Page 30 of 10 Days to Ruin

I prefer it that way. Silence allows me to sift through the gravel of my thoughts and dig out the gold. Both in this company and in the darker, bloodier business that lies beneath it, I’m the brains of the operation. If I’m not sharp as CEO, stocks plummet. If my head’s not in the game aspakhan…

The costs get much, much higher.

So I can’t afford to split my focus. Not now, not ever. That’s a luxury for my employees downstairs, the ones who have no clue what kind of organization they’re truly feeding. I, on the other hand, have to keep my eye on the ball at all times. That means no distractions.

And I won’t let Ariel become a distraction.

Ten days.Fuck that. For a job like this, I don’t need ten days. I don’t even need five.

I just need one.

“Feliks,” I growl into the intercom, “I want you to send something. ASAP.”

“Sure thing,” Feliks replies. “Name it.”

“Flowers.”

He wolf-whistles. “Sounds serious. Any preferences for the arrangement?”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Romantic stuff, then.”

I shake my head.Romanceisn’t what I’m after here—just the illusion of it. Grand gestures will get me halfway there. As for the other half…

I’ll just pick up where I left off in that bathroom.

“Oh, and boss?” Feliks’s voice pops back on the intercom.

“Yes?”

“They’re here.”

I don’t glance up from my desk. “Send them in.”

Seconds later, two figures enter: one nervous, the other calm. Feliks brings up the rear, preventing any escapes.

Not that they’d ever get that far.

“Brian, Peter. Sit.”

The two men obey.

Feliks shuts the door and stations himself in front of it, arms folded across his chest.

“Gentlemen.” I pick up the folder on top of my keyboard. “I believe you know this man.”

Inside the folder is a single picture. I push it forward, letting the two employees take a good, hard look.

“Well?” I snap. “Speak.”

“I don’t know him, sir,” Peter answers confidently, if quickly.

“I-I don’t, either,” Brian stammers. “Never seen him.”

Pathetic.If this is the caliber of spies my rivals send me, it’s no wonder they haven’t managed to touch me yet. “He’s Prabhat Gupta, our chief competitor. His company just launched a drug we’ve been developing for the past five years. He beat us to the market by six months.” I push two small pink pills in front of them. “This is ours. This is theirs.”

They both lean over the pills. Peter takes one in hand, holds it up to the light. Brian’s eyes, however, don’t seem to know where to settle. “That’s… terrible. They must have one hell of an R&D depart?—”

---