Chapter 42: Fuck the Day I Met Carla Tanaka

The next half hour was a whirlwind.

Obviously, there was a lot of double-checking to make sure the numbers made sense, but it was barely more than basic math. When Rajesh Desai suggested a third recount, the looks everyone gave him were enough to convey the message that he was being foolish.

Following that, Kelly Maddox was immediately in a corner with Amber, Rajesh, and Nina talking in low, fervent whispers. Hiro immediately asked to have a private chat with Carla, who looked smug even as she left the room to have an aside with the husband she’d just fucked over. That was ballsy enough, but to appear as if she didn’t give a fuck that she’d just offended the old man ... that was another level of gumption. Either she was stupid—something I was becoming increasingly convinced wasn’t the case—or she had no sense of fear. One glance at Chloe was all she needed to get the message: Don’t let Carla Tanaka leave the building.

It was baffling to try to understand why Carla had done it. As the wife of one of the wealthiest men in the world, she had it made. Why would she throw it all away for a promise I didn’t have to legally keep?

I glanced at my phone. Was that actually true, though? She’d said she hadn’t been able to get my promise in writing, but texting was a type of writing.

Once again, I cursed myself for possibly tripping headfirst into a whole world of hurt all because of a pretty woman. Granted, my motivation hadn’t been solely because Astrid was beautiful; she had something I needed, and I’d struck a deal based on all the information I had. It just so happened that a bottle-blonde harlot tricked me into thinking she was Astrid.

At least I was showing some personal growth.

Eventually, the board began to split up and go their separate ways. Karl had me pinned down, confessing his concern about the incredible maneuver I’d somehow pulled on the shrewd businessman, Hiro Tanaka. While that was happening, Nina Haley left without even a glance over her shoulder. Amber Bell was right behind her, and my stomach tied itself in knots over whether she would be detained by my security.

Karl backed off when Kelly Maddox approached me, doing his best to avoid her deadly gaze by slipping off to talk to Chandler. Wearing a power suit, Kelly seemed to be towering in front of me despite only reaching 5’4”, plus whatever her heels added. Her fair skin was well cared for, and the application of her makeup was perfect—not too much or too little—just the right amount of blush, lipstick, and eyeliner. They were darker in color, coordinated to compliment her maroon-painted fingernails, which seemed to emphasize the sharp edges of her personality. Her hair fell in loose waves around her head, covering her ears and falling to the nape of her neck. The perfume that wafted off her smelled earthy, with a hint of cinnamon, and somehow reinforced the idea that she was a down-to-earth, grounded woman. She was an immovable rock.

And I had moved her.

Kelly offered me a perfectly manicured hand. “Well played, Mr. Gerrard,” she said. Her dark, red-painted lips were compressed into a thin line of discontent as she stared up at me.

I took her hand in mine, noting the soft feel of her palm and the firm grip underneath her smooth flesh. It felt like velvet-covered steel ... same as the rest of her.

“It’s Upton,” I said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as I said it. “Thank you, Mrs. Maddox.”

“It’s Miss,” Kelly said, not breaking eye contact with me. There was an emphasis on the ‘s’ sound in ‘Miss’ as if to impress upon me that petty mortal concerns such as companionship were beneath her. It didn’t surprise me in the least that she was single. In the hour or so that I’d known her, I could only imagine killing myself if it meant staying out of having to share a home with this frigid ice queen.

“Okay,” I said, letting go of her hand. I spied Astrid standing only a few feet from us, watching as she apparently waited for one of us to become available. “Excuse me,” I said, starting to walk away from Kelly.

“I certainly hope you know what you’re doing,” Kelly said, eyeing me.

Halting, I turned around, looked directly at her, and said, “Not a clue. That’s why I voted for Chandler.” Then, I promptly turned around and made my way to Astrid.

“I just wanted to tell you congratulations before I left,” Astrid said, offering me a warm smile as I fell beside her, making our way toward the door.

“Thanks,” I said as we walked out the open door and into the hall. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of my team.”

She halted mid-stride, and I followed suit a beat later, turning to look at her.

“I underestimated you,” she said as she reached up and tucked a few strands of white gold hair behind her ear. “I didn’t think you had what it took to pull something like that off. I was wrong.”

“That’s kind of you to say,” I said, “but some of it was just luck.” Something about her made me want to tell her the truth ... to tell her that I thought it was her making the deal with me.

Before I could say anything, though, she continued, “Using Tanaka’s own wife, though ... I didn’t think anyone was that brave.”

