I straighten and stretch. My muscles feel stiff from how tense my body currently is. Things are moving quickly now. I promised that I would do something about this. When both Amanda and, apparently, Marie are at a loss as to how to handle Alan, then I’ll step in. I may not know the man as well, but that might just be a boon. I’ll be able to say what’s on my mind without fearing the consequences.
Also, I’m hoping that speaking to him as a potential business partner will help, too. Somewhere beneath all his resentment and bitterness, the soul of the businessman that built Tech Square Inc. up from the ground must be within Alan. Maybe I can appeal to that side of him.
Failing that, I’ll appeal to him as a father. No matter how angry he is, or how strict he is, surely he cares about Amanda’s happiness.
I shake my head. Thinking about what to actually say to Alan is the last part of my plan. First, I need to figure out a way to meet him. I can’t imagine Alan accepting a meeting with me any time soon, but I’m not taking no for an answer on this one. If he has any hope for this alliance between us to succeed, then he’ll agree to a meeting.
My intercom crackles again.
“They’re here,” Alicia says. “I’m sending them in now.”
“Thank you,” I say, and stand up straighter as my door opens.
“You must like me, sir,” Brandon jokes as he enters the room. “You keep calling me up here.”
I crack a small smile. It’s clear that Brandon is worried, and the four men and women he picked from his team are milling behind him. I glance over at them all. Yasmine Woods, Daniel Beachley, Aaron Holt and Manny Timbs… The four of them are among the best my company has to offer, and I was more than happy to transfer them to work on the new product.
I sigh and sit, gesturing for them to do so, too. They muddle around the chairs for a moment before they also take a seat, Brandon sitting at the front as their spokesman.
“First, I need to apologize to you all,” I say, looking at each of them in the eye. “I’m sure Brandon has told you about my relationship with Amanda by now?”
They all nod. I’m not surprised; the company gossip mill is incredibly fast.
“Yesterday, Amanda and I sorted ourselves out, but we have met a new problem,” I say. “Her father is not happy. Unfortunately, this could put our entire collaboration at risk, from this moment on.”
“You think Alan Simmons might pull the deal?” Brandon asks, aghast.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I haven’t heard anything from him yet. I assume he’s thinking over his options at the moment. I didn’t expect that starting a relationship could put everything you’ve worked toward into jeopardy. We’ve reached a point in our collaboration with Tech Square Inc. that should have thrust us both forward… Unfortunately, I don’t know what’s going to happen from this point.”
“So…what do we do?” Brandon asks, frowning.
“First, I would like
the five of you to keep working on this project,” I say firmly. “You’ve all done a fantastic job. Even if the alliance falls through, the five of you will continue to head the project. What I need you to do now is come up with plans for if the worst happens and we’re left to continue on our own. The project will become a mess of property issues between the two companies, but I’d like the five of you to forge ahead and choose suitable people to continue working with you. Don’t worry about any of the details with Tech Square Inc.; your focus should be solely on this product.”
The small group nods solemnly. I breathe in deeply.
“In saying that, I will be organizing a meeting with Alan myself,” I continue. “For now, all meetings with Tech Square Inc. will go through me, so Amanda and her team will not be here until we figure out what’s happening. I’m sorry if that pushes your timeline back.”
“It’s alright,” says Manny, shaking his head. “We understand.”
“Thank you for telling us,” Yasmine adds.
“We’ll continue working on what we can,” Brandon says, standing. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.”
I smile grimly.
“So will I,” I say.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Amanda
As I had expected from the moment my father told me to break up with Lyle, my meeting tomorrow with Energy Plus Co. was canceled without warning. The staff who were working on the project with me are obviously confused; no one knows what happened, and neither my father nor I are talking about it just yet.
I definitely don’t want them to know that this alliance might fail because I slept with the boss of the rival company. It’s hard enough as it is, sometimes, to be in management in this company; many of the other employees tend to assume that I only got to my position because of who my father is. They have no idea that I’ve had to work twice as hard as any of them to get where I am.
To add insult to injury, however, my father called me up to his office an hour ago. I expected to be chastised again. What I didn’t expect was that he had cleared off the unused PA’s desk, and he directed me to sit at it.