Chapter Four

Steven King reclined in his seat, closed his eyes and placed his fatigued feet on the plush mahogany table in front of him.  One reason he had chosen Alden King’s new headquarters to overlook the beach was so that the constant sloshing of the waves would calm him in times like this.

The journey to acquiring the Kazoku Inc account had been riddled with more stress and with anxiety than he had had to face in a long time.

After countless meetings and several pitch documents were presented, Steven had been stumped on why the deal was yet to come through. Until he had heard from his grapevine contacts that the owner of Kazoku Inc was only willing to do business with people who were married. At first, Steven had been livid about that kind of hogwash. How did being unmarried affect his ability to develop compelling ads and campaigns for the Kazoku Inc brands? Steven had been willing to abandon the whole process until his grandfather had laughed in his face and told him that he hadn't expected much from him anyway. His grandfather was constantly berating his father and Steven. Alden Kings was something of a legend and he made sure that everyone who came within six feet of him found out. In Alden's mind, the only one who could run the agency and expand it was himself, never mind that he was now 85 years old and bedridden as a result of his chronic diabetes and high blood pressure. However, everytime Steven and his father James went to see Alden, they had to withstand his caustic comments. In Alden’s mind, Steven running the company was a  disaster waiting to happen.

“Hello, Sir? Do I come back?” Marie, his secretary asked as she came into his office, cradling some files in her hands.

“What's this about?” He asked, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“Err, the lawyers are here with the divorce papers.”

“Great, send them in. How's the party prep going?”

Steven opened his eyes now and saw worry etched on Marie's face which she quickly tried to hide with a smile.

“Great, Sir. We’ll be ready.” Marie said. Steven nodded even though he was pretty sure he had heard Marie in a shouting match with the event team lead, Ellen, for mixing up the VIP menu.

However, she knew better than to bother him with such details.

“Will that be all, Sir?” Marie asked, shifting from one foot to another.

“Yes. Please call that woman here as soon as possible so we can sign these papers and get this over with.”

“Right, yes Sir.” Marie said and then went back to her desk.

Steven frowned as Zed Norton, Head of Strategy, walked into his office. Zed was always on his neck to approve one initiative or another which in most cases Steven couldn't see the point of.

“Zed? Do we have a meeting?”

“Look, Steven, it will only take a minute. I just found out some trouble is brewing.”

“Trouble? On which account?” Steven asked, sitting up now.

“The Cheggo Foods brand. Apparently, the competition has launched a campaign quite similar to their new campaign which was due to launch next week.”

“Oh, for Pete’ sake. Zed. Where are we on finding out who's doing all these leaks? Do I need to fire the whole bloody team to get results?” Steven could feel the vein in his neck popping out but he could scarcely care right now. These occurrences were becoming too frequent. The last thing the Alden Kings Group needed now was reputation issues.

“We’re actively working on it. Our last trail led nowhere but I'm pretty sure we’ll find the mole soon. Right now, damage control measures are in place. Just thought of letting you know.” Zed said before heading out and leaving Steven in the company of his riotous thoughts.

“Marie! Get in here.” Steven yelled into the phone. Thirty seconds later, Marie walked into his office.

“Where are the damn lawyers?”

“I saw you with Zed, so I asked them to wait in the hall.” She explained.

“Look, send them in and get that woman here ASAP!”

“Yes, Steven.” Marie said and nearly bolted out of the office.

In the ten years that Marie had worked for him, there had been several times Alden had thought she was going to quit. He had a reputation after all, he knew she and the other staff called him Godzilla. Not that he cared, anyway as he simply didn't have time to carry the weight of other people's opinions. However, she hadn't quit and had stuck it out with him, and Steven secretly admired her for it. Not that he was ever going to admit it to her. It was Marie who had discreetly arranged for the secret marriage and found the “perfect” candidate even if everything about Sandra had rubbed him the wrong way from the get-go. Why was she so chirpy?

“Hello, Steven. The lawyers.” Marie said as she ushered two men in navy blue suits to sit opposite him.

“The Woman?” He asked.

“Err, on her way here. It was quite short notice as she had only gotten back from Paris…” Marie broke off as she looked at his face.

Twenty minutes later, Sandra Rakes walked into his office and sat across from him. He listened as the lawyers explained every detail of the arrangement and got her signature. They then produced an NDA which she was also made to sign. Steven watched her features to see signs of unwillingness and there were none. This was probably all in a day's work for her. Marie, on the other hand, looked somewhat teary. Steven knew there was a connection between the two women.

“We’re all done now. Thank you, Miss Rakes. Expect to receive the outstanding settlement in five working days.”

“Okay.” Sandra said and gathered her things to leave. She stole a glance at Steven who pretended not to be looking. To be honest, he was simply glad the whole affair was over and he could go back to his life.

As Marie walked Sandra out of his office, he thought about how hard Marie had worked to pull this off. Perhaps, she deserved a day off. No need to drag her to the party. She barely enjoyed those things anyway, all she did was stand in a corner in her nondescript black dress, with no makeup and sip glasses of Sherry. No doubt he knew she'd be more than happy to sit this one out.