That raised some red flags. I remembered Desai saying something about Hiro earlier in the break room that sounded vaguely threatening. Now that a second person had alluded to the idea that he was a man not to be trifled with, I was starting to pay attention.

I was about to ask what she meant by that but was interrupted by a couple of the company’s executive officers who stopped on their way out just long enough to shake my hand and congratulate me.

“Listen,” Astrid said, touching my arm when they left us alone, “I’m busy today and have plans tomorrow, but are you free for dinner on Wednesday?”

“Yeah,” I said, happy she was still open to meeting with me even though the meeting hadn’t gone her way. Astrid seemed nice, level-headed, and knowledgeable, and building a relationship with her certainly couldn’t hurt my chances of garnering support among the board in an attempt to create a united front. It didn’t hurt that she was also incredibly easy on the eyes. “I’d like that.”

We made plans to meet up at seven on Wednesday for dinner. She clasped one of my hands in both of hers and gave me a smile that reached her eyes as well as her lips. “It really was good to meet you, Marcus. I hope we can work together more in the future.”

“Hopefully on the same side, next time,” I replied.

Her smile grew a little more. “One can only hope.”

After saying our goodbyes, I returned to the board room. By this time, Chandler and the CFO—some guy named McClane, I think—were the only two left. They both saw me approaching and wrapped up their conversation. The financial officer gave me a smile, muttered congratulations, and left.

Grinning ear-to-ear like a schoolboy, Chandler approached me, placed a hand on either side of my face, and said, “I don’t know how you bloody did it, but good job, my boy!”

“Thanks,” I said, grinning at him sheepishly, wondering if he was about to kiss me on the mouth. “Talk about luck!”

“That was no luck!” Chandler said as he let me go and started aggressively packing up his briefcase as if he were gathering spoils of war. “That was sheer genius and manipulation the likes I haven’t seen in years from your grandfather! My word, he would have been proud! The way you worked out a contingency—oh...”

Chandler had looked up from his bag, and the manic grin he’d been wearing quickly faded as he saw something over my shoulder. Following his gaze, I turned and saw Hiro Tanaka standing in the doorway, watching us. His stare was unblinking as he glanced back and forth between the pair of us, and I suddenly got the impression he wasn’t quite as frail as I initially assumed.

Adjusting his glasses as he stepped the rest of the way into the room, he shut the door behind him. I glanced around the perimeter of the glass wall but couldn’t see any sign of Carla. That wasn’t good. Tanaka couldn’t have done anything drastic to the woman with so many people around; I was more worried she would slip away before I had a chance to confront her. I wouldn’t let her slide through my fingers the way Ashlee had. I needed to know where the hell she was!

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Chloe: Do you have Carla? Stay on her. She doesn’t leave.

“Why did you make plans with my wife?” Hiro said in his soft-spoken voice, sounding more like a little old Asian man selling bonsai in Chinatown or something. Strangely enough, it only made his stare even more unnerving, and I had to work hard to remember I was in the right, here. Tanaka made a deal with me and had gone behind my back to make one with Maddox. Meanwhile, I’d completely trusted the man and hadn’t made any plan to double-cross him. I’d trusted him implicitly. If anyone should be furious, it should be me.

“Why did you vote for Maddox?” I asked. There wasn’t nearly as much heat in my voice as I felt there should have been. For some reason, the stare of an old man pushing seventy was making me pull my verbal punches. I consciously tried to make my next words more forceful. “We had a deal, Mr. Tanaka, and you broke it.”

“Psh,” Hiro said with a dismissive wave of one liver-spotted hand. “That was just business. I said I wanted twenty percent more of the company. I said I wanted to be CEO. You did not give me those things. Maddox made a better deal.”

He glanced at Chandler, then leveled a deadly serious gaze at me. “Conspiring to turn a man’s wife against him?” He shook his head at me as if he was more disappointed in my behavior than anything.

“I didn’t conspire with your wife,” I said. “She came to me.”

Tanaka tilted his head to the side in a bird-like fashion. “Carla says otherwise.”

“Who are you going to believe?” I asked, “The wife who betrayed you, or me?”

“Hm,” Hiro said, “I don’t think either of those are good options.”

“What do you want?” I asked, feeling a little more brave with each passing moment. Sure, this guy was well-connected and had loads of experience I didn’t, but I had more money and wouldn’t break a hip if I ran too fast.

“What was promised to me,” Hiro said.

I couldn’t believe what he was asking and snorted in response. “You mean our deal?”

Hiro gave a single nod.

