Bob and Gotthard exchange a look and Bob only shrugs. “Fine, fair, I understand you can’t and won’t say, but I’m telling you, we understand. And we’re aware of your reputation.”
“Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Hayle.” Gotthard frowns so hard I’m afraid his face might fall off.
“We’re here to find a solution to our problem,” Bob continues. “Hugh’s been the CEO of Hayle since your father passed, may God rest his soul, and he’s done a very good job. In a large public corporation like Hayle Construction, turnover in the C-suite positions does not look good, not at all. We don’t want a new CEO already.”
I nod along as they talk, and the more words spill out of Bob’s mouth, the more I want to slam my glass into his teeth and make him bleed. This pampered little money man probably hasn’t tasted real pain in a long time and I’d love to remind him that yes, his flesh bleeds like anyone. Instead, I keep a smile plastered on my face, and hold Tara’s hand like it’s the last thing on earth.
“We want to know what your plans are,” Gotthard cuts in before I can answer. “We want to know if you are going to make life difficult or not.”
I look at them for a moment. I sip my drink and swirl it around, staring at the liquid, waiting. I make them hold their fucking breath before I finally open my mouth.
“You really want my plans, Gotthard?” I lean toward him, smirking devilishly, which makes him look even more dour. “I plan on finding Hugh, cutting his throat, and taking control of Hayle Construction.”
Bob takes a sharp breath and Gotthard merely grunts softly.
“You understand how that sounds to us, don’t you?” Bob asks and takes a drink, swallowing hard. “You can’t just say something like that.”
“It’s the truth. You know my reputation already, don’t you? Let’s not sit here and bullshit then. I want to control Hayle, which means I want the CEO position. Hugh is in my way. It’s that simple.”
“You’re talking about murder,” Bob whispers, turning pale.
I smile at the men. “No, not at all. I’m talking about removing an obstacle. Hugh’s fate is entirely in his own hands.”
Bob looks at Gotthard, who stares at me with his ice-like eyes. He doesn’t move, only remains still as a statue, back straight and hands folded in his lap. He puffs out his chest.
“We will not support you,” he says quietly. “The board will not support your bid, no matter what your name is. Hayle or not, you will never become the CEO of our company.”
I tilt my head, watching him. When he’s done, he deflates somewhat and sits back.
“I understand how these things work,” I say and stare into his eyes. To his credit, he stares back. “The board has a wide latitude in making these decisions, but my mother is the largest shareholder.”
“Fifteen percent only,” Bob says. “Not enough to override the board’s vote.”
“True, but fifteen percent is a lot. I wonder what would happen to the share price if I were to sell it all at once? Probably tank it, and I bet that would piss off your bosses.”
“How dare you,” Gotthard hisses. “You’re threatening us?”
“I know secrets about Hayle Construction, like how they installed asbestos boards back in 2002 by mistake in several schools all across the South, and how we’ve been dumping used toxic materials on reservation lands in an extremely shady predatory deal with the Native people in this grand state. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.”
Bob’s pale. Gotthard’s fuming. Tara’s looking from me to them and seems like she’s totally lost. This isn’t my arena and these tactics aren’t my preferred way to wage war, but I have a few tricks I can pull out when necessary, tricks I’ve learned from years of watching my father deftly handle the politics of his company and the blood of his crime syndicate. In the end, it’s all about people—finding out how they work, what they want, what motivates them, and pulling on those threads as hard as possible.
That’s how you get your enemies to dance to your tune.
“You wouldn’t destroy your own company simply to spite us,” Gotthard says, shaking his head rapidly. “You’re not that stupid.”
“I would and I will if you decide you want to stop me. You see, gentlemen, my fight right now is with Hugh, and soon he won’t be showing up to work anymore. When he’s gone, I expect the board to install me as the new CEO.”
“Never,” Gotthard says firmly. “You can burn the whole thing down. I won’t let some jumped-up street gangster like you push me around. I speak for all of Deutsche Bank when I say we will not be intimidated. I’d rather eat the loss.”
“I’m sorry, Kellen,” Bob says, his hand trembling slightly as he raises his glass to his lips. “The board just won’t support you no matter what you do.”
Rage rolls down my spine. These fucking bankers and hedge fund assholes. They think they own the world because they’ve bought it all like their money matters more than blood and power. They think they know better than someone like me, but they don’t know the first thing about suffering.
I know suffering. I was shaped in suffering, molded by it.
I live by suffering, and they’ll die by it.
“What if we found a way to give Kellen a say in the company without making him CEO?” Tara’s voice is like cool water on a summer day. I look at her curiously as she smiles at Bob and Gotthard. “Surely that would make a good compromise.”