Page 6 of Tiebreaker

The colonel's next words threaten to change everything. “I'm stepping down,” he says, “and in my place I have found someone to take on 1% ownership. The remaining piece of the puzzle for this company. That person will be the tiebreaker for all decisions that the three of you cannot decide upon.”

My gut goes cold.Decisions?I ask myself. I'm not making any decisions for this place, this shit-heap infested with maggots disguised as business men.

He looks across the table at me specifically, raising an eyebrow.

“The three of you will run this company together. There are tens of thousands of employees depending on you.” His smile turns sinister. “And I will do whatever it takes to turn you three into leaders who can work together.

“I’ve got my career,” I remind him, pushing back from the table.

His smile never wavers.

“Do you?” he asks.

There’s something in the way he says it makes me pause.What the fuck doesthatmean?

“Yeah,” I say. “I'm not gonna be a corporate stooge like him.” I jerked my head towards Everett. “And if you think you're gonna make this motorcycle bro here in some kind of executive, you gotta be kidding yourself. What are you doing, micro-dosing psilocybin?” I get to my feet. “Get this through your head.” I point at the screen. “I want my name wiped. I left this place for a reason. I’m not a death merchant, and I’m not going to become one of you fucks, got it?”

Lansing’s face is turning red, and he sputters. That thrills me. I never was this disrespectful as a kid, but maybe if I had been, things wouldn’t have gotten as bad as they did.

Now I’m old enough to know better, and big enough to not let anybody fuck with me.

I laugh and walk towards the door. Vince tenses as I walk by him and I sneer. As if I’d waste a second launching a punch at him.

“Fuck you guys, see you never,” I say and with one boot, I kick the door open and stride right through it.

Three

Olivia

Pay-day is probablythe best day of the month. It's the one day that I can go out and get everything that I want to get and need. I mean, I don't get everything that Iwant. But at least I can get myself a little something. Maybe a chocolate bar or something else like that. Last month I got myself a new pillow-case. It’s the little things that count.

This time though I’m not going to get a present for myself. Toby needs a gift. It's hard to be a cat living in an eight by ten room. But my bedsit is only about $700 a month, and it's pretty much what I can afford working at the coffee shop.

I'm on my way home from the pet store when my phone rings. The only person who ever calls me is my boss so I pick up immediately. She really hates when I don't answer her calls right away. And I can't handle with her being passive aggressive toward me. My nerves are too raw.

She's been more cheerful in the last little bit because she got that $100 from the tip that Kai Brooks gave me.

But I still know I'm pretty close to being fired. I really don't know why she fucking hates me so much. It can’t be just the boyfriend’s t-shirt thing, right?

“Hey,” I say on the phone sounding as happy as I possibly can. I guess answeringOh, it's you. Go fuck yourself, is probably a good way toactuallyget fired, even if that’s how I feel.

“So this is going to surprise you, but I thought you could use a little pick me up,” she says, sounding sweet as pie at the other end of the line.

I stop in my tracks and frown.

Some guy passes me, giving me a weird look and I shuffle off to the side of the pavement to get out of the way of other pedestrians. I might be poor but I can still afford to have manners.

“Okay. What do you mean by that. That's nice,” I say, trying not to sound suspicious. But I am suspicious.

Nothing she can be giving me is good. Usually it's unpaid overtime. That's the only kind of present I ever get from her.

“Well, it seems like our little coffee shop impressedhim,” she says. “And we got tickets to a meet and greet with him.”

I pause. Wait, what? As in…

“Seriously,” I say, I don't even ask her who, because I know exactly who she's talking about. Those piercing blue eyes.

They've haunted my dreams the last few nights. Kai Brooks,rockstar.

---