Page 5 of Marrying My Orc Boss

“Gentlemen, we have a problem,” I tell them calmly.

“Yeah, an anger management problem,” Will says under his breath. The others chuckle.

“I intend to get to the bottom of this and will guide this company through these troubled times,” I add.

“You bet your ass, or we’ll be guiding yours out the door,” Pete smugly says.

“Look, Draker, I’m going to put my balls out on the table here,” Will says. “You’re a great guy, hardworking, smart, and reasonably clean for an orc, but do you think you’re really up for this?”

“Will’s right, Draker. We take the risk at a time like this of you going full orc on us,” Pete adds to more nods.

“Yeah, I mean, look at that incident over at Tool and Son when that orc went batshit at a meeting and threw the big Tool at the window. The little Tool is still trying to get the company back to where it was,” Seth says.

And there it is. I knew it would come down to this at some stage, but I’ll not go down without a fight. Metaphorically, of course.

“I miss the big Tool, he was a great guy. The little Tool’s an asshole,” Pete adds. The others nod in agreement.

“I’m not that kind of orc,” I tell them.

“No one is saying you are. We're just being cautious. We have a wholesome image to uphold, and orcs, well, just ain’t wholesome,” Seth says.

It’s then Janice bursts through the door, her face white as a ghost.

“Ever heard of knocking, dollface?” Seth tells her.

Janice ignores him. “Mr. Tvojan, sir, the media are outside. The front of the building is crawling with them.”

They all rush toward the window.

“Jesus H, it’s a circus,” Pete shouts. The others gasp as they peer downward through the window to the street below.

“Someone get Bob Adams on the phone!” Pete says.

“What the hell is Adams going to do?” Seth replies.

“He has contacts!” Pete screams at Seth.

“Contacts, my ass,” Seth replies.

“You’ve gone too far, Blackwater, once again!” Pete says, his face turning red.

“What you going do, Poindexter?” Seth says, squaring up to him.

I look at Janice and shake my head. She smiles and leaves the room. I gather the file from the desk, place it under my arm, and leave the board members to it. If someone goes out that window, it won’t be me who throws them.

I have press waiting and intend to face this storm head-on. I walk over to my office.

“Janice, can I see you for a second?” I ask as I pass her very tidy desk.

You see, there’s something not right about all this. When I first became CEO, the line was a mess. Different departments were all running in different directions. I changed all that and turned it into a well-oiled machine with checks and balances along the line. For something like this to have happened, it would have needed to be done intentionally.

I walk into my office, and Janice quickly follows.

“Close the door,” I tell her, and she does.

I trust Janice. She’s loyal and hardworking. She's not the prettiest of pictures, but she has a kind heart and a good soul.

“Awful business, Mr. Tvojan,” she says.

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