by L. E. French
CHAPTER 9
Carrying my gift bag and dressed in one of my signature silver suits, I arrived fifteen minutes early for my meeting with Mr. Figueroa. His reception room had elegant decor in neutral tones, and no secretary. The B&E Board’s AI checked me in and asked me to wait. The moment my butt touched the leather of a chair, the system told me to go into his office.
I walked into a large room slathered with trains. Trains of all kinds, from steam engines to the magnetic one now whisking people up and down the coast, decorated everything—AR displays, wallpaper, shelves of models, the rug, even the chairs. The desk appeared to be a scale model of a locomotive. Tracks for a model train set crossed the ceiling fifteen times.
Dominic Figueroa sat in an executive chair printed with a train scene. White streaks dominated his dark hair. A train decorated his black tie, of course. Lucia, his wife, smiled like she wanted to eat me. I returned her smile with a polite one of my own. We’d met already, as she’d been my contact to learn what Dominic wanted in the first place.
“Mr. Figueroa. Mrs. Figueroa. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.” I shut the door and crossed the room to set the gift bag on the desk.
“My pleasure,” Mr. Figueroa said. “Please, Call me Dominic. I understand you’ve already met Lucia.”
We all nodded to each other. I sat in the train-shaped chair opposite him. Lucia set a hand on the back of her husband’s chair, and I noticed her fingernails—long enough to qualify as claws—had been painted in a train motif. They hadn’t been like that when I met her a week ago. I wondered if Dominic made choo-choo jokes when he fucked his wife. Maybe I’d find out.
“So, Victoria.” He picked up a tablet from his desk and held it for me. “I’ve read over Godhand’s application, and I applaud you for managing to get it in front of me. My secretary sees and rejects at least twenty of these a day. The board hasn’t approved one in over a year.”
It had been two years and four months, but I didn’t correct him.
“They’re all the same,” Dominic continued. “All the I’s are dotted, all the T’s are crossed. Every requirement is met. But we reject them all. Why do you think that is?”
“Because none of them stand out. Everyone is the same, and that’s horribly boring. Besides, you’re the gatekeeper for an exclusive club. You can’t just give everyone a seat at the big boy table.”
“Exactly.”
Lucia licked her lips.
“What are you willing to do for that seat, Victoria?” Dominic picked up the bag and opened it. His face it up with delight. “Lucia, look.”
Peering over his shoulder, Lucia grinned. “I told you, Mini. Her reputation is real.”
“I’m prepared to offer you a relationship with Godhand International, Dominic. We won’t take the seat and run like BezOhben Biotech did. They’ve done nothing for you since you approved their application, have they?”
“So true,” Dominic said with a sigh. He handed Lucia the chocolate and set his new train model on his desk. “Such a mistake.”
“Godhand won’t be a mistake. I’m at your disposal any day, any time, for whatever you need.”
“Whatever I need,” Dominic echoed. He rolled the train model back and forth on his desk. The wheels rolled smooth and silent. “Lucia, what do I need?”
I got the feeling my day had just turned into a train kink session. So be it.
“You need someone to play Industrial Railways with you.”
Dominic grinned.
I’d never heard of that before.
[VictoriaGodhandSystem: Invite to Industrial Railways received. Application is scanned and approved.]
I blinked for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile. People rarely surprised me with their demands, but Dominic had blindsided me. Lucia passed me a VR headset. Accepting the invite, I slipped on the headset and relaxed into the chair. My implant interfaced with it and opened an innocent train resource game.
For two hours, I duelled Dominic in a quest to deliver the largest quantity of arcane, obsolete materials to cities that no longer existed using steam and coal-powered locomotives on metal and wood train tracks. The game failed to hold my interest, but I played anyway. All the longing looks his wife had given me must’ve been about the prospect of relief from playing this game for him. I imagined he pestered her about it every day.
In the end, he won by a wide margin. He beamed at me when I removed the headset. Lucia sat nearby, tapping on a tablet. She seemed happy and relaxed.
“You’re good for a beginner,” Dominic said. “Is there a good time for you to play, say, once a week?”
“I can make time whenever is convenient for you. I’ll also check with a few employees I trust to see if anyone is familiar with the game. We should be able to get you a few people to play on a regular basis.”
“That would be excellent, thank you.” Such a simple thing had brought him so much joy. “I’ll bring your application to the board and see it goes through. You should hear within a few days, at the most.”
This seemed like a dismissal, so I stood. “Thank you, Dominic. I look forward to building the relationship between Godhand and the B&E Board.” I walked out with a bounce in my step. If only all negotiations took such minimal effort.
CHAPTER 10
Tuesday crept past with Ross leaving me alone. Marie sat in my office all day, letting Brad stay outside the door where she usually sat. As a result, I accomplished less than usual, but enjoyed my day. We had lunch in the office with Brad and sent him home for dinner. He didn’t complain about anything. Dominic messaged to let me know the B&E Board had voted in our favor, and the matter had been passed to the Senate for confirmation.
Marie and I shared dinner at the small table in our suite next to the windows, watching the sun slip beneath the horizon. She’d let her dark hair loose so the thick waves brushed her shoulders. I imagined sitting with her ten, twenty, forty years from now.
