by Amy Valenti
“How did your meeting go, Sir?” she asked. They had decided that both of them had to act as though neither had any idea that anything had changed. Sophie had trouble adjusting, she couldn’t help but feel creeped out by the fact that she knew there was someone else listening in to their conversation, and every time she reminded herself that she had to act normally, Sophie found herself overanalyzing what exactly normal was.
She tried to block out of her head the fact that the man also knew exactly what they got up to behind closed doors, and most likely had video of it hidden away somewhere. That was the part that bothered Sophie the most, the fact that he had definitely seen them having sex in various positions all over his office. It felt like such a huge invasion of privacy that Sophie wanted to get her revenge on the man for her own reasons on top of Alex’s desire to keep a hold of his company, which obviously Sophie wanted as well. I wonder what Alex ever saw in the man. He must have been quite the charmer in his younger days.
“It was fine. Just the usual crap about how I got where I am, working hard, working smart, that sort of thing. Honestly, you buy three of those magazines and you have all the insight into the business world that you need, any more than that and you’re just wasting time not building your business. But hey, I always bring in a client or two with every issue I do, so why not?”
“I guess there’s never any of the real relevant, the real good info that gets divulged in those sorts of things?”
“Nah. For one thing, the people interviewing me are journalists who don’t understand how businesses are run in the first place, so they don’t know the questions to ask. And secondly, I’m not going to tell them my real secrets!”
“Hey, speaking of Sir, you know how you were telling me the other day about that conflict of interest you had with one of the new clients?”
“Yes, what of it?”
“Well, she called again and wanted to know whether you’ll take her money.”
Alex smiled. “Of course I’ll take her money! She’s ridiculously wealthy, and the conflict is between us, the SEC will never get a whiff of it.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea Sir? I mean sure, I’m just your assistant, but can’t the SEC make life hell for you and the company?”
“Definitely, they can. But don’t worry about it, it’ll be fine. They’ll never know unless someone tells them. I’d be more worried about someone in the company finding out; they could kick me off the board.”
With that, they moved on to other topics, dealing with regular, mundane office work until lunch, when Alex sent Sophie out to get him something from the local deli.
When she finally came back, two sandwiches in tow, Alex was changing into another suit. “What’s going on, Sir?” she asked.
“Johann Uhlmann is coming up to see me. I just got a phone call, he wants to meet, in private. You’re welcome to take the conference room to have your lunch.”
“Thank you Sir, do you know when you’ll be finished?”
“No, Sophie. Just check in with Janet every so often and see if I’m free, she’ll let you know.”
Sophie nodded and left, leaving Alex his sandwich on the desk and taking hers with her. She went down to the main conference room, the huge window with the large desk and at least a dozen chairs still looking big and imposing. Sometimes Sophie enjoyed sitting at the head of the table when she was here alone, pretending she was the big boss of a fashion magazine, but today she had other things to do.
Sophie immediately went over to the electronics section, which was really just a small cupboard in the corner of the room overflowing with wires. She set up the things she had purchased this morning, until finally, the big screen in front of her had varying shades of grey and black moving around slightly, noise coming from the speakers, and a small red light in the corner indicating that whatever was on the screen was being recorded. Good. Alex had his phone in his pocket, and everything he was saying could be heard loud and clear.
Sophie sat down at the head of the table with her sandwich, and watched at the conversation between the two business partners unfolded.
“Johann, how are you?” Alex asked, greeting the man with a wonderful enthusiasm. Damn, Alex is a good liar. I’d probably have trouble not punching the guy in the face, and it sounds like Alex has just given him a bear hug.
“Things aren’t good Alex” came Uhlmann’s reply, Sophie instantly recognizing the deep voice with the light German tilt. “I’ve got some bad information, and I came to see you about it as soon as I heard, I need to know whether or not it’s true.”
“Sit down, sit down. What’s it about?”
“It’s about one of your new clients.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes. I came to see you first because as you know, we’ve been friends for so long, I thought you deserved that at the very least.”
Sophie could hear the concern in Alex’s voice now. “What do you mean, I deserve that?”
Uhlmann sighed. “This isn’t good Alex. Someone came to me anonymously and told me about your new client, and that there’s a conflict of interest involved.”
Alex sighed. “Where did you hear that? Of course it isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it? My source is very, very trustworthy.”
“You can say that all you like Johann, but the fact is, your information is wrong.”
“Are you really sure that’s the story you’re going to keep telling?”
“Of course Johann, it’s the truth. We’ve been friends for years, don’t you believe me on this? Does this have something to do with that argument we had a few months back?”
“What? Of course not Alex. This is strictly business. This is my company too, my name on the door. I found out from a very reliable source that my business partner is putting all of that in jeopardy, and I came to give you a chance to give yourself up first, like a gentleman. You’re obviously not going to take this opportunity that I’m giving you, so I don’t know what else I can do.”
Sophie could feel Alex shaking his head as she bit into her sandwich once more. This was going exactly the way the two of them had planned, and she smiled to herself. They had set the bait, and Johann Uhlmann was falling right into it.
“What’s your source, Johann?” Alex finally asked. If your source is so damned trustworthy, unlike your own business partner, I want to know who it is.
