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Not only did Helgastein’s dark gaze soften ever so slightly but whenKaleb yawned apologetically yet again, she held up a hand to forestall Shawfrom commencing the update. Helgastein levering herself up and trudging over tothe far side of the room, where she did something mysterious, pressed somethingperhaps. The entire wall shooting up to display a hot beverage service areaoccupied by a top of the line coffee maker, a large number of exotic teas andeven a small refrigeration unit.
Good Goddess, how long had that been there? Did Stephanie know about it?Shaw was guessing not. From the dark glower being sent her way, Shaw presumedit would not be worth her life to share the secret with their boss. Watching onimpressed as Helgastein fired up the coffee machine, wielding it with the samedexterity and expertise that she wielded her legendary broadswords.
The scent of rich coffee filling the air, making Shaw’s stomach rumble.Yes, please. Olrun distracting her for a moment as she entered the room.Sitting a few chairs further down the conference table so there was enough roomfor her to place her wellness binder, three sparkling new nasal sprays, severalpill bottles, a box of tissues and a battery operated small dehumidifier, thatpuffed out tiny little clouds of steam.
“What did I…” Olrun sneezed three times fast. “…miss?” Picking up a pen,ready to record the minutes of the meeting.
“We haven’t started yet.” Shaw advised, watching as Helgastein placed alarge cup of steaming black coffee down in front of a grateful Kaleb, who allbut fell on it. Helgastein looked at Olrun questioningly.
“Oh, not for me, thanks. I’m allergic. I break out in hives, fart and myleft ear itches.”
Everyone was wise enough to ignore all that unasked for information.Helgastein slamming a half filled cup down in front of Shaw, the contentssloshing over the side. Great. She stared at the meagre contents left in the cup.She must be wearing Helgastein down, there was almost a quarter cup of liquidleft.
What do you know, the old broad must be getting soft in her dotage.Accepting the wet wipes Olrun flicked down the table, Shaw cleaned up the mess,before taking a sip. Hot, and strong. Yes. “Thanks.”
There was more humpfing as Helgastein resumed her seat and began to sipfrom her own full cup. Smacking her lips, she glanced over at Shaw. “Youfinally ran the butcher to ground?”
“Yes. It took us three different Realms and seven gambling dens, but wefinally caught up with Yashay.”
“And?” Grunted Helgastein.
“It seems her four brothers haven’t been happy with all her expansionplans. They believe she’s setting them up for failure with the big new factory.They came to her about seven weeks ago, insisting she buy each of them out anddeed over the original family butcher shop.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. So Yashay has been avoiding us like the plague, because shedoesn’t want the brothers finding out about the new contract and either uppingtheir asking price, or worse, deciding to stay on. She’s been playing thehorses, trying to raise enough money to shed them.”
“Lovely goblin.” Kaleb contributed. “Magnificent purple wig.”
“Where did you leave things?” Helgastein enquired.
“I gave her a cashier’s cheque for the outstanding difference to get thebrothers off her back. She’ll repay the loan within thirty days or penaltiesbegin applying. She’s happy with that. Says she’ll be here tomorrow to sign thefinal paperwork. If it suits us, Yashay will begin deliveries next week. Iagreed to the dates.”
“Huh!” Which could have been interpreted as either job well done, ordamn, I was sure you’d fail, this is surprising. “What’s left on the list?”
Olrun coughed loudly, then proceeded to clear her throat even moreloudly before scooping up a nasal spray. Giving herself a quick blast up eachnostril. Her eyes watering, her cheeks suddenly as rosy as her nose. “Oh,sorry. Let’s see.” Tracing a finger down the document in front of her. “Thepre-school enrolment of the twins?”
“One down. Second one to be finalised in three days’ time. Agreed?” Shawlooked to Kaleb for confirmation.
“Yes. As agreed.”
Olrun made of a note of in for the minutes. “Great. What else? Done,done, done. Oh, the Department Heads. Finance is getting antsy. We need atleast two more before the end of this financial year to act as signatories fortax purposes. Plus, they’d like us to change insurance operators, and legallywe need four executive signatures for that kind of move.”
Shaw thought huffing out an exhausted sigh would be enough to geteveryone updated, but Helgastein’s dour frown only deepened. Honestly? Theyneeded things spelled out? “Selling our sisters on taking on a management roleat HQ is hard enough if they are on the verge of retiring from the battlePlanes, considering maternity leave, or experiencing some medical ailment thatprecludes them temporarily or permanently from an active bloodletting role. Butwhen you add the hassles of being a Department Head? All we’ve got so far issneers, jeers, a wall of silence and a whole heap of nothing.”
“Well, not nothing.” Kaleb interjected. “I for one have learnt some newswear words that I can’t wait to put to good use.”
“Further complicating things is… let’s take Valkyrie Resources forexample. Whilst looking for a suitable candidate, I’ve quickly come to learnthat the majority of our brethren are…”
“Bonkers.” Offered Olrun.
“Over zealous.” Helgastein supplied.
“Irrational.”
“Obsessive.”
“Dogmatic.”
