Chapter One Osveta #2
“The last thing I want is to hurt you, Della, or Evie,” Tommy went on, voice low.
“But my top priority is this company, its investors, and our customers. Please - take the retirement. Don’t make this harder than it already is.
You have enough vacation and leave to clear out your office tomorrow, and you’ll continue to receive salary through December thirty-first.”
Oscar’s face contorted. “This is why you paid for Evie’s tuition and got her an apartment, so she wouldn’t cut you off!
” His words came out hot; at the same time, they confirmed the dark theory he’d been nursing all week.
Tommy wanted him out. Tommy had put Evie in his orbit. Tommy had stolen everything.
For the first time, anger flashed on Tommy’s face.
It was a hard, sudden thing that made Oscar take a step back.
Tommy’s jaw tightened; his eyes went cold.
“Don’t you ever, ever insinuate I would hurt Evie or bribe her to stay in contact with me.
” The words were low, shaking with a barely suppressed fury.
Oscar felt the room tilt. He might have gone too far, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t be pushed out quietly.
Tommy rose, his voice climbing with each sentence until it was loud enough to stop the board from breathing.
“If she stops speaking to you because of this decision, I will continue to pay her tuition and rent. If she chose botany instead of computer science, I would still pay. I want her to be happy, because her happiness makes me happy.” He stepped toward Oscar, controlled menace in his posture.
“So don’t you dare make this about her or my relationship with her just because you’ve driven her away with your -”
Rupert stood, laying a steadying hand on Tommy’s shoulder before he could finish the sentence about what had driven Evie away. “Evelyn and Della are the only reason Thomas offered this as an alternative,” Rupert said calmly. “But if it’ll make you feel better -”
He looked around the table. “All in favour of offering Oscar Stanley his retirement package, effective January first?”
Every hand went up.
“All opposed?”
Oscar raised his, glaring around the table. Rupert didn’t even look his way. “Unanimous,” he said flatly.
He continued without missing a beat. “All in favour of terminating Oscar Stanley’s employment as Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately, should he decline retirement?”
Again, every hand rose.
“Unanimous,” Rupert repeated. He turned to Oscar. “Your decision?”
“I need to think about this.” Oscar’s voice came out hoarse. He couldn’t believe it, one small display of temper, and they were throwing him out. There had to be another reason. Someone must have turned them against him. “I need to speak to Della.”
Rupert shook his head. “This isn’t a negotiation,” he said.
“You have two options. Four more months of salary, continued health benefits, and matched pension contributions -” He opened a folder and slid it toward Oscar.
Three cheques lay inside, each signed by Rupert and Tommy.
“- or these,” Rupert finished. “Your final pay, accrued vacation and leave, and your pension contributions. If you refuse the retirement, security will escort you out immediately. What’s it going to be? ”
A sharp knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts and Oscar shot to his feet, sweeping the last of the cocaine into a tissue and shoving the fifty and his credit card into his pocket. His pulse spiked with a mix of paranoia and anticipation.
He positioned himself beside the door and cracked it open, keeping the chain fastened. “Yes?”
“Osveta?” The word - revenge - rumbled from the other side, low and deep enough to raise goosebumps on his arms.
“Svift,” Oscar replied. Swift. He shut the door, unhooked the chain, and opened it again.
The man who stepped through made the room seem smaller.
Oscar’s gaze hit a solid wall of muscle.
A chest so broad it nearly filled the doorway, the stranger ducked his head to enter, shoulders brushing the frame.
His eyes were a cold blue green, his blond hair pulled back in a low ponytail, a pale scar cutting across his upper lip.
Handsome, Oscar thought faintly, in a brutal sort of way.
Oscar shut the door once the man was inside and without a word, beckoned him to the table.
The chair groaned as the stranger eased into it, the sound oddly loud in the small room.
Oscar, just under six feet and carrying the soft paunch of a man in his sixties, felt suddenly small beside him; the man’s presence made the motel room feel crowded.
He set his briefcase on the table, flipped it open, and pulled out a photograph of Tommy and a scrap of paper with the address of a rental near the airport.
“This is Tommy Sloane. I want him taken and held at that address until I contact you with further instructions.” He shut the briefcase and pushed it across the table. “Half now. The rest when it’s done.”
The blond man opened the case, counted the money with a quick, precise glance, then looked up. His voice was low and dry, the Serbian accent shaping his English. “That is how contract works.” He paused, then asked, genuinely curious: “What did he do that was so terrible?”
“He is stealing my company and my daughter from me!” Oscar snapped, launching into a furious, twenty-minute tirade about everything Tommy had done. He paced the room, voice rising and falling, while the blond man sat with his chin to his chest, arms folded, listening without interruption.
When Oscar finally ran out of steam, the man straightened. “Well,” he said mildly, “he sounds like he deserves this.” He rose, lifted the briefcase, and fixed Oscar with an expectant look. “When do you want him picked up?”
“He’ll be at Green-Wood Cemetery this afternoon,” Oscar said, already picturing the scene.
He’d chosen the time because he knew exactly where Tommy would be and who he’d be with — no chance of interference, and Tommy would be much more likely to cooperate if Evie were left alone.
“There’ll be a young woman with him. She is not to be harmed unless absolutely necessary. Understand?”
“Yes, yes. Leave the woman unharmed.” The blonde waved his hand dismissively as he walked to the door.
“My understanding of the English language is comparable to your own.” He left the room, and Oscar noticed that despite his size, he never made a sound.
The door closed with a soft click, and he leaned back and began to chuckle.
He wasn’t sure how he was going to have the big blonde dispose of Tommy, but he figured he could have some fun coming up with it.