LOGINShare
Chapter 48—Colin and Dungi
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Colin was mad. He knew he had been upstaged by Abalido and Quinaeros—or as he perceived it, by Gina. He didn't know how, but he could guess that there was some intervention in the process that changed it from requiring unanimity to deciding by voting. The meeting with the board of directors was moved to the following week, and he had until the end of that week to cast his vote. Adrian had already fallen in line and cast his vote on the same day Abram announced his decision to change the mechanism. Now he was the only one standing against the choice of Abalido and Quinaeros—but at one against four, it had no impact, he would just be the odd one out. But if he fell in line as Adrian did, Abram—thus Gina—would have their unanimity after all. Damn you, Gina!
A pickle. A dilemma for the crooked-hearted.
&
Related chapters
THE BOSS Chapter 49—Outmaneuvered
Colin didn't go back home. He went back to his office. At 7 PM, the floor was still buzzing with activity. The lights in his office, however, had been turned off and his secretary had gone home. He entered his room and didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He needed to think about the information he just got from Dungi. He had to make a quick decision, he had only a little time until he had to cast his vote. The information was not enough to blackmail, he thought. But probably enough to stir trouble, and if it hid a more sinister plot, something was bound to come out, and he just had to be ready to catch and cash it out. He took big steps out of his room toward the CEO's large suite. He knew that Abram would usually still be in his office unless he had a dinner meeting. He would wind his day down with his dri
THE BOSS Chapter 50—At Private Club
At 8 PM, Abram called The Boss, and was truly sorry but, "Could we meet tonight? You, Gina and myself?" To which The Boss said yes. He called Gina and Rhonda and asked them to meet him and Abram at the club on the top floor of his apartment building. He requested their presence without the courtesy of asking or pretending to be sorry. The club was another posh establishment in The Boss' apartment building, accepting only the residents and their guests. Every seating section was private, surrounded by tall shelves of books and bottles of the finest liquors and malts, as well as water and canned drinks in a refrigerator whose door disguised it as part of the lower shelves. When patrons occupied a section, a butler would be assigned to attend to them. First, he would bring an assortment of cheeses and finger foods, and serve them their first round of drinks, then he would disappear until he was called
THE BOSS Chapter 51—What Were You Thinking?
"He has been nothing but warm to you, at least that's what I observe," Rhonda protested when Gina told her The Boss had been giving her the cold shoulder. "But even if you were right, why do you think that is?" "I am clueless." "Has anything been going on between you two that you haven't told me?" Rhonda looked at her friend as she drove them back from the meeting at the private club. "Because, in retrospect, I think The Boss somehow felt you left him—not in the professional sense as I have initially thought." "Oh, he did? Tell me." "It was when I accompanied him—you know, the karaoke night with the Doxxan people."
THE BOSS Chapter 52—He Shipped Me Off
Gina took the bread from the toaster, put them onto two plates, spooned the scrambled eggs onto the bread. She brought the plates to the dining table and placed one in front of Rhonda and another opposite her. The smell of the toasted bread and the sight of the creamy eggs were tantalizing to the empty morning stomach. She went back behind the counter and fetched two tall glasses from the cabinet, took out a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator, and poured it into the two glasses. She put the glasses down on the table and sat across from Rhonda. Breakfast was served. "I truly thought it wouldn't matter to him. He was always composed; he certainly could see Roy meant nothing. It was purely business, a job. Oh, goodness! It was a job done for him! I needed to entertain Roy, I had delayed my promise to go out
THE BOSS Chapter 53—Linda
"What do you need to know?" Linda asked as they walked toward the restaurant. The three gorgeous girls were more than Rocco's heart could bear. The handsome young man was quick to take charge of the outside table he knew the girls would pick. As he greeted them good morning, Linda touched his arm. Obviously, they knew each other well beyond the jovial customer-server relationship, Gina thought. The server decided he knew what they wanted: three cappuccinos and three butter croissants to start with. The girls nodded to confirm. He disappeared quickly with their order, sensing the girls wanted to be left alone immediately. For a moment, his deftness reminded Gina and Rhonda of the butler's quality of service last night at The Boss' private club.&
