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“Oh shit.” EJ chuckled. “I see you grew a couple balls over the years. Good for you, nigga.”
“They ain’t new,nigga,” Soren countered, stepping forward. I couldn’t grab his arm quick enough.
“This is not worth it,” I hissed, smacking the security call button with my free hand. “Leave.Now,” I directed to EJ again.
He smirked between me and Soren, then bobbed his head. “I’ll be seeing you motherfuckers around.”
He was already gone by the time a security guard came rushing up, but I still gave his description, and directions to find him on camera and make sure he leftandthat he wasn’t allowed back. The whole ordeal took time I really didn’t have, but whatcouldn’thappen was a security situation still brewing when the board meeting started.
Which was sooner than was convenient now.
“What was hereallydoing here?” Soren asked once we were finally alone. He’d followed me to my office instead of going straight to his.
“Being an asshole, as far as I can tell.” I shrugged, trying to focus on my screen. “As usual.”
Soren shook his head. “Nah, it was more than that. You know ol’ boy has never been anything but trouble.”
“Yes, I’m familiar.”
“Are you going to talk to Orion about it?”
I raised an eyebrow, giving him my attention. “Why would I do that? I’m not trying to start a damn war.”
“Okay but clearly he is,” Soren insisted. “Antagonizing you here, of all places, knowing who you just got married to. He wants smoke, Nala. All of it.”
“Yes, he does,” I admitted, blowing out a sigh. “Which is even more reason tonotgive in to it. This is not even about me, I bet. He’s just trying to flex, and get under Orion’s skin, to get a reaction out of him. Evenmorereason not to say shit. We’ll just… increase security for a while. Until whatever this is runs out.”
“It doesn’t justrun outfor dudes like that.” Soren took the seat across from my desk. “Once it’s a problem, it’salwaysa problem. Until somebody puts an end to it.”
“Okay thenI’mputting an end to it.” I shrugged. “As well as this whole line of conversation. We’ve got this meeting in less than thirty minutes and I need to make sure we’re prepared.”
“You sound… worried,” Soren said, narrowing his eyes. “Why do you sound worried? We’ve got the votes, Nala. We’ll be naming a new CEO in a week, and you’re getting the deed and everything back, right?”
I nodded. “Right, but… we can’t be cocky about this. It’s been nothing but radio silence from Daddy and I do not have a good feeling about it. We don’t know what he might pull in there.”
“We don’t know what he mighttryto pull,” Soren corrected. “He doesn’t know I’ve been digging into all the financials and shit around the property sale, and… he and Alan both will have some explaining to do if he tries to pull any bullshit.”
“What are you talking about? You found something and didn’t tell me?”
Soren shrugged. “Ijustfound it this morning, after following a bunch of dead ends. He hid the shit well, made sure to cover his tracks. But… the way he claims the sale happened,whyhe claims it happened… it’s not adding up. He was moving money into private accounts, shuffling investments, a bunch of shady shit to cover up the fact that the store was neverreallyin distress like that. He didn’t have to sell.”
As Soren kept talking, rage built in my head, manifesting as a ringing in my ears.
He didn’t have to sell.
Soren was explaining all about how he’d come to that conclusion, and how he could prove it if necessary, but I didn’t even need the nitty gritty details.
I’d heard enough.
By the time we joined the rest of the board in the conference room for the meeting, I’d steeled myself. My father’s entry to the room garnered no reaction from me, even though I could practically feel him staring a hole in my head, trying his best to draw my attention.
I refused.
When it was my turn to speak, I stuck to the facts. On paper, the store had been struggling, jeopardizing the entire company. We weren’t built only on the businesses with storefront space.Nectarhad its own brands, factories, warehouses, growing spaces, etc.
No, we weren’tStellar Foodsby any means, but we were a force in our own right.
Had been, and could be again, with proper management.
