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My heart punches in my rib cage. It comes to me here that battling a person can be as intimate as fucking them.
“It’s as good a thing as any to wear while I take you down,” I whisper.
“You think you can take me and Smuckers down?” Those plump, kissable lips form into a smile. “’Cause in that badass throne? Look at him!”
I bite my tongue. I don’t give a crap about Smuckers.
Mandy clears her throat. “Should we get to it?”
I let go of the necklace. I turn and pull out her chair for her.
“Thank you.” She sits.
April has taken up her post as board secretary.
Kaleb clears his throat. “I didn’t dedicate my life to Locke Worldwide for a dog on a throne to preside in the boardroom,” he says unhelpfully.
I take my seat opposite Vicky. I meet her sparkling gaze. “Is Smuckers ready to proceed with the week’s business?”
“Very much so,” she says.
I shift in my chair and introduce today’s central agenda item, the authorization of funds for a software switchover. Mandy has been pushing for that, and she has a presentation.
Mandy puts the PowerPoint on the screen. I should be watching that, but I can’t stop staring at Vicky.
“Wait,” Vicky says. She moves Smuckers’s throne so that Smuckers can see the screen.
I exchange glances with Brett. From the way his phone is tilted, I can tell he’s filming for the competency hearing.
Good.
No mediator in their right mind will think this is anything but harmful to the company.
Mandy goes on about deeper integration of our construction, development, and architectural businesses.
I watch Vicky follow along. She asks a few questions—rookie ones, but she’s interested. I was right about the construction stuff. Numbers bore her, but timelines and construction methods don’t. It makes sense, I suppose. She has that Etsy store. She’s made this jewelry and some of this throne. She does on a small scale what we do on a large one.
It’s too bad she’s the enemy.
When Mandy’s done, Vicky turns to Smuckers. “What do you think?”
“Smuckers’s share of the company will increase with this,” I say. “This makes Smuckers richer while delivering better service.”
She winces.
“What?” I ask.
“Smuckers doesn’t like the idea of new software. The learning curve—he’s not into it.”
I frown. “If we wanted to stay away from learning curves we’d still be adding and subtracting on abacuses.”
She shrugs. “You’re preaching to the choir, dude. I’m not the one to be convinced here.” She widens her eyes and tips her head toward Smuckers.
“Smuckers can hear me just fine,” I say.
She holds up a finger and turns to the dog as if listening intently.
Mandy sighs loudly. Brett keeps filming.
