“You seem to have no problem wasting my money when it comes to your services, Mr. Ware.” I flatten my hand on the wood table, edging forward. My palm still stings from when I hit the table, but that helps dull the pain I’ve had deep inside me since I saw Mallory Friday night.
“Sir—” he tries again, but I don’t let him. He’s wasted enough of my time on this, and either it ends right now, or I’ll end him.
“Get it done or.” I flip my wrist in a tossing gesture not finishing the sentence. He gets it. I can tell by the widening of his eyes he does. Everyone in the room does. He might be a top attorney but if anyone knows that I get my way, it’s him. He’s been working with me for years. No one stands between me and my end result. Maybe for a moment, but in the end I get what I’m after, and Mr. Ware has witnessed many of those dealings.
Maybe the threat is fucked-up, but when it comes to this, to her, I don’t care. I’ll do anything including getting my hands dirty if I have to. A trait I clearly got from my father.
“Now, next item on the agenda. Sarah, would you please inform the room about our next potential acquisition. The details are outlined on the PowerPoint.”
I click the remote before dropping back down into my chair and the room turns to the screen on the other side of the room. Sarah, our head of purchasing, presents the data I went over and sent her at the end of last week. On what will happen when we acquire the businesses. All the different options available. I told her everything I wanted and that she needed to put it in a presentation for everyone to see, but I’m still toying with the idea of getting what I need from them and burning them to the ground. They’d probably be better off that way.
I think of Mallory and wonder what she would say about the numbers I came up with. Would she be impressed or offer her own opinion? It’s a funny and foreign thought to me, considering someone else’s opinion when making a decision. It’s not something I’ve ever done before, because I never cared what people thought of my ideas. But I find myself listening to Sarah go over everything I’d pulled together, and wondering if Mallory would agree.
Then my mind wanders further, and I think about Mallory in my bed after I’ve thoroughly loved her. Her mouth still swollen from mine, her hair messy from the things I’d done to her. We would lie there and I would talk about work. Share things with her I’d never shared with anyone else. I push the thought away when my body starts to react to the image in my head.
I wait for Sarah to finish the slides so I can answer any questions the room may have. But I’m comfortable there won’t be any. Sarah has been with me for years and I’ve never had to repeat myself with her. Ultimately I make all the final decisions at Osbourne Corp, but I understand what having a team around me can do.
I try not to think about Mallory because she’s been consuming my thoughts all day. I run my hands through my hair to calm myself, and try not to rush through this important acquisition meeting because I’m dying to get to her. Even if it’s only a glimpse. I look down at my phone to see if I’ve gotten any messages, but nothing.
The room goes over the proposal, each of them asking questions while I make notes. This is one of the last buyouts I’ll make before my plans are fully in place. I acted too soon with Mallory, and now I’m pushing hard and fast to clear everything up. I’ve had meetings all day to make this go forward, but I think things are finally settling into place. I’m cleaning up the mess I’ve made by striking quickly, and doing something I told myself I’d never do again. I showed my hand, and that has to be rectified.
With the sun setting, I dismiss the group, which is all too eager to leave. Even I can sense the tension that’s coating the room. I let them know I want responses by tomorrow with concrete plans in place. On the way out, my assistant follows behind me taking notes.
“I want the Harford deal closed by the end of the week,” I tell her, hitting the down button for the elevator.
“Hmm. How did you know I could move mountains?” she teases but I keep going, certain that she will in fact move one if need be. Jay might come off a little peppy but it’s actually her strong suit. She’ll annoy and bug anyone and everyone in this office until she gets what she wants, and that works for me because she’s getting what I want.
The elevator dings and we both get on. She hits the button for the lobby.
“What about Mr. Carson? This really is a problem. I still haven’t got an email back from him about the Stine project.” She lets out an annoyed huff. I know it’s because he’s working away from the office, meaning she can’t go knock on his door every five minutes.