“We have ample reserves, thanks to the sizeable profits we’ve been making over the years. So, that will easily cover the additional costs. Our employees have been working hard to make tons of money for us, Andrew. It’s only fair that we put some of that money back to improve their welfare,” I retorted. “The amendments to the budget, including these expenses are clearly detailed in the memorandums in front of you.”
I turned back to the other board members and continued, “As you all will see, this does not even make a dent in the profits.”
“Unlike your salary,” Andrew snickered.
Under the table, I balled my hands into fists, but decided to let the remark go. “As I was saying, this training space will allow our valued employees to attain their certification, which would improve their skills, and ultimately lead to more profits at a later stage.”
“So, this is a long-term investment that we, as the Board, should blindly trust you to make?” Andrew interjected once again.
I drew in a deep breath and smiled, with confidence. “I have never let you down before. Ever since I became CEO of Destiny Developments, I have tripled our revenue, and business has never been better. Our processing times for contracts are the fastest in the Pacific North West, and our reputation is impeccable. The public knows us, and we are respected in the communities we serve. So, now, what’s better than to personally train more agents and further our reach? In a business like ours, there is always more to learn, even if you’ve been in the business for a long time.”
“I agree with Isaac,” David, one of the senior board members said. “It would work really well, but we’ll have to review it with the financial department and the University’s dean.”
“Of course. I will arrange a meeting with the dean at his, and your, earliest convenience,” I offered.
David nodded and the other board members chimed in their approval as well, which concluded the meeting. Even though I’d got their approval to try my initiative out, this was not the way I had wanted the meeting to end. In reality, no real progress had been made, and it was all Andrew’s fault. He kept contradicting every single idea or proposal I had.
All these ideas would have made a positive change in the company and gained us more profits. But I knew that he wasn’t targeting the ideas, he was targeting me. He had wanted to make a fool of me in front of the Board, but he was not going to get away with it. Not this time.
He was the last one to leave, and as he was walking to the door, I called out to him. “Can I have a word, Andrew?”
Andrew turned around. “I’m kind of busy, Isaac.”
“Busy intercepting every idea I have to improve this company?” I asked, walking up to him.
He closed the conference room door and chuckled. “You have to understand, Isaac, this is business. I’m just thinking about what is best for the company, especially in these trying times.”
“Trying times? Destiny is at its peak, and I intend to keep it that way,” I told him.
“I didn’t mean trying times for the company. Trying times for you. The Board is concerned about the terms of the will, as they rightfully should be.”
“There is nothing to be concerned about,” I stated. “I know you want control of this company. That’s been clear as day to me ever since I took over from my uncle. You’ve been bitter that you weren’t made CEO, and rightfully so, because you didn’t deserve it in the first place. But let me tell you something, you can cut the bullshit because you are never getting control of this company. I will make sure of it.”
A slight panic overcame me as I remembered what Garrett had told me about confronting Andrew. I shouldn’t be threatening him, but he was threatening my career, and I wasn’t going to allow that.
Andrew smiled smugly and asked, “So, how is it going in the matter of getting that heir? You’re not considering adoption, are you? Because I don’t think that would be in the true spirit of the will. And even if you do, I’ll go to court to block it.”
Now, I smiled smugly and answered, “You can save yourself the court expense.”
Andrew nodded with a wide smile, which made me wonder whether he knew something. “I know you’re not dating anyone, since you’re such a workaholic. And clearly, you don’t have time for relationships either.”
“You don’t know me, Andrew.”
“But I do, Isaac. I’ve seen you through the years,” Andrew noted. “You’re just like Anthony in that regard. He worked too much, didn’t have time for the people he claimed were important to him.”
“Don’t you dare—”
“All I’m saying is, what’s going to happen when the baby is here? Are you still going to be a workaholic? What’s going to happen to that baby if you’re still CEO and always busy here at the office? Can you see why the Board is concerned?”
I swallowed at that thought. “There is nothing to be concerned about. I am handling it, and I will continue to do so.”
“Right. Stubborn as a bull,” Andrew uttered. “So, since you’re not adopting, that means that you’ve found yourself a surrogate, is that correct?”
“You know,” I said as I shifted my weight and gathered all my notes from the table. “I think I prefer to keep my personal life to myself.”
Without another word, I walked out of the conference room and into my office.
It infuriated me that Andrew was being such a dick, but I wouldn’t let him affect me negatively. Greta was pregnant, confirmed by Dr. Fowler a week ago, so things were on track, with a few months to spare.
When we were preparing for the egg retrieval, I had spent hours staring at the ceiling, hoping that it would work. I had worked too hard to lose the company. Obviously, I didn’t expect Greta to already be pregnant with my child, without any help from medical science. At least the child was conceived out of passion, and not clinically as I had planned. That had to count for something, right?
