Page 4 of Marrying My Orc Boss

“Oh, I will, Jeff. You can bet your bottom dollar about that.”

“That’s the spirit. Stick it to her,” the anchor adds enthusiastically.

“Yes, sir.” Ben gives a smile and an enthusiastic salute.

“So Ben, what’s going on down there? It's looking pretty whacky as far as we can see. What can you tell us?” the news anchor asks.

“Well, Jeff, as you can see, a lot is going on down here, but I managed to get some inside info,” Ben says proudly.

“What a guy!” Jeff tells him.

“Thanks, Jeff,” Ben replies. “So it appears that one of the snack-based products being tested has turned people green.”

“Yes, we know that, Ben,” Jeff says. “Can you tell us anything else?”

“Well, that’s pretty much it, Jeff,” Ben says.

“Anyone dead?” Jeff pushes him.

“Not yet, but if they do keel over, our viewers will be the first to know,” Ben says with a big smile.

“Thanks, Ben. What a guy, what a shirt,” Jeff says with a roll of his eyes.

I turn off the TV and put my head in my hands. This is a nightmare. Green? How the hell is it turning people green? I need answers. I grab my jacket, fix myself, and with calm authority, I march through the office floor to the boardroom.

I can feel the eyes on me. My staff knows that handling a crisis like this, if not done correctly, will result in my head being on the chopping board.

I enter the boardroom to complete pandemonium. The board members are at each other's throats as they shout and scream at each other.

“This is your problem, Kevin. It has to be the packaging,” Will Johnson shouts at Kevin Major.

“Bullshit, Will, it’s those cheap avocados from your buddy's company you made us agree to,” Kevin shouts back.

“You take that back!”

As the anger rises in me, I know I have to keep my orc self in check. So I ignore them as I take my position at the head of the table, sit, and turn my attention to the file that Janice has left for me.

I look at the title, ‘Mextastic Guacamole Potato Chips,’ and open the file. I carefully peruse each stage from conception to creation, noting the various companies involved, the origins of the ingredients, the storage recommendations, and the plans for the first public feedback testing, which, of course, was today at the GMAX Center.

“Well, Drakar, aren’t you going to say anything?” Pete Farquar says with a snarl.

“Give the damn orc a minute, will you, Pete?” Seth Blackwater shouts.

“Fuck you, Blackwater,” Pete screams at him.

“Oh, really, that’s what your wife wants to do!” Seth replies.

“Why I oughta–!” Pete raises from his seat.

I can’t take it any longer, so I raise my hand and crash it loudly on the table. They all jump and gaze at me with panic. I watch their eyes dart at each other and know what they are thinking and expecting. They believe the big, bad orc is going to lose it and rip them apart.

Well, I’ve got news for them. I am not that sort of orc.

“Easy there, big fella,” Pete says.

“Yeah, that type of behavior is unprofessional,” Seth adds.

There are nods of agreement from the others.

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