Tara
The boardroom of Hayle Construction is surprisingly modern. The table’s long and thin with a massive screen at one end and a bank of windows overlooking downtown Phoenix along the side. The glass walls look out into the cubicles, though nobody is working today on a Saturday.
Kellen stands looking outside. His hands are clasped behind his back and I see the sharp slope of his shoulders. He’s anxious but trying to hide it. I stand at his side and put a hand on his arm. “You okay?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“How many times my parents sat in this room and made decisions affecting thousands of people. And I wonder how many times I’ll do it.”
“As many as you have to. You can handle this. Your mother agrees, since she signed over all her shares to you.” He nods and turns his head. I kiss him on the cheek and he smiles. “You got this. I’m with you.”
“I know you are.” He hugs me against him and we look out at the city as the board filters into the room.
I don’t recognize any of them except for Bob Ramon. He catches my eye and winks, grinning, and gestures to the empty chair next to him. It takes me a second to realize what he means: Gotthard is missing.
I laugh softly and he beams like a little kid telling a joke.
“Thank you all for coming on short notice.” Kellen stands at the head of the table, frowning at the group. “Do we have everyone on the line as well?”
“We’re here, Kellen,” a voice says from the phone, an older woman.
“I’m ready,” another voice says, a man this time.
“All right then.” Kellen glances toward me. I sit down in a chair away from the table on the edges of the room, not a participant but an observer. “This meeting of the board is now in session. I’m going to skip all the bylaws bullshit and the official crap today, but in the future, we’ll go through all that and have proper minutes. Nothing will change in that regard.”
“What will change, Kellen?” A gray-haired woman leans forward. She’s got dark skin and dark eyes and she’s wearing a nice dark gray suit. “My understanding is you now own twenty-five percent.”
“That’s right, all thanks to Deutsche Bank’s generous deal.”
“I hear they made out all right on that,” the female voice on the phone says.
“Deutsche Bank always makes out all right,” Bob says and gets a laugh from everyone.
Kellen nods slowly. “I called you all here to say that Hugh will no longer be CEO of Hayle Construction, effective immediately. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head last night, may God rest his soul.”
The chill that falls over the room is palpable. Even the people over the phone seem like they’re on edge. Kellen smiles bigger and I get the feeling he likes making these people uncomfortable, like it’s a pleasure to scare the shit out of them.
I can’t say I mind it. The board is made up of the wealthy and the elite, and I’m neither of those things. If I’ve learned anything in my time working for the Hayle family, it’s that power distorts the world and success bends perception. It’s hard to see with clarity when everything is infected by your own massive ego.
“We will find a new CEO soon. In the meantime, I want you all to discuss and chose an interim choice, someone that can steer the ship until a permanent replacement is found. I will not be involved in those discussions, since I don’t know the company as well as you all do.” He clears his throat and leans forward. “But this will be the last decision I recuse myself from. With my stake in the company, I have a strong voting position and I plan on being very active. The days of this board getting little to no oversight from the Hayle family are over.”
More silence. Even Bob seems in his place now. Finally, the gray-haired woman leans forward.
“I look forward to working with you, Kellen.” She gives him a tight, sly smile, and Kellen nods back.
“My purpose here is finished. Discuss the next CEO and send me your choice in the next few hours. I’m excited to move forward with this new venture and I hope we all get along.” Kellen’s smile is massive and terrifying, and without any more discussion, he leaves the room.
I follow. The board is utterly stunned and the silence is thick. As the door shuts behind me, I hear Bob Ramon say, “Well, that was one hell of an introduction to our new chairman, wouldn’t you all say?”
I catch up with Kellen at the end of the hall, away from the conference room near the emergency exit door. He leans against the wall and sighs, head tilted back. I stop in front of him and take his hand in mine and lean forward to kiss his cheek. He pulls me in and buries his mouth against my lips, and he holds me there in a long, deep kiss.
We break apart after ten beats of my heart and he’s smiling. “How’d that go?”
“I think you terrified them.”
“Good. I’m guessing they’ll agree with anything I say for a few months. After that, it’ll be back to playing the game.”