She groaned and set down her fork with a clink. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“What’s wrong?”
Waving me off, she slipped into the office. I sighed and took another bite of herb-roasted chicken. As I chewed, she returned with her work tablet, tapping on it.
“I thought you gave that to Brad.”
“Only while he’s here. I’m not sure he’s up to dealing with Jay’s after-hours issues yet. Like now, for example.” She sat and shook her head. “Problem with the op. He wants to meet as soon as you can get out to the usual spot.”
My ass jumped off the chair. Jay hadn’t had a “problem” in at least six months, when one of his operatives had been killed. I snatched a coat and ran for my car.
[MarieSclavo: Be careful.]
[VictoriaGodhand: Wait up for me.]
By the time I reached the car, my legs carried me at a run. I had to wait while the autoframe brought mine to the launch bay, then I had to wait while the conveyor pushed me onto the perch. More waiting drove me nuts while the car’s autopilot carried me at approved speeds toward DeeSeat. Leaving the flight lane couldn’t happen fast enough.
I parked the car in the dark. Jay jumped into my car. He wore ordinary jeans and a t-shirt today, with rubber boots. For the first time since I’d met him six years ago, I wondered what he did when not working for me.
“How bad is it?” I said.
“Depends on how you look at it.” He scratched two days’ worth of dark stubble on his cheek. “My people called off the op because they got a bad feeling.”
“A bad feeling.” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah. Sounds stupid, but isn’t. They had a solid handle on security, then it changed tonight. Last night, everything was normal. Tonight, everything is very different. They were about to start the facility breach when they noticed extra node security and a contractor vehicle they recognized. Either we got scooped or someone ratted us. They still probed the site, but decided it looked like a grinder.”
“Fuck.”
&nb
sp; “Yeah. They backed off the whole op, figuring the talent got stashed. As far as they could tell, no one saw them show up, so they set up surveillance in case the extra security pulls back. You want to set a time limit on that? It’s your money.”
No one knew I intended to hit BowerTech except Dad. We had no files on the subject, so even if Ross had gone through things, he wouldn’t have found any information on it. Unless Dad kept notes I didn’t know about outside of his implant account. Fuck, he probably did.
Something told me he had a memo program with all kinds of notes in case his shuttle crashed and I needed to take over the company. With him going on vacation to the PRC Space Station, he might’ve even left it in easy reach. Ross had to have gone through Dad’s stuff. So he found the memos and read them, and now he knew whatever Dad had put into it about my BowerTech op.
I couldn’t remember if I’d been specific about the date. Maybe Ross had only uncovered it today. And then he decided to screw it up? That didn’t make sense. No matter how much he wanted me, he also wanted the company. I knew he did. That asshole had clawed and bit his way up the ladder, and he hadn’t done it to win second place. No, my gut said he’d found a way to scoop BowerTech and Godhand now owned it. Unless he’d done it via death threat, he’d stolen money from someplace to pull off a third offer that the stiff-necked CEO of BowerTech hadn’t been able to refuse.
In that case, he’d stepped on my job. One way or another, that asshole had done an end-run around me. Did he do it to chip away at my reputation? Did I need to consider the possibility he wanted to maneuver me out of the company? Did Dad need to worry about his position?
“Call it off. I’ll authorize a partial payment for your people.”
Jay flashed me a bright, fake smile. “Twenty-five percent would be polite. Thirty would make them loyal forever.”
“They can have twenty. I don’t want anyone spreading around that Godhand pays good if you balk.”
“Can’t blame me for asking. You need anything else while I’m here?”
“No.” I didn’t think Ross had any way to connect Jay to me, but I chose to err on the side of caution. “Take that vacation anyway. Don’t go far and stay available, but get out of sight for a little bit.”
“Probably a good idea. Consider me gone.” He slipped out of the car.
I watched him climb into his own car, struck with an odd sort of paranoia about his safety. If Ross could hork up my op, he could kill my people. Maybe I should’ve spent more time running ops against Ross. We’d known him and his family for so long, I’d never considered him as an outsider who needed vetting.
For my entire ride home, I pondered the best way to ask Ross about BowerTech without him realizing I’d asked about BowerTech. The problem followed me to my office and into Marie’s willing, waiting arms. The next morning, I woke with the problem still buzzing in my head. By some miracle, I hadn’t dreamed about it.
By the time I went to confront Ross the next morning, I had a plan. The idea of having Marie check for a transaction regarding BowerTech occurred to me, but unless Ross had been stupid about it, there wouldn’t be any paperwork yet. I barged into Dad’s office and scared him enough to jump.
His whole body jerked and he swiped a tablet into his lap. “Jesus, Vickie. Fucking knock.”
“Morning.” My petty streak smiled. “I heard a rumor about a solar department starting, and I know Dad didn’t start it because he didn’t run anything past anyone. What the fuck are you up to, Ross?” In the end, I hadn’t come up with anything especially brilliant. Avoiding Ross’s aggravating advances for so long meant I hadn’t paid enough attention to his motivations. With luck, he hadn’t expected bluntness from me.