“Hell no.”

I felt Chandler’s hand on my shoulder. “Marcus—”

“You won the vote,” the old Asian man said. “No harm was done to you, but you have wronged me. Be happy that I am only asking for what you promised.”

“Look,” I said. “It’s not my fault you were stupid enough to give some of your shares to your wife. It’s not my fault you lost out on both the deals you made, and it’s sure as hell not my fault that you’re so bad of a husband that Carla did this.”

“I am warning you,” Hiro said, and there was a sharp edge to that soft voice.

“No,” I said. There was no way in hell I was giving this man another ten percent of my company just because he had marital problems. “You made your own bed. Now go roll around in it.”

That last line was delivered with a lot more sass than I’d been able to manage when Hiro first entered the room. He’d come here expecting to intimidate and bully me into giving him whatever he wanted. It reminded me of how I’d let Bobbi and Gina treat me and the other workers all those weeks ago, and it was pissing me off. I hated being reminded of how much of a doormat I’d been willing to be back then just because I was afraid of losing a mediocre job. Now, I didn’t need to take their crap. I didn’t need to take his, either.

Hiro stared back at me for what felt like minutes, and with each second that ticked by, it was getting harder to hold his gaze. He was, after all, a walking global superpower, and more than one person had alluded to the possibility that he could do real harm with that kind of influence.

“We are done,” Hiro said, and without saying another word, he turned, opened the door, and disappeared into the hallway. Fortunately, his exit lost some of its menace as Chandler and I watched him slowly walk down the hall through the meeting room’s glass wall. He rounded the corner and continued down the hall in full view of us, unwilling to look in our direction in an awkward way that was almost comical until he finally disappeared.

That was when I heard Chandler groan.

“How bad is it?” I asked, turning my attention to him.

“It’s bad,” he admitted, the look on his face matching his words.

“Desai mentioned not crossing Hiro. Astrid said something similar. What’s he capable of?”

“I’m not sure,” Chandler said. “There’s no evidence of anything dire, but ... there are rumors.”

“Rumors of what?”

“People disappearing ... going bankrupt ... dropping out of the business world entirely to pursue ‘simplicity.’” Chandler hesitated before saying, “Were you being honest when you said you didn’t engineer that scheme with Mrs. Tanaka?”

“Engineer? Chandler, I didn’t even know Carla was worth scheming with! Why didn’t you tell me she had two of Hiro’s seven percent?”

“I didn’t find out until last week when I was reviewing the shareholders. When Hiro and I talked initially, he mentioned giving Carla shares for her birthday because she was whinging about wanting to feel ‘more important.’ She always seemed well under his thumb, so I didn’t think much of it. Truth be told, it didn’t matter. Tanaka’s always been a straight shooter, so I trusted him once he made a deal with us.”

“So, what do you think made him play dirty this time?”

Chandler shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that whatever Maddox promised him must have been significant. The problem is that Kelly Maddox doesn’t have the resources to beat our offering.”

“What does that mean?”

“That someone with access to serious money and power is backing her,” he said, giving me a sobering look.

“Shit,” I said, glancing back in the direction Hiro had disappeared. I almost expected him to be peering around the corner, watching me.

“Indeed,” Chandler agreed. “I’m afraid you’ve made a powerful enemy today. He may be a straight shooter, but Tanaka also holds grudges.”

My phone vibrated in my hand, and the display said there was a message from Chloe: Carla’s in the room we met in earlier with Chandler. Erin’s with her. Also, thought you might want to know that Amber Bell left. We couldn’t find a good enough reason to call the cops on her. Fill you in on the details later.

The loss of Amber made me want to break another phone, but I managed to reign myself in. Instead, I looked back at Chandler and said, “Okay, so I kind of did scheme with Carla.”

“Pardon?” Chandler said.

I explained the entire situation to him, leaving nothing out. By the time I got done, Chandler looked astounded.

“My word,” he said. “Mrs. Tanaka has more tenacity than I would have ever expected!”

“That’s one word for it,” I said. “Can we find a place for her at VistaVision?”

“I ... suppose we could find her some sort of executive assistant position to fill. I highly doubt she’s qualified for much else, to be honest.”

“Okay,” I said. “Take a couple of days to think about it. In the meantime, I’m going to talk to her and assess the damage.”

“Of course,” he said, returning to finish packing the rest of his briefcase.

“Oh, Chandler,” I said as I texted Chloe to tell her I was on my way. “Congratulations on the position. You deserve it, and I’m sure you’re gonna rock it.”