Chapter 61
O ne week later . . .
Nick closed the door to the meeting room.
Omar and Shango sat at the square conference table. Shango’s bodyguard, Wanda, stood behind her boss, massaging her scarred knuckles.
Nick strolled to the head of the table, a laptop case dangling from his shoulder. His movements were slowed a bit by the bandage covering his burn wound. But he didn’t take a chair.
“Thank all of you for coming here to the company headquarters this morning, on short notice,” Nick said. “We’re here to discuss the future of Legacy Nutrition.”
A frown crinkled Shango’s features. Omar stared at Nick, mouth agape; he was Nick’s business partner, but Nick hadn’t given him any clue about the purpose of this meeting.
“I’ll get to the point,” Nick said. “I’m done with Legacy Nutrition. All my shares, all of my patented formulations, belong to you guys now. I’m not selling them. I’m giving them to you, no strings attached.”
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Omar asked. “We’re partners, man. You can’t drop out like that.”
“We’re on the same page there, brother,” Shango said, nodding toward Omar. He straightened his jacket. “You’re a major piece of this empire we’re building. You don’t get to decide when you’re out. I decide.”
“You don’t.” Nick placed the laptop case on the table. “All of my formulations are on the laptop’s hard drive in this bag. If you need help with them, I’m sure you can find another chemist willing to work for you at the right price.”
“You, and him”—Shango pointed from Nick to Omar—“owe me a significant amount of money.”
“I don’t owe you anything. There’s a letter in this bag stipulating the cancellation of my ownership in the company. I’m done here, folks.”
Nick turned on his heel and strolled across the room. Shango made an angry gesture toward Wanda and the bodyguard moved to block Nick’s path.
Her lips twisted into a menacing snarl. She raised one hand into a clenched fist that could have shattered his jaw.
Nick only stared at her. For a long moment, their gazes were locked.
The fighter must have seen something in his eyes, perhaps a glimpse of the monster Nick had once been, even if only for a fleeting instant, because she lowered her gaze and slid aside.
No one else attempted to stop him.
Outside the building, Nick climbed into his truck.
He didn’t start the ignition, didn’t grab the steering wheel.
The gravity of what he had accomplished in those few momentous minutes came over him like a sugar high, and he allowed himself a short time to luxuriate in his delight, trembling like a kid, too wound up to do anything.
Once he felt ready to talk, he called Amiya on his cell phone.
“How did things go?” she asked.
“It’s done,” he said. “It went about as I expected: they were pissed.”
“They’ll get over it,” she said. “So. What are you going to do now?”
“I think I’m going to make dinner plans tonight with a certain special lady,” he said.
“Is that so?” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about, she and I,” he said. “We’ve got to talk about our future together as husband and wife.”
“Well, I don’t want to give anything away,” she said, punctuating her words with a light laugh. “But I think she’d enjoy that very much.”