Laura pats Conrad gently on the back. “Indeed. We don’t want the red bulls’ eye on our backs to get even bigger. I think it’s the right decision for Wesley to resign from The Strangers,” she says.
Diana holds Wesley’s hand and smiles. “Good luck in your new job,” she says.
All four set of eyes turn toward Conrad.
The big man leans back on his chair and sighs. “If you really want that job, I can’t force you to stick around with us peons,” he says dejectedly.
“It’s an important job. And someone needs to be around to help the new CEO deal with the merger and to ensure that the servers for the World of Eternia will continue to stay up,” Wesley replies. “There have been rumors that Eternia Gaming Inc. will shut down WoE and focus strictly on becoming a hardware maker. Part of my job as VP of Player Relations is to convince current WoE players that the new company is committed to keep the game online, or else players will start canceling their subscriptions and put WoE in a perilous position financially,” he explains.
“Well, Mark is a very lucky guy to have you watching his back,” Conrad replies and reluctantly holds out his hand. When Wesley reciprocates for a firm handshake, the big man adds, “Good luck to you. It’s been an honor having you lead us.”
“It was a pleasure to spend my time with all of you,” Wesley replies as he looks around the table one last time. “And now it’s time for me to pass the torch-to Conrad. He is now the new leader of The Strangers. Don’t give him a hard time, please.”
“I’ll try,” Lucious mutters, earning another slap on the arm from Diana.
Conrad begins to open his mouth to decline the promotion, but the look from Wesley quickly shuts him down.
“You’re a natural born leader,” Laura says. “It’s time to step up to the plate.”
Conrad looks into Wesley’s eyes and makes a promise. “I will.”
Epilogue
Charles slowly enters the bar and walks over to join Richard’s table at the far corner of the room.
“Have you come to a decision to join my company?” Richard asks casually.
Charles holds out his hand. “I’m in,” he announces.
As Richard seals the deal with a gentleman’s handshake, the two men grin at each other like sharks. There are plenty of opportunities in the future to boot the other man out of the fifty-fifty partnership. And afterwards, those old backstabbers at Eternia Gaming Inc. will get some payback.
THE END
About the Author
Calling himself a "literary chameleon," the author is an experimental writer who enjoys the intellectual challenge of writing in a variety of lengths, from flash fiction stories to short stories to novellas to full length novels. Fiction genres he has written in include science fiction, urban, fantasy, romance, and horror. His latest work is a short story titled, “The Ghost on the Street Corner.” He has been published on OneFortyFiction.com
Antony W.F. Chow is a longtime resident in the hometown of the New York Mets MLB team, and currently recovering from the heartbreak of his team’s recent World Series loss. He is best known for his online article on spotting counterfeit Japanese anime figures. He is also known as the author of Broken Hearted: A 9/11 Story. An unauthorized webcomic version is available on Google Play Store. He may be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PuppyChowNyc
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