He leaned against Dad’s chair as if plastered there by G-forces. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb,” I snapped. From the other side of the desk, I leaned forward and tapped the wood surface with two fingers. “No one else has clearance to do shit like that.” Except me, of course.
Pulling his hands together, he regrouped. I saw it happen. Like my father, he drew himself into a vid villain pose. “You do.”
I raised my eyebrow. “You think I’d barge in here if I was behind it? Are you drunk, or high?”
“Vickie.” He sighed with all the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Let’s not play silly, childish games. I know you’ve been working on a BowerTech deal even though you said you’re not. So you lied in an executive meeting.”
“And what makes you so sure of that?”
“Malcolm told me to expect news on that front.”
That didn’t sound like Dad to me. He’d expect me to wait and tell him when he got back. “Did he?” I sat on the edge of the desk. Just two colleagues, chatting about the possibility of each other’s traitorous behavior.
“He did. Thing is, I noticed you’ve set up a facility like you’re expecting them.”
Great. He’d poked around in my department. “And you’re sure that’s what it’s for. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Because there’s no other possible explanation. And, of course, what my department does or doesn’t do is completely your business.”
“You’re right. What you do with your department’s budget is Malcolm’s problem, not mine.” He stood and buttoned his jacket. “We will, of course, have an executive team meeting this Friday, but I’m sure no one cares if you’re squandering company resources.”
He stepped around his desk. I hopped to my feet. This meeting had plowed off the rails and I needed to wrestle it into my control again.
“You made a deal with BowerTech,” I said, choosing not to make it question.
Closing the distance between us, he smirked. “Who are you seeing?”
“None of your business.”
He leaned in, forcing me against the desk. “Whoever they are, they aren’t as good a match for you as I am.”
“Not full of yourself or anything, though.”
Grinning, he planted his hands on the desk, boxing me in. “Agree to marry me or I’ll tell the directors you’ve embezzled millions through a subsidiary.”
I blinked at him. Not only had I not done anything of the sort, I hadn’t seen this coming. Mild panic pressed on me, brought on by the memory of his breath Saturday night. “What?”
“Big, bad Vickie.” He pressed close and dropped his voice to a murmur. “The master of getting things done. Little does everyone realize she’s lining her own pockets on the side while she works her mysterious magic. Oh, and by the way, she’s been breaking the law left and right to do their dirty work. I’m sure the board will love that.”
The fear from the other night raised my arms and shoved against him. “Yes, they love it when a man embarrasses himself by lying to them. It’s endearing. Get off me.”
He let go and stepped back with a grin. “It’s not a lie if I can prove it.”
I needed to leave the office as soon as possible and find a witness. Ross wouldn’t do anything in front of Viola or Brad. “It’s not proof if I can refute it.” Flinging the door open burst a dam holding tension in my shoulders. Outside this office, I was safe.
Ross followed me out. He stuck his hands into his pants pockets and paced me as I nodded to Viola and hurried down the hall.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking I don’t know what’s going on. You and Malcolm have a lot of secrets. Be a shame if they popped out into the open.”
“It would also be a shame if the Board decided to fire you. A crying shame.”
He snorted. We reached Brad’s workstation. I had no intention of entering my office with Ross harassing me this much.
“Who’s this?” Ross said as I stopped to pretend I needed Brad for something.
“My new secretary, Brad. Brad, this is Mr. Lynch.”
Brad smiled with innocence in need of crushing and offered Ross a hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lynch.”
Ross ignored Brad’s hand. Typical. “What happened to
Marie?”
“She got a better offer,” I said with a shrug.
Watching me through a calculating squint, Ross said, “Hasn’t she been your secretary for over a decade?”
“The fuck do you care? My employees are my business.” I jabbed a finger at him. “Just keep in mind that whatever you try with the board, I can counter it. Because my vote counts for more than yours, and it always will.” The moment I said those words, I wanted to take them back. Ross couldn’t get a majority stake in the company, but he could prevent me from doing so. He could also convince Dad I needed to step aside for a wide variety of reasons Dad might agree with.
Ross rolled his eyes and stalked away. I messaged Marie.
[VictoriaGodhand: I want to own 51% of our stock by the end of the week. Sooner is better.]
[MarieSclavo: That’s really Brad’s job now. I’ll help him take care of it for you. But you need to start messaging him with this sort of thing.]
[VictoriaGodhand: Thank you.]
CHAPTER 11
“Senator Gates scheduled the confirmation vote for today,” Marie said. “He was able to avoid hearings, and expects to have good news around three-fifteen.” Today, for the first time in forever, she wore something other than a suit or lingerie. Her floral-print sundress left her shoulders bare and flattered her curves.
I sipped coffee, watching rain through the bedroom window with my arms around Marie. The Ross situation had consumed me for the past few hours. Between me and the company, I couldn’t tell which he wanted more. Dealing with him took more effort and energy than I wanted to admit because I didn’t understand his motivations. Greed or lust? It made a difference.
“Good.”
“Would you like me to order a celebratory dinner?”
“I feel like I need to have a meeting with security right away to let them know,” I said. “But maybe it should wait for tomorrow.”