Uhlmann laughed, that disgusting, arrogant laugh that Sophie hated. “My source is your biggest weakness, Alex. It’s you! You’re the source! I’ve had your office bugged for months, and I’ll deny it absolutely if you tell anybody, but you admitted to your own assistant this morning that there was a conflict of interest. Of course, I’ll tell the board my source needs to stay anonymous, but it certainly won’t take long to find out the conflict. After all, with you and a woman, I’m sure I can guess what it is without difficulty.”
Alex’s voice had turned to stone. “You absolutely wouldn’t dare. I’m not letting you take over this company by bugging my God damned office, Uhlmann. You were always sneaky, you always liked tricks to get where you wanted to be in life, but fuck you, I’m not letting you take my company like this.”
“It’s not up to you anymore Alex. No one will believe you if you tell them I’ve bugged your office. Who the hell would? You’d sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist, compared to the person who has proof of your wrongdoings. You have to understand, this has nothing to do with you as a person. This is entirely because of how much I care about the company. In fact, me coming over here to give you a chance to bow out gracefully shows just how much I care about you, despite our differences.”
“Get out of my office” Alex replied.
“Alright, but you have to understand Alex, I can’t simply let this go.”
“Get out.”
Without another word, Johann Ulhmann left the office, just as Sophie was taking the last bite of her salami on rye. Sophie got up and went back to the cupboard, turning off the recording, and re
moving the USB drive that now had the entire thing recorded.
I hope I get to be present at the meeting when this gets used, that’s definitely something I want to see Sophie thought to herself as she slipped the drive into her pocket. She waited five minutes, then went back to the office.
Still pretending nothing had happened, a tiny nod from Sophie was the confirmation Alex was looking for, confirmation from her that she had successfully recorded the conversation. They continued on with their day, and Sophie found her heart was pounding faster than normal, hoping that this plan was going to work. Sophie had always hated bullies, and that’s what she considered Johann Uhlmann to be. A bully, plain and simple. When she picked up the phone that afternoon and was told that an emergency meeting of the board of directors had been scheduled for the next morning, Sophie knew the next part of the plan was going to roll into action. Johann Ulhmann had done exactly as Sophie and Alex suspected he would, and planned on publically humiliating Alex.
When they finally left the office and made it out into the fresh air, Alex suggested they order take-away and make sure everything was ready for their meeting the next day. Sitting in his office eating the best Thai food Sophie had ever tasted, she realized that despite the fact that she worked more hours than ever, it felt as though they simply flew past whenever she was with Alex.
“Have you finished setting up the recording for tomorrow” he asked her, sitting on the floor with papers streamed around him.
“Almost, Sir. I have four files for you. They’re each going to be labelled with what part of the conversation they are. It should be pretty obvious, so you can use the appropriate one whenever. The final file, which I’ve titled full, is the entire recording, in case any of the board members want to hear it.”
“That’s fantastic, thank you Sophie! One thing worries me though, it’s that perhaps Ulhmann won’t tell them when he doesn’t find the woman who’s going to be my potential client.”
“I don’t know Sir, I think the fact that he convened the meeting so quickly says he will. After all, he can’t hold a meeting of the members of the board in an emergency like this and have absolutely nothing to say. They’re coming in from all over the country for this meeting.”
“True enough Sophie, you’re probably correct. I hate being in these situations, it absolutely infuriates me when there are things happening that I can’t control. I know my entire business is based on stocks and investments, but I can read the market, I can read the data, and I know all about it. This is one of those things that I’ve had to do plenty of times, and it’s part of the reason why I’ve been so successful, but it doesn’t stop me hating it.”
Sophie came over and sat down next to him. He was opening his heart to her, sharing his fears for the future, and there was something so endearing about it that Sophie couldn’t help but come and comfort him, her heartstrings being tugged by the pain she wished she could make disappear.
Sophie took Alex’s hands in hers. “It’ll be fine Sir. As you say, you’ve done this plenty of times before, and you’ve always come out on top. We’re ready for this guy, and you’re going to destroy him in that meeting tomorrow. We’re 110% ready for anything he wants to bring to the table.”
Alex smiled. “You’re right, of course, Sophie. Darling, sweet Sophie. You’re the best part of my life” he told her, kissing her softly on the lips. Sophie closed her eyes, the sweet tingle of his lips on hers sending fire coursing through her body, her nether regions on fire. Alex pulled away from her, seeing the passion and desire in her eyes. “Not tonight, Sophie. I’ve decided to keep you celibate for a few days, I want to celebrate a very special occasion tomorrow, and I want you to be begging for it.”
The tingles in Sophie’s nether regions got stronger, as her disappointment grew. They went to bed soon afterwards, neither of them falling asleep immediately, both worrying about the events the following day was to bring.
Once again, Sophie was woken by the alarm before the crack of dawn. The lack of conversation between her and Alex showed the tension they both felt. Neither of them had anything to eat, only a coffee from the espresso machine. They drank in silence, before loading up into the car. Finally, as they stood in front of the building, Alex spoke. “Ready?” he asked.
