Page 20 of The Billion Dollar Bet

“You almost sound businesslike,” Barry’s voice came over the line.

“What can I do for you Barry? I have a meeting in a few minutes.”

“Carter’s gone.”

Devin didn’t quite comprehend. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

“His mother said he flew to London last night. Said he wasn’t coming back.”

“Look, we’ll talk later when you can tell me everything. I’m going to be late for that meeting.”

“Meet me after work.”

“I want to see Cassie after work,” he told his friend. “I’ll call you after I see her.”

“Alright, we’ll chat later.”

The meeting was held in one of the conference rooms and Devin was unable to concentrate on what was being said. He hardly touched his food as he was unable to stop thinking about Cassie. Since they’d been dating, he was always able to reach her on the phone. Their relationship was one of a kind and he’d come to appreciate their daily conversations whether it was morning or night.

“Devin, what do you think?” someone was saying.

He looked across the table at one of the stake-holders. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Expanding our European division will be crucial for our global outreach. What are your thoughts?”

With a nod he glanced at the digital notebook screen which was mounted on a stand in from of him. The lunch was over and the table cleared. To his right was a bottle of water which he took a sip from.

“I agree. There has been a seventeen point five percent growth average over the last twenty consecutive quarters.”

“I must say, you have grown a lot over the last few weeks. You sound very much like the executive we all knew you were meant to be.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hendricks.”

“Bill,” the man said. “We are all equals here.”

A female voice chimed in. “Your grandfather would be proud.”

Devin glanced across the long twenty four seater conference table at the one who spoke. She was an elderly woman with graying hair.

“Thanks Mrs. Paulson.”

The meeting continued with the market study for Europe and how best they could approach an expansion for Sampell Industries. He wanted to do well so that his grandfather would indeed be proud. More than that, he needed to do this for himself, to make himself a better man. After coming to the office for close to a month, Devin came to the realization that he had been wasting his time before this. His life had been worthless up to this point.

Now he was responsible for hundreds of employees. The thought of so many families dependent on his success was somewhat daunting, yet fulfilling. The meeting lasted over three hours. Although he was anxious for it to be over, he stayed and learned as much as he could from the elders who had been in the industry a long time.

After the meeting ended, Devin’s first task was to call Cassie again. Before he dialed, he checked the messages and noted that they were still undelivered. That had him worried. He dialed and waited, only to be diverted to voicemail without the phone ringing even once.

There were any number of reasons that his messages were undelivered or his calls were not going through. Pushing aside his concerns, he raced towards her home immediately after the adjournment of the meeting.

Late he arrived when Devin arrived at Cassie’s, her car was parked in her driveway. As he passed it on his way to the front door, he touched the hood, taking note that it was cold. His stomach flipped over as a feeling of dread gripped him. Rushing to the front door, he pressed the buzzer. After five minutes, there was no answer. With his heart drumming out of control and an icy feeling in his spine, he rang the doorbell again.

A few more minutes passed and still no answer. He was about to try the door to see if it was unlocked when it opened and she stood there, her hair disheveled and her eyes bloodshot.

“What do you want?” she asked, her voice gravelly.

“Are you sick, my love?” he asked, stepping closer. “I have been trying to reach you for days.”

She held her hand up and stepped back. “Don’t you come any closer. In fact, Devil McCarthy. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

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