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“Because it didn’t concern you. The system was already finished, and we needed marketing dollars.”
“Anything that goes on in this company concerns me as a twenty percent shareholder. I should’ve been told, not kept in the dark so that little prick could make me look like an asshole. How could you make such a deal?”
“Look, Eltech has been in the middle of the pack for the last few years. Educational software is not exactly sexy. I wanted a share of the big boy market.”
“And you think you found it with this punk? You put the entire company in jeopardy with that contract. He walks, and you’re done.”
“Exactly. So keep your fucking mouth shut around him. He was reprimanding his department. You butted in where you didn’t belong.”
“That’s where you were wrong. He wasn’t reprimanding them; he was scolding them. I won’t tolerate that behavior.”
“Then maybe you should amend your contract and become a silent partner. Don’t come into the office anymore if you don’t like it. I told you not to rock the boat, and I mean it.”
“You’d destroy our friendship over this little shit?”
“I don’t want to, but if you don’t give me a choice… I worked hard for years to make this company a success. Now that I’m at the cusp, you want to yank the carpet out from under me?”
“No, Zane. You did that all by yourself. You should have been more careful with who you employed. I’m sure there is plenty of talent that can make your gaming division more respectable. You should have let that asshole go to Futile.”
“I have a meeting. I won’t discuss this anymore today. Stay away from Paul and stay out of the office until I’m there. We need to determine what your future role with the company will be.”
He hung up on me before I could answer, but my brain was already formulating an escape hatch for Eltech. The first thing I did was call Olivia. I wanted to make sure that she was alright.
“Hello?”
I could hear the shakiness in her voice.
“Sweetheart, it’s Lucian. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“I don’t know what to say. I appreciate you coming to Henry and my defense, but it will just make the next time worse.”
I felt sick knowing there was nothing I could do but let Paul batter her with insults.
“I was only trying to help,” I offer.
“I know, and I appreciate it.” I heard her muffle the phone with her hand as she talked to someone. “I need to go. Thank you.”
“Sure. Goodbye.”
She hung up, and I was left holding the receiver in my hand. Zane could think what he wanted—that keeping Paul happy was going to prevent him from going over to Futile. I needed to see that contract, and I needed to see it now. I head down to legal to see if I could get a copy.
Emily, the company’s head counsel, was wary of my request, but I explained that as a partner, I would like to familiarize myself with all legal documents. She seemed satisfied with that and emailed some copies. Next, I called my attorney, Xander, to see if he could find a loophole in the contract that would allow us to rid ourselves of the toxicity that is Paul without it leaving Eltech in a precarious position.
He assures me he would go through it, then call me for discussion. I told him that I was willing to pay extra for quicker service, and he let me know he would see what he could do. The sooner I knew what kind of legal situation we were in, the better.
After I got off the phone with Xander, I place a call to my friend, Zachary, in Boston, who had previously worked with Wilton. He used to own a software company but sold it to concentrate on his passion for architecture. But because of his connections, I wanted to know where I could poach talent. If Zane couldn’t afford to pay their salaries, I would do it out of my own pocket. I would do anything to get Paul out and still cover our asses.
The rest of the day passes quickly, and I had already set up four interviews with guys from Futile Gaming as well as Comix Software in Philadelphia. I would conduct them at my loft because Zane would have a fit if he knew I was going behind his back to hire more programmers.
I left the building before five and went home to work out because it took my mind off the turmoil at work and gave me something to do. As soon as I finished, stripped naked, and about to step in the shower, my cell rang with a call from Xander.
“I hope you’re sitting down.”
My heart sank at his tone because I was sure he would say nothing could be done without damaging the company.
“That bad?”
“It depends. I went over the contract with my colleague, Jacob Keene. There is a loophole, and your employee might not have read the contract well enough to realize it.”