Sophie nodded. “Yup. We’re going to get him today, Sir” she told him, giving his hand a quick squeeze that she hoped felt reassuring, but that she felt probably seemed panicky.
The meeting took place early, at 8am everyone was in the conference room. Sophie had pastries and coffee ready, doing the work of an assistant well. She was going to be attending the meeting today, Alex had told her he wanted her there to see what would happen, especially after all of the work she’d put in to make this day happen.
Now as she sat in the chair, Sophie realized she felt tiny. The other men around the table were all quite a bit older, Alex Carey was easily the youngest of the lot. They all wore suits that cost more than Sophie’s first car, and all had the stare of the wizened, older businessman who had been around the block and hadn’t gotten to this boardroom by being a nice guy. At least none of them have even looked at me, except for my breasts Sophie thought to herself as she self consciously doodled in her notebook, pretending to be hard at work writing notes.
Johann Ulhmann had a smug look on his face at the end of the table, his blonde hair gelled back. Wow, I was sure he couldn’t possibly look like more of a douchebag, but there you go Sophie thought as she looked at his new hairstyle, not impressed. He started the meeting, inviting everyone to sit down. One of the men to Sophie’s right started off the questions: “Why are we here, Ulhmann? You better have a good reason, I was supposed to spend the day in Dallas, not New York.” Sophie assumed this must be one of Alex’s friends; she knew that the six other board members were split evenly: three were friends of Alex, three were friends of Ulhmann.
“Of course, John, I have a reason. I’m not the type to call a hasty meeting. In fact, this meeting is of the utmost importance, and will be having a major impact on the way the company is run in the future.”
“Well, get to it then” came the reply from the surly man named John.
“Of course. This information has to do with a conflict of interest by one of our very own board members.”
At this mention, several of the men around the room looked around.
“Who?” someone asked.
“Alex Carey.”
Everyone turned to look at the man sitting next to Sophie, who had a small smile on his face. Then, almost all at once, they all turned back to Johann Ulhmann.
“I know, I was as shocked as the rest of you. But, I have it on good authority, from a very trustworthy source, that Alex Carey is taking on a client with whom he has a conflict of interest. Obviously you all know I wouldn’t be coming here if it weren’t for the fact that this affects the business, as Alex and I have been friends for over half our lives. I know how serious these allegations are, and I also know I have to make choices that sometimes put my business in front of my friends.”
All of a sudden, Alex stood up. “That’s correct, gentlemen. In fact, I did speak about a supposed conflict of interest, with my assistant here, Sophie, in the privacy of my office yesterday morning. If I can direct your attention to the projector screen, we’ll find out exactly how my good friend got this information.”
The men all turned their heads towards the projector. The screen was suddenly lit up with the same shades of grey of Alex’s pants the day before. Sophie could hardly contain a smile, watching Johann Ulhmann’s face get redder and redder as he heard his own words, spoken the day before:
“You’re the source! I’ve had your office bugged for months!”
When Alex finally turned off the video, you could hear a pin drop. Sophie held her breath, fearful that her breathing was too loud. No one spoke, until finally, Johann Ulhmann, his face the colour of a beet, finally broke the silence.
“That’s fucking bullshit Carey. How dare you
do that to me?”
“What? I just did exactly the same thing as you did to me! I had a source, a source who told me, and gave me proof that you had bugged my office, to get proof that I was doing something that would get me kicked off the board. So, I planted the story about this client, who doesn’t even exist by the way, and a supposed conflict of interest. You came over a few hours later, and I knew then that it was true.”
“You’re a piece of shit, Alex Carey. I hope you fucking know that.” Johann’s accent got stronger and stronger the angrier he got. “I’m fucking leaving, I don’t have to take these accusations from you.”
And with that, Johann Ulhmann stormed out of the room, everyone looking at Alex.
Always the leader, Alex took control, of his own company and its board members. “Gentlemen, in light of the proof I’ve put forward here, I’d like to put forth a motion in favor of removing Johann Ulhmann as one of the board of directors of this company.”
There wasn’t a single vote against this move.
“I’d also like to put to a vote removing Johann Ulhmann from his post at this company. This will be more complicated, we will have to run a PR campaign and eventually remove his name from the firm as well, but it is the right move to make in light of the fact that he is not only unstable, but actively conspired against me.”
Once again, there wasn’t a single vote against this move.
“Well gentlemen, we’ve made some major changes here today. I’d like for us all to get back to our regular lives. As the CEO of the company I will deal with the PR storm that’s about to have to come from this, as well as the hiring of someone else to replace Ulhmann.”
Ten minutes later, after Alex shook hands with all of the other board members, he and Sophie were headed back to his office. “That worked just about as well as we could have expected, Sir” Sophie told him, no longer hiding the beaming smile on her face.
“Absolutely. I’m so relieved. I was worried up until the point where the video started playing and I saw how angry he was. Now comes the big time. I have to go to legal and have them change a bunch of documents, as well as let Ulhmann know that he’s no longer a part of this company. He’ll keep his shares in it, but he doesn’t have a job with us anymore. Then I have to go talk to PR, and figure out how to spin this. It’s going to be a long day Sophie.”