THE BOSS Chapter 54—Pestered
Layla had been waiting for Gina and followed her into her office as she arrived. "Raymond was looking for you." Oh, shoot! I forgot I report to Raymond, too, now. She recalled her question to her boss that night when he wanted Raymond to take her under his wings: "I don't report to you anymore?" There was a sting of sadness that came with that remembrance. "What does he want?" But then she realized it was a moot question. Raymond never said what he wanted and people didn't dare to ask. "Ok, I will go see him right away." "Wait, I have the contract back
THE BOSS Chapter 55—Pete
Pete was the most elusive of all the Trelleco's C-level officers. The money man—as his vendors referred him to—had many fronts before people could meet him. He operated through proxies of competent underlings, leaving little room for people to request meeting him personally. Anyone wanting to negotiate with him must first go through this walls of bureaucracy—they were usually exhausted before they got near him. By this way, he retained control and always had the last say—all achieved without a sweat. "Ah! My delicious Gina," Pete said as he entered the private room they reserved at Le Fonte, "and luscious Rhonda." Ugh, what gross misconduct, but at least he delivers his end of every bargain and he's never actually dangerous, Gina let him get away with his lecherous greeting and gav
THE BOSS Chapter 56—Quid Pro Quo
Rhonda took off her blazer, and hung it over the back of her chair. She smiled at Pete, welcoming his lewd stare on her body, covered by a dark blue bustier, showing off her angular shoulders, bared her arms and most of her upper chest, with a deep cleavage that gave hope of its depth. With her exotic voice, she asked, "How can you help, Pete?" Pete knew they were playing a game. He and Gina had established the rules and played the game several times. From him, Gina gained what she needed to conduct business with Trelleco, and in return, he had some personal favor done for him. Gina was so exquisite that being seen with her was a reward on its own, so in some occasions she had let him take her to gathering amongst friends outside of work as one form of favors.
Latest chapter
THE BOSS Chapter 73—Anew
She looked out the window. It was raining outside. The plane was still taxiing, rolling slowly on the taxiway. This was it, the last time she would be in the land of her hometown for a long time. She had planned to go back no sooner than six months. If she was to start anew, then today should be her past, tomorrow should be her today, and yesterday should not be revisited too soon. She would not think about the people she left. Not her friends, nor those who were once her clients back in Abalido and Quinaeros—like Roy. Not even Rhonda, the last person she said goodbye to just an hour ago at the airport. And not The Boss—especially not him. She had to make room in her mind for new people, new acquaintances, and new kinds of relationships. She took out the card from her purse—Rhonda had saved
THE BOSS Chapter 72—Hapless
She was not sure how to enjoy the glitz, attention, and admiration she received on the night of the lavish farewell party The Boss threw for her. She would leave for Jakarta as a Trelleconian the following day, and cease to call Georg her boss—and start calling Abram her boss, instead. Something she had never thought would happen. It was surreal—and not something she enjoyed at all. The Boss was her boss now and always—that stood no more. She saw he had spared no expense for her. He closed down the entire Eggs and Flowers for the party, and had them fill the room up with more flowers than what it already had. He made sure that not only the entire management of Abalido and Quinaeros were there that night, but also people who were dear to her. Rocco was there, and a couple of clients she had had cl
THE BOSS Chapter 71—Farewell
"So, you’re finally letting her go," Abram said, seated comfortably, gnawing a cigar, with a drink in his hand—The Boss was doing the same. The Boss said, "I have to," from the mentally opposite side. "It was her decision." He brought to mind the day following their talk the evening after the celebratory party; she had called him to say she was seriously considering the offer, and needed a week to think—and thus his turbulent state of mind. She got back to him yesterday to confirm. Crushed—the seconds that passed tortured him all throughout the night. He met with Abram the following day—this day—to let him know. He forced himself to come to terms with her decision: she would take Abram's job offer and leave him.
