Page 3 of Insufferable Boss

"Yeah, he's been wasting away his time since then, but my dad hasn't had the heart to cut him off."

She laughed. "But you've said that you might be the bigger disappointment to your dad since at least Dylan finished college while you did not."

I sighed as she pointed this out.

"You're right. That's why I worked so hard, but at the same time, it kept me away from him because I always felt that no matter how well I did, he wouldn't get over that disappointment.

Anyway, let's not talk about these anymore. I'm running late."

"When does your flight leave again?"

"10 am."

"Hm, we have four hours more," she yawned.

She continued helping to select and fold items into my suitcase. However, my mind remained in turmoil, so I stopped and laid down beside her on the bed.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I need to clear my head," I said. "It's too cloudy. I feel like I'm not thinking straight."

"Alright," she said, giving me her full attention. "What exactly is the problem?"

I briefly went silent as I tried to sort through my thoughts, but she came up with her own topic before I could.

"Does your cloudiness have anything to do with that... person who's going to be in the picture?"

"Who?" I asked.

"The CEO," she replied, and I frowned at her reminder, and then I sighed.

"Kane goddamn motherfucking Lazarus. He’s one of the reasons this move is making me anxious. He was the one who told me about the offer to buy me out, but he can’t exactly be trusted.”

“You’ve called him a slime and sleaze ball every single time you’ve mentioned him over the past few months. Are you still not going to tell me why you detest him so much? I mean, has he done anything so far to cheat you beyond the fact that he offered to completely buy you out?”

“Also, did he make the same offer to your brother? Why didn’t he take it?”

“I don't know if he made the same offer to Dylan, but even if he did, why would Dylan sell?” I asked. “Dylan’s lazy, but he’s not an idiot. Staying connected to the company assures he keeps his wealth and access to resources. If he leaves with a buyout, then he has to manage it himself and grow it. Why the fuck would he want to do that when he can keep doing the bare minimum and ride on the backs of others?”

“Okay, well, he doesn’t sound like he’s going to be your ally in this.”

“I’m not going there to fight,” I said. “I’m just there to consider my options with Standard Rock. My father gave almost his whole life to building that, so it’s the least I can do.”

She nodded. “That’s great and all, but can we please go back to Kane? You two knew each other when you were younger, right? I mean, his father owned the company along with yours, so there must have been meetups and gatherings or something?”

I didn’t respond.

“Lena,” she called. “I need to know why he, amongst everyone else, grates on you. I mean, his sister owns equity, and you’ve mentioned that she’s nasty. Then you’re not close to your brother. In all of these, Kane seems to be neutral and maybe even an advocate in your favor, yet you can’t stand even the mention of his name.”

“It’s not that bad,” I said, and she laughed.

“I’ll hold up a mirror so you can see how your expression changes when he’s brought up. Like now.”

She began to search for a mirror in the bedside drawer, and I shook my head.

“You’re so fucking nosy.”

“Of course I am. You’re a generally peaceful person, so it makes no sense. There has to be something else that makes you antagonistic towards him, and I need to know what it is.”

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