Page 6 of Nanny for the Bossy Billionaire

I take a deep breath, stand up from my chair, and make my way to the conference room.

I can’t stand any of this. These meetings are never productive. At least never for me. The only thing that’s going to happen is I’m going to waste my time and come out frustrated.

I walk into the conference room, look around, and I am surprised to see that every last board member is in attendance.

Even Ernest Packard. The man is ancient. So ancient that the last time I saw him I was pretty sure if he attempted movement he would crumble into a pile of dust.

This must be serious.

“Reid, we’re so glad you could find time in your busy schedule for us,” Eve says as she stands up, which doesn’t make much of a difference to her height. “Please, take a seat.”

I don’t need her to offer me a seat in my own company.

I have half the mind to tell her just that, but I hold my tongue.

“So, what’s this all about?” I ask as I lower myself into the chair at the head of the table and across from Eve.

“Well, we’ve called you here today to discuss the trajectory of the company.” Eve sits down as she tucks an invisible strand of gray hair behind her ear. Why? I don’t know, considering the amount of hairspray it must’ve taken to keep her puffy helmet of a hairstyle in place.

“Not this again…” I throw my hands up.

“Yes, this again.”

“I have told all of you a million and one times thatHarris Techwill not be venturing into home appliances. Yes, I understand that there is money to be made there. But it goes against our brand image. We are known for being cutting-edge. For innovating.”

The board members begin glancing at each other from across the table.

I continue.

“We invent. We do not merchandise. The second we start selling washing machines and dishwashers we will end up confusing our customers who will run to any one of our competitors and it won’t even win us any new business.”

Eve blinks at me. “And like we have told you, also a million and one times, a company needs to diversify if it wants to survive.” She adjusts her tweed jacket. “Businesses need to be like sharks. They need to keep moving, otherwise they die. I know you think this is all about money, but it isn’t. We want to do this to keep our heads above water. I know we aren’t struggling right now, but I don’t think we should wait until we are before we make moves.”

I massage my temples. “I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation. I am the CEO of this company. What I say goes. I appreciate and respect your input, but I have decided, and I’ve already told you, that we aren’t going to be doing this.”

“You are only the CEO because we allow you to be.” She smirks as her hand goes to the pearls at her neck and she toys with them. “If you aren’t willing to play ball then we will get someone who is.”

“Are you threatening me?” I ask.

“No, I am not threatening you. I am simply letting you know that the board isn’t going to let your need for technological purism kill this company. We have invested a lot into this and we won’t let it go down the drain.”

“Well, at the risk of sounding overconfident, you can’t oust me even if you wanted to, Eve. You don’t have the votes.”

She smiles but says nothing.

I climb to my feet. “Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I have a company to run.”

I walk back to my office quicker than I normally would. The second I have privacy, I whip my phone out and call Clive Meskill, my cofounder and the COO ofHarris Tech. When we went public, he refused to be co-CEOs because he wanted to focus on the work instead of politicking. He’s always been more of a people person than I could ever hope to be, so he manages the day-to-day affairs of the company.

“Hey Reid,” he answers. “What’s up?”

“Are you in the building?” I ask, my voice gruff.

“You sound serious. What’s wrong?”

“I always sound serious.”

“Yes, but this is different. What’s going on?”

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