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KIRA
ONE YEAR EARLIER…
Fuck.Why does this keep happening to me?
“Kira, Kira, Kira!”
I stop in my tracks and whip back around to look at my assistant.
Polly’s hand is resting on a door handle. She points at the door with an anxious expression. “Inhere.”
I’ve been walking so fast I just blew right past the door to the conference room. “What would I do without you?” I whisper fondly.
The older blonde woman smiles, her apple cheeks tightening. “Miss out on meetings by working through them, probably.”
Polly opens the door for me, and I slither in, trying to go unnoticed as I move to the back of the room.
Trevor Wynters, our CEO, is amid his keynote.
“Thank you all for joining me here today. As you know, Wynters Group has had our best year yet. Through our ingenuity and forward-thinking, we have maintained our spot as the foremost application and program creators of the twenty-first century.”
Trevor Wynters is as good as they come. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten my chance in tech as early as I did. This was my first job out of college.
I’m not even sure I’d still have this job if it weren’t for him. But I do, and I appreciate him so much, I do my best job just to keep him happy. He lets me be me, and I work my ass off to be one of his best programmers.
He is the sole reason why I don’t foresee anything pulling me away from this place.
“I could take the time to call out each and every one of you for your contributions. Truly, it’s hard to fathom that a little mail-order catalog from the early nineteen hundreds has blossomed into what Wynters Group represents today. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time for that today. I’m sure the finger food would be cold by the time I was finished and god forbid that.”
Trevor’s audience lets out a polite chuckle. I do too, giving a sidelong glance to Henry, one of my fellow app developers who already has a plate full of finger food and a bacon-wrapped date shoved in his mouth.
“So, let me cut to the chase, huh? I’m not one for doing that, but I think today calls for it.” Trevor clears his throat and lifts his chin high, tossing his long waves of gray hair from his eyes.
“Over the next two years, I will be making my exit as CEO of Wynters Group.”
My heart plunges into my stomach.
Polly grabs my arm and squeezes. We lock terrified eyes. Words aren’t really necessary right now to know what the other is thinking.
Trevor holds his hands up as if he’s prepared for an onslaught of gasps. “I know what you’re thinking. In this day and age, upheaval in the corporate sector is a recipe for disaster. But as is the Wynters way, we’re keeping things in the family.”
From the head table, someone stands. A tall man with dark hair.
He traverses the space up to the stage and stands next to Trevor.
I’ve seen him in the hallways before. Always looking rather grumpy and standoffish. I thought he was just some disgruntled accountant. Never in a million years would I have guessed he was…
“My son, Orlie, will be taking over as CEO for Wynters Group so that I can retire. Orlie will usher the Wynters Group into a new era. One of intense progress and exciting innovation. I have instilled in my boy my values. He will value your loyalty, your commitment, and, most importantly, your humanity. That’s what has put us apart from our competitors since nineteen-oh-one.”
I’m not a person that shows her emotions at the best of times. Or at all, except when it comes to my family. Maybe. I can remain cool and passive in most situations even when my feelings are wreaking havoc.
But right now, I can almost feel my face falling as the corners of my lips droop lower and lower.
Orlie Wynters hasn’t even cracked a smile.
How are we supposed to believe he’s anything like his father if he looks like the corporate robot Trevor has worked so hard not to become?
