Chapter 5

It was nice to have a friend who cared about me. Jenna confirmed that by letting me sleep on her sofa until I found a place to rent. I would have to stretch my budget and wait for my new salary at the end of the month to have a decent sum. It wasn’t that I was terrible with finances, but rather that I had been paying off some of my mother’s debts, and my salary wasn’t very high.

At the very least, I had a place to stay for the next few nights that wasn’t a hotel. That was reassuring. I was very, very calm about my life and my place in the universe. I convinced myself of that in the elevator at work. I took a deep breath and held my briefcase tightly, as if it would be stolen at any moment.

"Are you thinking about that stranger from last night again?" Jenna asked, amused.

"No. I’m thinking that today will be a good day," I said with optimism. The kind I felt deep down inside.

"I don’t want to ruin your positivity, but didn’t the lobby feel a bit off?" Jenna said, worried.

"What was strange about the lobby? Are you saying it was because it was empty?" I asked.

"This elevator as well. It’s time to clock in, so we should be packed in here like cattle with our colleagues," Jenna continued.

I checked the time on my wristwatch; it was 8:58 AM, and our clock-in time was 9:00 AM. We were on time, so I dismissed Jenna’s concerns.

"You’re being paranoid. This will be a calm and peaceful day. It’ll be especially peaceful, I can feel it. And I have good intuition, you know."

I knew my friend didn’t trust my intuition by the way she furrowed her brow, though she didn’t reply. Still, when we reached my floor, I was more than ready to say goodbye to her with a big, optimistic smile, but as the doors opened, my smile fell.

There was absolutely no peace on my floor. There was chaos instead—absolute chaos.

The phones on the desks kept ringing. Half my colleagues were on their cell phones negotiating with tense looks, and the other half were running around agitated.

"What’s going on here?" I asked.

"How can you not know what’s going on? What planet are you on, for God’s sake?" Amy scolded me, carrying a bunch of folders in her arms.

I wasn’t liked by Amy. She was one of the many people who didn’t like me at this company. It was ironic, as I actually liked her and thought she was fun until I overheard her badmouthing me behind my back.

"She’s on the same planet as me because I don’t know what’s happening either," Jenna revealed, joining me and taking in the morning uproar.

"I could have sympathy for you, Jenna, because the marketing team is jumping out of windows, but I have more sympathy for you, Marianne," Amy handed me the stack of folders, almost dropping them because of their weight. "You’ll be part of the meeting with the executives."

"Why do they want me in an executive meeting? To sort the folders and serve coffee?" I questioned, confused.

I had never been allowed to attend one of those meetings before. At most, I would only be present by arranging chairs and serving the bosses coffee or handing out bottles of water.

"You’re the agent who sold the Ortega building, the one in ruins that no one could find a buyer for. Remember, dear? The one that got you promoted a couple of days ago?" Amy informed me disdainfully.

I remembered it as she said it. I had indeed accomplished a feat at this company. Selling the unsellable was a task that took many many months of market research. But I did it. My chest swelled with pride, and I straightened my back. Now they were calling me to an executive meeting.

"Yes, that was me," I said, excited.

"It was you," Jenna patted my shoulder with a sweet smile that I returned.

"Yes, yes, kiss each other later. We have work to do, so move it," Amy scolded us before leaving.

"What’s her problem?" I complained, watching her walk away.

"She’s a bitter person. Don’t let her bother you," Jenna stepped back into the elevator. "Wish me luck. I’ll try not to jump out of the window like our BFF just warned me."

We both laughed and went our separate ways. I headed to the boardroom with the black folders. As I entered, the atmosphere was as tense as it was outside. Here, people were gathered in pairs or trios, whispering. Only about three shareholders were sitting, chatting on their cell phones.

I said good morning and started arranging the folders, one per seat, aligning them perfectly. During my task, I noticed that my father had not yet arrived. This was unusual; he usually arrived early for almost everything. Except for my birthdays, when he didn’t even show up.

"Thank you, Mary, you’re as kind as ever," Dominic thanked me.

Dominic Moore was one of the company’s oldest shareholders and also a friend of my father’s. He was one of the seated shareholders, and I feared he looked worried and nervous. He was a gentle and well-mannered grandfather figure to me.

