a bit of a hero right now, and even if you have the power to fire him, you still need the board to nullify his contract. Don’t push them to a point where they still vote you out despite the lies.”
“Fine,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m actually trying to save my position in my own fucking company.”
“The bigger the rise, the harder they fall,” Alice mumbled.
“What?”
“We’re here,” she said, ignoring me as the elevator doors opened.
I got pretty much the same reaction from all the employees as I did with the security guard downstairs. Apparently, everyone had believed the lies Dennis had fed them, and with the media riding the wave of deceit right along with him, it was like everyone was looking at a dead man come back from the grave. It made my blood boil.
Two days. Two fucking days, and this shit happens!
A few of the employees came up to me to
welcome me back, and before I could thank them, Alice was brushing them aside and leading me towards the conference room. It felt odd being back here, as if I had been gone for weeks and not just a few days. Not much had changed, but I was looking at it all in a completely different light. There was so much I hadn’t noticed before and was only taking note of right now.
I’m going to need to make a few changes.
After the mess was cleaned up. All that other stuff could wait.
As we neared the conference room, I could see that the board was already inside, with Dennis at the front of the table where I usually stood, talking to them excitedly, his arms moving about as he spoke. He caught sight of me, did a double take, and froze in the middle of whatever it was he was saying. His reaction made everyone in the room turn in my direction.
I hardly registered the look on their faces. I was focused on Dennis, and only him. My fists balled up, and a sudden rage burned inside me. There he was, my best friend, trying to throw me out of my own company and acting like he had already taken my seat at the head of the table.
During the drive back from Ludwig, I tried to conceive how in the world he had thought he might get away with this. I wasn’t outside the country; I was in the same fucking state. What part of that asshole’s twisted mind actually thought that I would not accidentally turn on the news, or that Alice wouldn’t call me and give me a heads-up?
But I knew Dennis. He had probably been planning for something like this forever, concocting the perfect plan, just waiting for a chance to dig my grave and push me into it. He had moved as soon as I had disappeared, and he was working fast. If the meeting had gone as planned yesterday, I would have probably been fighting this battle from a completely different stand point. The mere thought of him sitting on this backstabbing scheme, waiting patiently, pretending to be my friend, angered me even more. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I had fallen for it.
At that moment, I hated myself more than I hated him. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to fucking kill him if his lies cost me my company.
“Remember, finesse,” Alice whispered as she opened the conference room door and let me in. “And remember your heart.”
One or two board members stood up to greet me when I entered, all fake smiles and plastic cheer, as if they were ready to welcome me back. Most of the others were looking at me with their mouths hanging open, like they were in complete shock.
The look on Denis’s face was priceless.
“Chance,” he greeted, trying to compose himself. “What are you doing back?”