And I really did care about Greta, I always had. For now, that was all it would be. I wasn’t going to be anything else to her, as our arrangement was purely business, and I didn’t want to screw that up. We had only just started to speak again, as she’d forgiven my outrageous accusations against her for cheating on our deal. I was a dick, I knew that, and I didn’t want to screw things up. Not again.
The phone on my desk rang, and I reached out to answer it.
“I know you said no calls, sir, but a young woman has been incessantly calling, asking for you.”
Greta came to mind, and I scolded myself for telling Holly to hold all my calls. I started to panic. Was something wrong? Did something happen to her?
“Put the call through,” I said in urgency.
“Will do, sir.”
“Hey, Isaac.” It was Amber. “I’m sorry to bother you. Your assistant said that you were busy,” she continued.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting your call, not after how upset you were the last time we spoke.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry about that. It was a little emotionally overwhelming for me,” she apologized. “I wanted to know if you would like to join me for lunch today. I’m in the neighborhood and I’d love to swap more stories about Anthony.”
“I’d love to, but I am swamped at work right now. I’ve got a lot of back-to-back meetings with clients, and I won’t be able to get away.”
“That’s too bad. I was looking forward to spending some time with you. Maybe we could have dinner sometime, whenever you’re available.”
I sighed softly and ran my free hand through my hair. This woman was persistent, but I couldn’t allow her to distract me.
“You can even bring your surrogate along. I would love to lend her some perspective on who Anthony was and how he felt about family.”
“She already knows,” I said, but realized that telling Amber more about Greta would be incorrect. “I already told her,” I lied.
To be honest, I found Amber’s offer odd and intrusive. Maybe it was my imagination, but she seemed far too invested about
Uncle Anthony’s affairs. And why did she want to meet Greta? Usually, people would not want to get so close and personal with a surrogate. The last time I’d seen her, Amber’s behavior was confusing. One moment she was on the couch, crying about Uncle Anthony, and the next, she had wanted to kiss me. I mean, it was one thing to be vulnerable in a moment, but I wouldn’t go kissing the people I was with at that moment. I guess grief makes people do strange things, though I couldn’t understand why she’d want to kiss me.
It felt as if Amber was trying to weasel her way into my life, too quickly. I didn’t like that at all.
“Oh, okay,” she replied. “I just thought it’d be a good idea to meet the woman who’s having your baby. Maybe I was being a little presumptuous.”
“A little, yes,” I answered.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “But I’d love to have dinner with you sometime.”
“At the moment, my time is pretty limited. So I am going to have to politely decline.”
“Okay then,” she said with a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Have a great day.”
“You too,” I said and heard her disconnect the call.
I frowned as I reached for a pen and scribbled down on a notepad to look into Amber Lightheart and the connection she had had with Uncle Anthony. I wanted to know why she was so adamant to talk about my uncle and the sudden interest in Greta.
A knock on my office door caused me to look up. I muttered, “Come in.”
Three of our interns entered, followed by Richard, one of my best estate agents.
“Richard,” I greeted him and looked at the interns, each of whom was carrying a box of files. “Gentlemen,” I nodded at them.
“We come bearing gifts,” Richard said with a grin.
“More like a week’s worth of late nights it seems,” I laughed looking at the boxes.
“Same thing,” Richard chuckled. “You did ask for them.”
“Of course I did. Just put them over here.” I motioned to the edge of the desk and the three interns placed the boxes there.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” Richard said.
“Will do. Thanks, Richard.”
“And don’t drown yourself in work anymore than you already do,” Richard joked.
When Richard and the interns left my office, I looked at the boxes that were marked by years – one each for the three years before I became CEO of Destiny Developments. I had some digging to do, and it was not going to be easy. This extra work was indeed going to drown me.
16
Greta
I felt a bit of paranoia as I surveyed the area around me, filled with booths and people swarming around the conference center. I had given Isaac the slip when he was in the shower of our hotel room, but I knew that he would find me sooner or later. Isaac was, after all, smarter and more observant than most people gave him credit for.
This had all started when Isaac drove me home from our last doctor’s appointment. The baby was healthy, which both of us were incredibly happy for, so we were in a good mood. Throughout the appointment, I could clearly see the anxiety in Isaac’s eyes. He had tried his best to hide his worries from overwhelming him. Truthfully, I had hidden away my worries too, but it was nice to see that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
So, I figured that the drive back home was as good a time as any to tell Isaac about Seattle.
“I have to tell you something. There’s this thing I have to go to this weekend,” I said casually as I rolled down the window of his SUV, feeling the wind on my face.
“What thing?”
“It’s a tech conference,” I said. “I thought that it would be a good place for me to try and drum up some business, you know.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” he answered with a nod. “Do you need an escort while you’re there?”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“Where is it? Hibernia or Bently Reserve?” he asked.
I was surprised that he knew about the tech conferences in San Francisco. I swallowed and drew in a deep breath, trying to seem as cool and relaxed as possible. “It’s at Bell Harbor.”
