Chapter 64
JEREMIAH
The plush carpeting on the fortieth floor dipped beneath my feet as I stepped off the elevator, turning to wave at the people still standing inside. “You all have a good day.”
Doors closing on their confused expressions, I kept the friendly smile on my face and practically whistled on my way to my office. There was a deathly quiet on the floor, with the employees all cowering behind computers or cubicle dividers.
I could feel their eyes following me, but no one said a word. Not even the winningly flirtatious floor receptionist greeted me as I walked past her desk. She managed a tight smile, but then her eyes darted in the direction of my office and she schooled her features, dropping her gaze to her computer screen.
The tension in the office was thick, the air heavy with trepidation and outright fear. They were looking at me like I was walking the plank, certain to plummet to my death within the next several minutes.
I didn’t let it get to me. I had a plan that I believed in, and I was going to stick to it. Catching the eyes of a few of the employees as I passed, I smiled and greeted them. More than one of them frowned when they noticed what I was wearing.
Soon, they would all understand. I grinned wider, swiping my tag to gain access to the inner sanctum where my office was. The light flashed green with my name and employee number appearing on the electronic screen. Not for long.
In another hour, there was little doubt in my mind that my access card would be disconnected from all systems and wouldn’t be flashing green with an employee number ever again. The thought fueled me, carrying me into my office where Neil sat waiting.
Surprise crossed his features when he saw the smile on my face and my casual attire. “Thanks again for the heads up this morning, bro. I owe you one.”
“You owe me so many,” Neil corrected, standing up to follow me to Stephanie’s office when I breezed by him. “Can we talk?”
“We’re about to,” I said, bursting through the interior door to find a girl who couldn’t have been a day older than I was sitting at Stephanie’s desk. I hoped to all hell she wasn’t my father’s new plaything. That would be vile. And completely up his alley. For all the noise he made about me and my secretary, he was far from innocent himself.
The girl looked startled by my sudden appearance, her hand flying to her chest and her cheeks flushing. “Mr. Williams, I uh. I.”
I gave her a break, knowing it would be the only one she would get while working here. “I know what you have to do. If you would be so kind as to do it, please. Call my father, let him know I’m here and ready to see him.”
“Of course.” She grabbed the phone and made the call. I could tell when she reached MJ by the pure terror that flashed in her eyes. “Mr. Williams has arrived and is ready to… Yes. I’ll tell him.”
“I’m to wait here?” I guessed, raising a brow as I leaned with a hip against the door.
She nodded. “Yes, sir. You can have a seat right there.”
I tilted my head, shaking it at the same time. “No, thank you. You can tell my father when he gets here I’m out front. By the doors just outside the sanctum.”
The girl’s mouth opened and closed. Whatever words she was trying to formulate failed her. Finally, she just nodded. “I’ll tell him, sir, but it really would be best if you waited here.”
“I don’t agree,” I said, heading to her outer door. It gave me the heebie-jeebies to see another girl sitting behind Stephanie’s desk. It hadn’t been hers for all that long, but in a way, it felt like it always had been.
I turned my back on the woman and left her gaping after me. Poor thing. I didn’t want to get her in trouble, but if I was going out of this company, I was doing it my way. Where all the employees could see and hear exactly what was going on.
I wasn’t leaving under a cloud of rumor and suspicion, and I sure as shit wasn’t making this easy on the old man. Not to be a dick, but because it was about time he learned he couldn’t treat people the way he did.
Myself included.
Not under any illusion it would get him to change his ways, I just wanted him to have to face the consequences of what he was about to do head-on. And to do that, I needed those he ruled over with his iron first to be a part of this discussion he wanted to have with me.
The opaque sliding doors leading to the inner sanctum slid open soundlessly, and my father strode out between them, his eyes like laser points on mine. They drifted for only a second for him to survey our captivated audience, and they were captivated.
No one looked at us outrightly, but from the way they were seated at their keyboards that had stopped clattering, I knew we had the attention of everybody in the room. My father’s eyes snapped back to mine, and a steely grin spread across his thin lips.
“Jeremiah, may I speak with you privately for a minute please.” He phrased it as a request, but it was an order. No doubt about it.
I ignored it. “No, I’m fine where we are. We can talk right here.”
He scoffed, hiding it by pretending to cough into a tightly clenched fist. “I asked you to wait in your office.”
“You did,” I said. “I didn’t feel like being in there. Out here is so much better, don’t you think?”