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STEFAN
The elevator dings as the doors open, letting me out on our floor. My briefcase hits my knee a couple times on the way to my office, but right now I’m on a mission. I need to take care of this Hendrix situation right away. Who knows what he could be out there doing right now? Would he do something to jeopardize the company out of spite? I don’t know and can’t take that risk.
As I walk through the foyer, employees are already running around, sluggish since it’s a Monday, and trying to get back into the flow of things. At least it’s a short week again because of the holiday. No one seems to be worried which means they haven’t seen the story about their boss in the headlines, and that’s a good thing.
The buyout is only going to work if we get it done before something else comes up, and Glaridy is my main concern besides Hendrix. I need his investment to put us in the position to sell. I could sell now, but it would be for significantly less. Maximize profits. He will only be on board if we aren’t causing any drama. So showing up in the headlines is a strike against the company in his eyes, but if he hasn’t seen, and no one else, than our meeting shouldn’t be a problem.
The company lawyer should be here shortly with the paperwork, and then I have a meeting with the Board of Directors. Some of them are going to be happy that he won’t be a part of the company any longer. They have tried to warn me in the past, but I was too naïve to listen. Not anymore.
I walk right past my assistant and go straight into my office, shutting the door, and taking a seat. Maybe everyone won’t freak out when this is announced. Every time something happens, people think we are going to close the doors, and that won’t happen with me around.
The truth is, I hate firing people because I know they have bills to pay. Hendrix’s assistant hasn’t done anything wrong, but without him here, her job is no longer needed. So, before I go and talk to her, I need to find something else for her to do. She doesn’t deserve to be let go because of Hendrix’s mistake.
“Denise, can you send Christie in here, please?” I say, over the intercom to my assistant.
She works in coding, but also handles our office. Maybe she will be okay with me giving her the position of office manager and she can focus on coding. When I propositioned her into taking it, she didn’t seem too pleased.
My door opens, and she walks in. “Morning, boss. To what do I owe this pleasure?” She takes a seat in front of my desk.
“How are you doing with the office manager side of the job? I’m thinking about hiring someone to take it over. Coding is what you are hired for, and I hate to ask you to do two jobs at once. Of course, your salary wouldn’t change. What do you think?”
A smile wipes across her face. “No more counting pens or reams of paper? Whatever will I do with my life?”
“So, I take that as a yes?”
She nods, shakes my hand, and walks out of my office.
This will make things a little easier when speaking to her, because I want to be able to let her know she still has a job here, and it will even come with a raise. Hendrix has always wanted to be in charge of his assistant and pay, but pulling up her file, it looks like she hasn’t had a raise in three years. I should have kept a better eye on these things. Why is he so damn greedy?
Another knock sounds at my door, and the door opens.
“I know it’s early, but let’s get this out of the way.” It’s the company lawyer, ready to get everything signed and situated. “I’ve highlighted all the spots I need you to sign, and then you will need to provide a check for me to give Mr. Haddon before I can file.”
I stare at the paperwork, and once my signature is on this, our friendship will never recover, but what does he expect me to do? If he would have come over yesterday and showed me that he was sorry for what he did, and that he was going to grow up, then maybe it wouldn’t be this way. Instead, he acted like an immature ass and that’s all I needed to see to finalize this.
My pen waves over paper after paper, signing away, and then I hand it back to him. “I’ll have the check delivered to you in a couple of hours by my assistant. Thank you.”
It’s official; Hendrix is no longer part of Valdon Technologies. I grab my keys, and make my way out of my office.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I tell Denise, and head straight for the elevator.
The bank is just down the street, and the sooner I get the check to the lawyer, the faster this can be handled. My meeting with the board isn’t for another two hours and that gives me time to get this done. The elevator takes me to the first floor, and I walk out of the double doors, and straight to the bank.
The cashier thinks I’m crazy when I tell her how much I need a cashier’s check for. Her eyes look over at the security officer.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
She leans over. “Are you in distress, sir?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s company business. Can I please have the check?”
Her eyes squint trying to read my face, I guess to see if I’m lying, and then presses a button her phone.
“Yes?” a man says, coming over to her.
“Mr. Valentino is requesting a cashier’s check for 3.4 million dollars, sir?” she says, and then points to her computer screen that isn’t visible to me.
“I don’t understand the problem. Why is she making this so difficult?”
