Grimm: A Novel In The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 3) (13 page)

And a long time friend of mine who had supported me through all of that had just stood against me. Openly. My response was to crack a solid oak table with my bare fist. Which shouldn’t have been possible. Seeing as how the room was filled with ex-scientists and engineers, they knew better than anyone the limitations of the human body.

But there the broken table sat, loudly defying every Law of Physics known to man.

The room was completely still.

“Now that you are finished airing our dirty laundry in front of our guest,” I pointed a finger at the potential buyer of my father’s company, causing him to flinch in fear as his eyes tore away from the damaged table, “I think we are finished here. You may leave,” I whispered darkly to the German. He nodded quickly, eagerly gathering up his possessions under an arm – not wanting to waste any time putting them away properly, and bolted from the room. I swiveled in my chair, facing the windows and the winter wonderland outside. I let the silence build for a solid minute. I didn’t turn around as I spoke. “You bring up valid points.” I admitted, resulting in a soft, relieved collective breath. “I task you with forming plans to resolve our current deficiencies. We will discuss this at our next…
scheduled
meeting.” I emphasized the word, spinning the chair slowly to face them again, letting them know with my glare and tone that this cloak and dagger shit would not happen again.

Ever.

“That is all.” And I rose from the table. Everyone else did the same, bowing their heads deferentially. Concerned Board Members instantly swarmed Ashley as I strode out of the room and made my way to the elevator.

I had a few murders to plan. A trap to set up.

I would leave the bureaucrats to… well,
bureaucrat-ing
.

Because if I’m being honest with myself, I didn’t think I was very good at it.

Chapter 11

I
strode towards the elevator, grinning to myself as I spotted the man waiting outside the polished doors. The German turned at the sound of my heels on marble, and his face paled, looking panicked that he would have to share an elevator with me. I smiled wider at him and his face blanched further.

I jabbed the button several times to increase the speed, and let my smile slowly fade.

Then I waited. “You know that doesn’t help…” he nervously teased, aiming for small talk. I didn’t respond. “I… I wanted to thank you for your time. I understand your position, but ask that you respectfully consider the offer when your emotions have cooled.” I slowly turned my eyes to him, face unyielding. His already weak resolve shattered. “I… I think I need to use the necessities before I leave.” He stammered, clutching the messy collection of PowerPoint handouts to his chest. “Good day.” He practically whimpered.

I turned back to the elevator, waiting. After a minute, I jabbed the button again impatiently.

“You know that doesn’t help, right?”

I briefly entertained murder.

I turned a fiery glare to find Ashley standing beside me. I spotted several heads quickly ducking back into the Board Room upon seeing her confront me.

Ashley held out her hand. “Peace offering?” I looked down and almost had a panic attack to see her holding out my satchel. I snatched it away eagerly. “You left this in the Board Room.” She said softly.

“What the hell is wrong with me today?” I checked inside for the books and sighed in relief.

“Just today?” She teased.

“Touché.” I muttered as the doors finally slid open. We stepped inside and I pressed the lobby button, preparing myself to brave the horde of reporters and TV anchors no doubt waiting outside the lobby doors. I glanced pointedly at her and pressed the button again, making sure she noticed. Then two more times. She rolled her eyes with a tired smile. “So… mind telling me what the hell that was about?” I growled.

She sighed, shoulders relaxing into a neutral position. “Just doing my job, Nate. I took off the
friend
hat and put on the
Temple Industries
hat. It’s what you pay me for. It’s nothing personal. My job is to be honest with you at all times. Especially when you don’t want to hear it… and that was about as honest as one could get.” She replied respectfully.

I grunted. “I’m not selling the company. It belonged to my parents.” I said stubbornly.

“I get that. I cared for your parents too.” She responded softly, eyes glistening. I didn’t give her an inch, remaining silent. Crocodile tears wouldn’t fool me. She had challenged me in front of my Board, and I had considered her in my corner. “If you want to keep the company, you need to become more active in our future. No offense. Just my very expensive business degree at work.” She smiled softly.

“They should know how to run a company. They’ve done it for years. It’s a cash cow.”

She was already shaking her head. “Wrong. Your father was directly involved in almost every aspect of the company. He lived and breathed it. True, he spent a lot of time on side projects, but never at the detriment of the company at large.” She didn’t add that I had done exactly that. “Just take the offer into consideration. No emotion. It’s true you don’t have to sell. With a little guidance, the company could become a Tech Titan again, but we need a captain to steer the ship.”

“That’s what your very expensive business degree is for. Not blindsiding me in front of the masses.” I muttered frostily.

She nodded. “That’s true. I could turn things around. But if you want me to do that, I’ll need a raise.”

I blinked at her. And then I began to laugh. I wasn’t against the idea – I just found her segue so unexpected that it made me laugh. She was pining for a raise while I was pining to stay alive over the next few days. She smiled. “Not like that. Of course, I wouldn’t object if it came with a compensation bonus. What I mean is that I need more authority to act. There are a couple bottlenecks in the decision making process. We should talk about it if you are serious about keeping the company. We have a great team, but a lot of potential projects went dark after your parents passed. We need to breathe some life back into them, and kill a few others.”

I shrugged. “Done.”

