“Isn’t that the best cup of coffee? We buy the finest espresso machines,” Brittany said cheerfully as we stood in one of the multiple breakrooms throughout the building, holding steaming cups of coffee from the well-stocked coffee bar.
“It’s great,” I replied after taking a sip, enjoying the faint sweet tones of the caramel syrup that I put in mine. This company certainly went all out, not sparing any expense. From the success that it had had over the last few years, it didn’t have to.
Brittany checked the time on her Apple watch, her face brightening. “How would you guys like to meet Mr. Ashland? He should be out of his meeting soon,” she asked us.
“We’d love to!” Sara spoke up, answering for both of us. She smoothed her hand over her hair, taming any flyaway strands. This was the most excited that I had seen her look all day.
I merely smiled and nodded, not expecting this. Honestly, I didn’t expect to see Tyler at all during this internship. Now that I was faced with the opportunity to, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. I had no idea what he was like besides the rumors about him being some handsome bachelor. I would get to see if he lived up to all the hype that Sara spoke about him.
I wondered if he was old and strict or if he was one of those young bosses who tried to act all cool and casual. There was only one way to find out, though. I followed Brittany and Sara out of the breakroom and down the hallway toward Tyler Ashland’s office, my heartbeat quickening with each step that I took.
Chapter 2
Tyler
Numerous pairs of anxious eyes stared up at me as I towered over the end of the conference table, my jaw tensing as I glared at my board of executives. I didn’t realize it was so hard for these people to just do their jobs. Now, I was staring at pitiful results from last quarter, and this quarter didn’t look promising so far either.
“This is unacceptable. Look at where we started and where we are now. What happened?” I said, my voice booming throughout the room. When no one replied, I shook my head, running my hand through the short strands of my dark brown hair. The grey button-down that I wore under my black suit jacket felt exceptionally warm and constricting right now.
I started my consulting firm from ground zero when I got out of college. I struggled for months, spending every dollar that I had and using every connection that I made to make something out of myself. My company was my greatest achievement, but the most successful consulting firm in Chicago had been struggling for months now.
“There has to be an explanation for these numbers. Someone do their job and tell me!” I snapped as I tossed down a folder full of papers onto the table. A few sheets scattered across the table, fluttering to the floor.
“It must be Odyssey,” Jerry, one of my finance directors, finally spoke up. The moment my eyes landed on him, he looked down at the table.
I wanted to throw something every single time I heard the word “Odyssey” and for good reason. Odyssey Business Consults was my top rival and had been a twisting, annoying knife in my side since they launched. I thought that we would stay ahead of them for a while longer without having to worry, but it looked like I had been terribly wrong.
“Of course,” I scoffed as I turned away from the table, unable to even look at my board right now. This was my company, but they just now decided to tell me that Odyssey was the reason for our suffering numbers? Where was the communication?
“They’ve been taking some of our big clients,” Linda from Sales spoke up.
I whipped around, slamming my palms down on the table to make it shake. “How? How is a new company stealing our clients?” I asked them. This was absolutely ridiculous. I couldn’t possibly be taken seriously if my company was being outdone by a newcomer like this. I refused to be a laughingstock.
“They must be making better offers somehow,” Jerry replied, forcing his eyes up to look at me.
I had more money and notoriety than Odyssey, but I knew who my main opponent was. I knew how he operated, how he so easily swayed people his way. He could’ve been feeding them ridiculous lies, but they just ate it right up.
“No, their CEO is a twisted, lying snake,” I spat before sinking down into my seat.
Brandon Krouse was the founder of Odyssey Business Consults. I also happened to know him from my college days, and that was when our rivalry started. He was a terrible person, but he was a smart businessman. That was the only compliment I would ever pay him, and it wasn’t entirely good-spirited. Just because he was smart didn’t mean that he was morally good. In fact, he was the opposite.