THE BOSS Chapter 70—I'll Leave
It was a glorious day for all of them. The Trelleco board had met and came out to support the Indonesian project, and appointed Abalido and Quinaeros Inc. as their consulting partner. The decision was unanimous—Abram got the unity he wanted not only at the management, but also at the board levels. Kronos had withdrawn their bid the day before when Aerlman—as Trelleco's COO—requested a clear list of key resources to be included in their counterproposal—as he did Abalido and Quinaeros. He acted on the advice Gina gave through The Boss. Surely enough that would have disclosed Kronos' intention to supply inadequate resources if they had not pulled out. To the people who knew, Gina was the star of the private party that the two companies jointly threw together that evening. With the latest thing
THE BOSS Chapter 69—One Last Pebble
The meeting with Waylor was in some place out of town, about twenty miles off Seattle—in Bothell. The diner restaurant was nondescript, and the patrons were scarce. She walked to the end of the room and recognized the other gentleman Abram had introduced her to during breakfast at Eggs and Flowers. He was not Waylor. He was casually dressed, fitting the atmosphere of the place—so was Gina. Waylor had told her what to expect from the place, "We would just be two suburbanites having dinner," his text to her said. He stood up as she approached, and formally introduced himself and they shook hands, unlike two intimate suburbanites. "I'm sorry Mr. Waylor cannot make it in the last minute but insisted this meeting with you
THE BOSS Chapter 68—I Can't Let Her Go
What The Boss did not want to reveal, was not a mystery hard to unravel. The four of them got together on the same evening after Gina met The Boss. She had expected something that would take much longer with him, but otherwise considered what had transpired during lunch as progress. Still in her jubilant mood, Gina told Rhonda, Linda and Rocco what she had learned at her lunch with him: The Boss' hands were everywhere in their affair on and before that fateful night. "Still, he wouldn't let me know how." Except in the case of Roy, which Gina knew from Roy himself—The Boss gave him a pass that was valid on the day their plan was to be executed. Cunning—the girls realized how shrewd their boss was. Rhonda shared what sh
THE BOSS Chapter 67—Revelation
The Sun peered now and then over the grey condensed water vapor. The wind slipped through between the buildings and trees and was quick to wipe out the warmth off the skin. One could see the windswept hair of the women as they went in and out of the shops, and smell the wafted scent of perfume as they passed one another. The afternoon was cloudy and cold. Her heart was joyous. The concierge at Eggs and Flowers was cheerful to see her back. He was quick to greet and usher her to her dining room. He left her at the doorway of the private room. "He's been waiting for you, Miss," he said, smiling before walking away. He stood from his seat the moment she appeared, and walked toward her
THE BOSS Chapter 66—What is Love
The vigor of their lovemaking had sated them and made them hungry. Roy thought it would be nice if they could have their after-sex meal together, and Gina liked the idea. She would not come to lunch with her boss that hungry, either. As she was whipping something up in the kitchen for them to eat, from the other side of the kitchen countertop he said, "By the way, I’ve informed your boss of the unfortunate thing that happened to you last night." What? She stopped beating the eggs. He continued, unaware of her surprise, "He did not say much, but from the few questions he asked I could hear his immense anger through his quivering vo
THE BOSS Chapter 65—Gina's Heart
She observed the good-looking man lying beside her. Roy was still fast asleep. He brought her to his place following her sweet promise of a night together —although she had offered her place, too. That was an odd choice to make, she thought. For a man who was after sex, he should have preferred the female counterpart's place instead, so he could leave when he wished —usually a dent on the pillows was all that was left as the evidence of his ever being there, or maybe fleetingly longer if there was a last-minute subsequent loving-act. She had thought the vain Roy was merely interested in sex and scoring a conquest. She was ok with that, liked it even. It would be a tango. Now, after the night of lovemaking, she caught a different vibe from him. Though not in clear terms, she was sure he was in love with her.&