She shook her head. “I know you have more important things on your mind right now, but you can’t let this be an emotional decision. We will talk about it at length before I agree to help. If not, consider this my resignation…” I blinked at her, dumbfounded. She went on as if not noticing, emotionless. “Which will of course mean several other key members would likely leave. Possibly moving to Germany to work for Mr. PowerPoint back there.” She finally looked up at me, adjusting her librarian glasses with a manicured finger.

“You wouldn’t.”

“That’s kind of where we are right now, Nate. This is your company now, and it’s time you treated it like more than a hobby. Or sell it. Our key people feel like they have no voice, and that feeling breeds discontent, which inflates turnover. They. Will. Leave. Especially after
this
.” She softened the blow with a sad smile. “You didn’t really show much respect in there. This is their
life
. When employees feel they are more dedicated than the owner, bad things tend to follow. You can’t be mad at them for it. You come in once a month and dash their plans to pieces. How do you think they should feel? You’re a bull in a china shop in their eyes. Some of them have been here for decades. You haven’t. Yet you have the power to destroy their passion with a single growl, phone call, or click of a pen.” She arched a brow and my shoulders sank a bit. She had a point. Even though it infuriated me to admit it. She touched my shoulder lightly as we continued our descent. “You need to stop straddling the fence. You want to keep the company, fine, let go of the reins completely or jump in headfirst. One or the other. Not both. A company this size is like a plant. It needs room to breathe. It’s a living being wrapped in a concrete building.” she poked my chest hard. “You’re smothering it.”

The doors opened but I didn’t move. My vision was slowly turning blue. Which wasn’t good. It meant my anger was rising, and with it, the leviathan of power I now wielded. I assessed her words. She was right, of course. I held out my hand. She took it tentatively.

“You’re right. When this is all over, we’ll talk.” She nodded her head once.

“That’s all I ask.”

“You’re not allowed to quit. But a raise is definitely on the table. We should talk about that too. As well as a list of other key personnel who you believe deserve a raise.”

She nodded and then followed me into the posh lobby. The ceiling rested thirty feet above our heads, supported by thick marble columns. Several seating areas were present in case anyone needed to wait. I saw a small coffee shop in the corner, no customers present at the moment, leaving the two Rastafarian employees to thumb away on their cell phones.

Our heels clicked across the marble floor, two security guards tipping their hats our way as we approached the front doors. Ashley and I tugged on our coats, me wrapping the pea coat around my body tightly before buttoning it up and popping the collar to protect my neck from the wind and snow outside. Ashley wore a scarf, tucking it inside her coat.

Seeing as how the entire front of the building was glass, I could already see the frenzied horde waiting outside. News vans, and clusters of reporters filled the entryway, checking their recorders and microphones in eager anticipation to be the first to break the news – whatever it may be. They hadn’t planned on the meeting ending early, and as soon as they saw me they began to scramble like a kicked anthill.

I wasn’t quite sure how they even knew about the meeting in the first place. No doubt one of the Board Members had assumed a different ending to the meeting and had prepared accordingly, ready to steal the spotlight as soon as I agreed to sell. I wondered just how much money was riding on this deal for each Board Member and what it may have meant to their retirement plans. I would have to look into it. Because despite Ashley’s advice, I was still pissed about how it had come to my attention. It would be a topic to discuss with Ashley in depth.

I was the freaking owner and I had found out via company email, which I checked only once a week. That would have to change if I was truly committed to following Ashley’s advice.

Maybe I could negotiate up to twice a week. Max.

I took a deep breath, placing my hands on the door. Several people outside began eagerly pointing at me and raising their recording equipment. Ashley touched my shoulder in reassurance and support. “Your car ready?” I asked.

“I texted the driver from the Board Room.” She pointed towards the street beyond the reporters.

“Good. Let’s get you safely through the horde of vultures then. We’ll talk later at the Chateau.” She nodded and then followed me as I strode through the doors into the frenzy.

Camera flashes exploded across a sea of cold bodies, the tide of humanity practically frothing at the mouth to see that Nate Temple himself was the first to exit. I was a celebrity after all. For both good and bad reasons.

It began immediately, the crowd swarming us. “
Is it true that Temple Industries is selling to a German Industrial Company?
” One reported shouted. What the hell was wrong with my Board? It seemed the media knew more than I myself, which meant someone had talked. Someone who had likely purchased
puts
– the right to sell at a fixed current price in case the stock crashed – or
calls
– the rights to buy my stock at a certain price in case the stock soared. Which, being insiders, would be illegal. Ashley’s face went rigid, the same concern no doubt entering her mind. I forcibly continued us on through the crowd, tugging Ashley’s hand firmly, forcing the crowd to part at a glacial pace. I may or may not have used subtle elbow strikes to speed things up.

“
How much are they buying the company for?
”

“
Will the factory remain on American soil?
” another shouted.

“
What do you have to say about this decision effectively killing hundreds of jobs in St. Louis in an already precarious economy?
”

The cameras continued flashing and microphones dangled in front of me as I contemplated my response. My face remained expressionless out of experience, even though my mind was racing a million miles per hour. A gentle throb of warm energy seemed to abruptly fall over my shoulders, but I didn’t have time to think about it.

Because that’s when the
hit
went down.

Bullets began to fly.

Chapter 12