"Are you alright? Would you like me to bring you something to drink? Any pills?" I asked, leaning toward him.

"No tea or pill will prepare me for what’s coming," he joked, though I could sense his anxiety.

"What’s coming?" I asked again. No one had told me anything about this yet.

"Didn’t you hear yet?" he said, surprised. "Your father probably kept it from you to avoid alarming you. He worries a lot about you; he still thinks you’re a little girl."

I had to pretend that what this man was saying was true when it wasn’t. Serge didn’t worry about me. I’d swear that if I died tomorrow, he wouldn’t care. However, appearances had to be maintained. Dominic let go of the faint smile he had, revealing the truth.

"Your father has decided to sell the majority of his shares to an external investor, not to Andrew."

The news slammed into me like a car at full speed. I couldn’t fathom such a revelation. So the hallway gossip was true. I struggled to process it, even as I saw Andrew himself entering the room with a foul look on his face. His furious gaze turned to me, which I ignored, and I decided to sit next to Dominic.

Still, to make me even more nervous, Andrew sat on my other side. He didn’t greet me, and I didn’t greet him. I opened the folder in front of me to read its contents, but my nerves prevented me from actually reading anything.

If Dad hadn’t sold the shares to Andrew, who on earth had he sold them to? The question echoed in my head, and I was unable to think of anything else.

"I hope you’re happy. Your father has gone back on his word and discarded me," Andrew commented quietly.

"Your words are a bit misplaced, Mr. Wells. If we’re talking about discarding, you’re an expert in that field. I don’t know why you’re surprised," I recited in my professional tone.

"Now you’re going to speak to me formally?" he mocked.

"I don’t see the need to be informal either; after all, you’ll be my future brother-in-law, and I’d like to keep minimal contact with you."

Andrew looked quite annoyed with my attitude, though he held back because of where we were.

"Your underwear is still stored next to mine in the closet. Stop talking to me like that and tell me where you went last night," he demanded to know.

In an absurd twist of events, I had to look at him to mock him. I had the urge to tell him I had given myself to another man and enjoyed being in his arms. That I had let him into my body and he made me experience a pleasure he’d never be able to provide. Andrew’s waiting, gifts, and efforts to win me over didn’t help him. "His reward" had gone to someone else. I just smiled sweetly and went back to looking at the folder I wasn’t reading.

"What’s with that smile? What’s so funny?" he asked impatiently.

"This morning, I informed Sofia of my new address so she could pack and send my belongings as soon as possible," I mentioned the call I had with his cleaning lady.

"Oh, really? I’ve changed my mind. I won’t be sending you anything," he responded like the most butthurt person in history. "If anything happens to your things, it will be due to your bad luck."

"Damage my belongings, and you can be sure I’ll flush your family’s engagement ring down the toilet," I threatened him in one go.

He was startled but remained angry. We began a duel of resentful looks that had to end when my father entered the boardroom. With that, everyone else sat down. He took the head of the table, and the only remaining free seat was one to his right.

"Fairmount Corporation is, and continues to be, the main project of my life. My greatest dream, the culmination of endless sleepless nights and efforts beyond comprehension for those who do not share my mission," my father said. "I recognize that change brought confusion and fear; I was an example of that. But I believe it is necessary to move forward into the future in the right hands."

The "right hands" part particularly bothered Andrew. I might have been exaggerating, but I felt like his body temperature had risen significantly. He was burning with contained rage. He had lost the great treasure he fought so hard for, for which he had courted both of the owner’s daughters. He had failed miserably.

Knowing that Andrew would no longer be the majority shareholder of this company ignited a new hope within me. If Andrew wasn’t going to be the boss, it meant I wouldn’t have to look for another job. I could stay here continuing down my path. Even if the buyer was an external investor who wasn’t prejudiced against me, I could earn my place in their eyes by working hard.

"Therefore, I decided to leave the majority of my shares in the hands of our passage to the future. Lucius, please come here," my father invited, signaling with his hand to the man who had entered the office unnoticed.

The man stood next to my father. His smile, demeanor, and that name echoed in my mind. My pulse slowed, and my body temperature must have dropped to rock bottom.

The new head of this company was the man I had slept with last night.