Page 31 of Evil Queen

Nathan

Ihad counted well over fifty or sixty deep breaths that I’d taken as I sat in my car outside of my father’s company. There were so many more reasons than I could count on one hand why I didn’t want to go inside, but delaying the inevitable was getting me nowhere.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Nikita said, and her voice calmed me in an instant. “Whether or not it was right or fair, you gave up your childhood to prepare for this. You’re probably gonna be more comfortable in there than you are in the halls of our high school.”

I nodded. The tie around my neck felt like it was strangling me, so I hooked my finger in it and loosened it a little, but the feeling didn’t subside. Nikita handed me the briefcase I’d taken from my dad’s office and then put her hand on my face.

“You spent all night last night putting your plans together,” she said. “You know this business like the back of your hand. You got this.”

Only because Nikita was there with me, I felt like I could manage what was coming up. I took my final deep breath, leaned in and kissed her, and then got out of the car. Nikita climbed out the other side, and we both looked at the front of the hundred-floor skyscraper in the center of downtown Postings.

“I don’t remember this building being this big,” I said. Loche Corporation Building was emblazoned on the front in bright gold letters. “I was younger the last time I saw it, but it feels bigger.”

“It’s because you’re nervous, but you’ll be fine.” Nikita pointed across the bustling downtown street toward a smaller but still imposing, green steel building. “That’s where my therapist is. My appointment is in about twenty minutes, and then I’ll meet you there after yours.”

“Okay.” I leaned in and gave her one more kiss, and then with a tap on my back for good luck, Nikita shoved me toward the building, and I walked through the sliding glass doors.

It was a Sunday, so at least the building was totally empty apart from the few people who came to work while the place was secluded. The entire building belonged to my family, but only the top twenty floors were designated for our specific company, Loche Corporation Enterprises. On top of these floors, the 101st floor was a penthouse office that belonged to my father. He was the only one who could get into the office, and unless he was present, no one could go in or out. I, of course, knew where his keys were, including the electronic fob that would open the elevator on the 101st floor. He often held board meetings in his office since it was the only place that he felt he could be safe and secure with such matters.

I got off the first elevator I had to take, which only went up to floor eighty so that no one could get into the company without passing through reception. All the board members were waiting in the lobby, and several of them glared at me as I approached, but Arden stood up and thrust out his hand.

“Mr. Loche, thank you for finally meeting with us.”

I took his hand and shook it. “Of course, but I still think you could have done more without me. As evidenced by the way several of your cohorts are glaring at me,” I started, and everyone who was looking at me at the time looked away, “it shouldn’t be down to an eighteen-year-old to make your decisions for you.”

Arden let out a long, deep sigh. “I assure you that if we had any other choice, we would have taken it. Please, let us get to a private area, and we can discuss this further. I assume you can’t get into your father’s office, so we can head to a conference room.”

Though there was no reason for me to be snarky, I still rolled my eyes as I held up my keys. “I can get in. Let’s go.”

Another elevator set against the back wall after passing through reception gave LCE employees access to the company-specific floors. We climbed in, I used the electric fob to activate the button for the 101st floor, and then we rode it up. When the doors parted, we started to climb off, but we all froze in place.

Hanging from the windows in the wall directly opposite the elevator was a large banner reading Congratulations. My stomach twisted in anger. Even when he was nowhere to be found, my father was playing with me like I was a chess piece, not his son.

“What’s this?” Arden asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

I stepped into the room, which had a huge board table in the center and my father’s imposing obsidian desk on the other side between the table and the windows. Only after taking a minute to walk over and rip the banner down off the wall did I go over to the table and take a seat where my father normally sat. Arden walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a handful of placards, then turned and looked at me.

“What?” I asked.

“These are the name cards for all the members of the board,” he said.

I shrugged. “Okay?”

“There’s one here for you, but I’m getting the sense this will either surprise or alarm you, so I just wanted to bring your attention to it.”

“Why would it surprise me?” Arden sifted through the placards, pulled one out, and handed it to me. It had my name chiseled into a gold plate that was sitting in an easel for display. Under my name were the words Vice President of Loche Corporation Enterprises. “What is this?”

Arden handed out the rest of the placards, putting two seemingly unused ones on the table, and then took his seat, setting his name up in front of himself, along with a small gavel. “Well, I think that needs to be the first topic of discussion today, but first.” He pressed the button on a tape recorder and then folded his hands together. “I’m calling this meeting to order at eleven o’clock.” He read the members of the meeting and then said, “Due to extenuating circumstances, no agenda has been presented for today’s meeting. We will handle items as needed and vote to approve them per item. All those in favor?” Everyone affirmed, so Arden moved on. “The first order of business to discuss is Loche Corporation Enterprises’ current hierarchy.”

One of the other board members, a woman with long black hair and dark brown skin named Christine, raised her hand. “I move to approve the first agenda item.”

Another, a man with peach skin, a buzz cut, and glasses who was named Portland, raised his hand as well. “Seconded.”

“So moved,” Arden said. “We’ll proceed.” He looked across at me. “Sir, your placard indicates that you are a Vice President of LCE because, quite simply, you are.”

“When did that happen?” I asked.

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