“Seattle? Bell Harbor in Seattle?” he asked in exasperation.
“Yes,” I answered, staring out the window and avoiding eye contact with him.
“Oh, no. I am coming with you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be fine. I’ve gone to Seattle plenty of times, without you,” I defended.
“Yeah, but you weren’t pregnant then. With my baby.”
“You’re overreacting. I’ve already registered for the conference. Mad was supposed to come with me, but she had an emergency with her brother and had to leave town.”
Isaac breathed hard. “Why didn’t you tell me about this, Greta?” he asked.
“Because it has nothing to do with you. It’s business, and I—”
“I’m going with you.”
I pursed my lips and looked at him. “There is no reason for you to come. It’s just a software convention. You’d be so bored.”
“I don’t care. You have my kid inside you. I’m not letting you hare off to another city by yourself.”
“I’m not haring off,” I scoffed.
“I know you won’t want me there. But imagine this: what if something happens to you, or to the baby? I won’t be able to get to you in that case,” he expressed his concern.
I looked at him, trying my best to put on a confident face. “Nothing is going to go wrong, Isaac. Don’t you trust me?”
“It’s not about that, Greta. I do trust you. I just want to make sure that you two are safe at all times. I just don’t want you to be all alone in Seattle.”
I sighed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope,” he answered, and grinned at me with that perfect smile.
This was unfair because he knew that I couldn’t say no after he brought up the baby, not that I could help myself because that smile on his face was melting me. And the way his green eyes twinkled when he looked at me….
“Fine, you can come,” I gave in. I pointed my finger at him, “But promise not to embarrass me.”
“When have I ever embarrassed you?”
“I have a long list of all the times,” I muttered.
“What? Really?”
I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I fly out on Friday afternoon, so—”
“I’ll get my assistant to make all the arrangements, and get us upgraded to first class. There’s no way my child is flying in economy class.”
I narrowed my eyes. “It’s not even born yet and it’s already getting spoiled.”
However, I would eat my own words when I finally did fly first class for the first time in my life. It was another experience because I had never felt so pampered in my entire life. We were constantly showered with all sorts of drinks and food, blankets and warm towels. Though most of the time, I kept to myself, reading one of my favorite tech magazines. On the other hand, Isaac kept himself busy by listening to music and watching the in-flight movies.
Our hotel was across the road from the convention center, with a beautiful view of the harbor, and I wasn’t sure how Isaac had managed to book a two-bedroom suite on such short notice. The whole city would have been completely booked for the whole week. But I knew that Isaac knew a lot of people, and he was persistent. He wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.
There were perks to being rich, powerful, and insanely attractive, after all.
And that is how I was here, in the middle of Bell Harbor Convention Centre in Seattle, dressed in my favorite little black dress and trying my best to avoid Isaac, who may or may not be already looking for me here. He’d insisted that we get a two-bedroom suite, so that he could keep an eye on me, which was overkill, to be honest. I was a grown woman, for heaven’s sake. I hate to admit though, that a part of me felt reassured for having him there. I had read in my pregnancy book that the first twelve weeks were the most dangerous, during which most m
iscarriages happened. Most people made their pregnancy announcement public after 12 weeks have passed. Just in case.
I pouted as I felt a pang of jealousy for the people who made cute pregnancy announcements and participated in baby showers with all their families and friends. I knew that I would never get to do those things. At least not with this one.
I drew in a few deep breaths as I passed the different booths, wishing I had money to book my own one. Next, year, I promised myself.
In this crowd, I was feeling like a little fish in an ocean, engulfed by all the technology on display. All the popular companies were there, with large booths and impressive brochures and banners. There were even booths with multimedia displays, where visitors could try the interface.
I continued to walk past all the jazzy booths, displays, and presentations. It was truly astounding and enthralling to me, kind of like how normal women felt when they entered a clothing or make-up store. I loved technology so much that it felt like an integral part of me, just like any of my organs. Don’t get me wrong, I like fashion. But technology just attracted me much more than fashion could.
In my simple, body-hugging black dress and a pair of electric blue heels, I didn’t look like your usual coders, but more like the models showing off the displays. I received quite a number of stares as I walked past, but I was too enthralled in what was before me to acknowledge those people.
I approached the booth of a software provider and browsed through their pamphlet. This software sounded so boring. My program offered so much more, but theirs cost ten times more than mine did. What a rip-off!
A man was standing beside me, and the person managing the booth approached both of us. I stepped aside, motioning that the man beside me get the assistance he needs.
The man cleared his throat and asked, “Can your software integrate with my internal software?”
“No, it can’t, sir. But—”
“Thank you,” the man answered, turned, and simply walked away.
The business part of my brain quickly took control, and I ran after him as he walked in front of me.
“Excuse me, sir,” I called out and he turned to me with a frown. “I am so sorry if I am being a little forward, but I heard you asking about software integration.”
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