Page 21 of Tiebreaker

“But I'm not sure… that's a lot to take in,” I say, controlling my breathing as best as I can. That number still flashes on the screen. That money is mine.

And Vincent said yearly. So that times… my thoughts trail off. I can’t even calculate it.

“I’m practically seeing the dollar signs in her eyes,” Everett says, “are you sure there's not some way around this? I'm fine to do a buyout.“ Lansing gives him a look of derision. It's so painful and strong, it could peel the paint off of a car.

“There's no way around this. Either all four come together to run the company or it dissolves and is sold off for assets and parts. I can't explain why your parents thought that was necessary. And to be honest, it’s a little upsetting considering all the work I've put in building this organization. But that's where we are.” He looks at me straight on.

“You can walk away. You won't get your money. The only way for you to get that is if you stay on to control your 1% share.”

Everett smiles, like a viper.

“Don’t look so pained. You’re going to get a bigger payout for having done nothing your entire goddamn life,” he says, smooth voice dripping with hateful poison. I swallow and Lansing nods, not bothering to call Everett out for being a dick. Kai is tense in his seat, but he remains silent.

And Vince?

His eyes are dark, unreadable. I look away.

Lansing purses his lips.

“And it won’t be forever,” he says, glance swinging away from me to look at the other two men. “There is an out.”

“We do have a merger due in 90 days,” Everett says, chin lifting, like he arranged it himself, “after that it won't matter. The four of us can go our separate ways. The three of you can fuck off out of my life forever. You just have to stick around to see that through.”

I say nothing. 90 days? I lock eyes with Everett. He looks like he’s pissed at even having to breathe the same air as me. He’s the usual hot guy rich bastard. Thinks his shit doesn’t stink, and that he’s too good for everyone except a heroine-thin model.

Across from me, Kai won’t even look me in the face, which is a good thing, because every time our eyes accidentally meet, I get a hardcore case of the shivers. That night… his hands… the way he called mebabylike it meant something.

And Vincent King. The pimp. He’s tapping a box of cigarettes on the edge of the table, looking like he wants to bail out the window and gowaydown-town. Anything rather than sit in here with us.

90 days. With the three of them. Doing whatever… business-y things I have to do to fulfill my obligations, in a world that I have no experience with?

It’s like a crashing tidal wave, rushing up toward me, threatening to drown me.

But all those zeroes. Those commas. A backdated stipend. I swallow hard. It won’t be that difficult. I only own 1%. I’m not like these guys, not a majority stakeholder. They’ll barely even notice I exist. I just need to not and go along with things.

“I can do 90 days,” I say, and try not to wilt as four pairs of eyes swing toward me andstay.

I can totally do 90 days.

And just like that, I seal my fate.

Nine

Olivia

I'm suddenlyin a world that I never anticipated living in. It's not just out of the blue being a 1% owner of a multi billion dollar company, which is still sinking in by the way. It’s that I’m given a key and an access code for the elevator. And all of the sudden I'm in my brand new apartment. Myownfull-sized, not a tiny box, apartment. With a massive bathroom, and it’s own kitchen, and a separate room for sleeping in, and everything. This sudden change in my social standing has my head spinning.

The Arion Tower isn’t what I thought it was back when I worked at the coffee shop, much to my massive surprise. I thought it was just corporate suits and entertainment industry companies calling it home, but that isn’t the case at all.

This isn't just an office building. No, it's an entire living and working complex. There's apartments just like mine apparently, occupying the top floors, along with a common floor just for us with some amenities like a communal kitchen, a media room, the conference rooms… the works. It’s surreal. And below us are all the offices of different companies, going about their lives. I don’t even know if they realize there are residences up here for their real estate overlords.

But the apartments! Unreal apartments. It’s beyond me though. I look around the room and try to take a deep breath that isn’t shaky.

I never could have imagined this. It’s like the kind of places you see in Home & Garden Mag, with some vampy looking actress telling you how she decorated everything with Llama toe fur. I’m standing in the middle of my place right now, and it takes my breath away.

The best part is, this space, this place, this is allmine. One of the perks of being a part-owner, I guess. I stare out the windows, floor to ceiling and the view is breathtaking… just like in the boardroom.

It’s is unbelievable, the size of it, too. It's got to be five or six times the size of my little studio apartment on the other side of the city. Marble flooring ushers me in from the entryway where I’ve left my shoes. I didn't want to track dirt and grime over the pristine plush white carpets. I glance down and dig my bare toes into it. I've got to get a pedicure. There's no way I can just be plain and un-polished in a fancy place like this. I spin around and look at the open plan living and dining area. It's stunning white marble, white walls. White everything. A shiver runs through my shoulders. It is a little cold and could do with some color. I wonder if I'm allowed to paint?

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