AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The board meeting is in two months. That means I have two months to sway over half of the board to my side before my dad convinces them to buy an overpriced, failing company. The last thing I need is him tanking the companyagain.
I stand and leave without bothering to say goodbye.
It’s justafter 3:00 p.m. when my assistant Lucinda steps into the office and coughs discreetly. In one of her many stylishly asymmetrical loose black suits and her signature brunette pixie cut, she looks like a cross between Audrey Hepburn and the scariest school principal you ever met. In addition to being a flawless administrative assistant, she can get information out of anyone.
Also, she’s on my side.
Everyone at the company can be divided into basically two camps: the people on my dad’s side, and the people on mine. My side has most of the admin team (since I don’t patronize them), the accounting department (since I care about little things like tax law and financial solvency), and generally all the account managers, copywriters, and project managers who are actually good at their jobs. My dad’s side has the sales team, everyone who likes reminiscing about the good old days more than doing their jobs, and a few ambitious kiss-ups in account management who appreciate how easy my dad is to manipulate. Also—weirdly—the graphic designers.
I have no idea what I did to piss off the graphic designers.
Well, I know what I did to piss offoneof the graphic designers. I wonder if Amelia’s always that feisty, or if I bring it out in her.
I kind of hope I bring it out in her.
I brush the thought aside and focus on Lucinda. “What’s the vote headcount?”
“Your father does seem to have the votes, but just barely. Lexington, Flanigan, and Reinbold can probably be persuaded if you lay out the facts but—”
“But they never read my reports,” I finish, and she nods. Unlike my dad, they’re smart enough to follow the facts, not their guts when making business decisions.
“Reinbold could be swayed by a personal meeting, but Lexington and Flanigan will need a slick presentation.”
I stand, frustrated, and look out the window. She’s right. Which means I’ll have to go to the trouble of hunting down and hiring an outside graphic designer because I don’t trust any of ours not to go tattling to my dad with my strategy.
Lucinda doesn’t say anything.
“Go on,” I prompt.
She does, going through the remaining board members.
I can feel myself grinding my teeth by the time Lucinda finishes.
There’s something off about this whole deal. But I can’t put my finger on it. I turn back to Lucinda. “Do you know why he wants to buythiscompany? Why Tree House Digital? Why not a similar company that’s more successful?”
Lucinda jots something in her notebook. “I’ll look into it.”
I thank her and dismiss her.
I turn back to the window. Outside, the world is full of workers in skyscrapers just like this one. Everyone hustling to make it big.
I used to love the chase. Putting together a plan, beating the competition. Winning.
Hell, even losing can be fun, if it’s to a worthwhile opponent.
But fighting with my dad just feels ugly.
I scowl, running the board vote numbers in my head. Even accounting for Lexington, Flanigan, and Reinbold, there are still two more board members I’ll need to convince to switch sides. And I have no idea how to do it.
I swear and kick a chair.
It crashes over backward just as my door opens to reveal the same woman who got my morning off to such a brilliant fucking start.
Amelia’s slim and pale, with big brown eyes that give her a deer-in-the-headlights look and corkscrewing, barely tamed blonde hair that makes her look like the girl next door. I don’t know much about women’s fashion, but even I can tell her gray suit is the wrong size for her and several years out of date.
“Yes?” I bark.
“Lucinda said I could come in,” she says, oddly timid.
