Chapter 3 - Quinn #2
Olivia nods her head slowly, the muscles in her face finally relaxing a bit and letting her true beauty shine like sunlight through a magnifying glass.
Fuck. She's gorgeous, and I hate it because she's my boss and Jon just inadvertently told us all that she’s thirty-five years old to my twenty-seven. I don't have a snowball’s chance in hell with her, and she doesn't look like she’d be interested in literally anyone anyway, but I’ll be damned if I'm not totally attracted to her, and that includes her icy demeanor.
Some of us are just more capable of handling ice than others.
I make sure to maintain eye contact with Olivia, because it’s clear she's used to everyone else looking down at the table when she speaks with such fire, and I see the moment she nods her head.
“Is it possible for us to find out exactly how this happened, Quinn?” she asks.
“Possibly. It depends on how good the hacker is. We can open an internal investigation and see where it leads, which would be protocol for a breach like this, but it’s not a guarantee that we find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
Olivia nods again. “Not a guarantee … just fucking great. All right, not that anybody at the table other than Quinn was any help at all, but that’ll be all for now. I need those meeting minutes typed up and on my desk before the end of the day, Eden. Okay?”
“Absolutely, Miss Lucero,” Eden replies, closing her green notebook. Finally another kind voice in the room.
“Before we go,” Olivia says as she stands up.
“I want you all to understand something.
I'm here. This is happening. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my father wrote in his will that I would own his company.
I almost didn't do it. It would've been much easier to sell, but I love my father too much to let his pride and joy blow away in the breeze. I may not know all of the ropes of this place yet, but I will … in time. I hope all of you can understand that. I really do. If not … I’d appreciate your resignation sooner rather than later.
I won't let any of you stand in the way of me making Obsidian everything my father wished it could be. Have a good day.”
With that, Olivia nods to Eden, and the two of them walk out of the conference room together. The icy chill left behind by Olivia’s words doesn't go away, even after the door closes behind them. As soon as they're gone, Jon turns to me, annoyance written across his face.
“Wow, new guy,” he says. “Big first day, huh?”
I scoff at his tone, and I really can’t stand the look on his face, but I can feel heat rising in my chest and I know what the explosion will look like.
So I take a deep breath to try to smother the fire.
“What was I supposed to do, sit here in silence while she asked direct questions?
I don't know what the hell is going on over here, but if the expectation was that I was going to be promoted to not do my job, you should've left me where I was.”
“Maybe I should've,” Jon snaps, surprising the hell out of me.
“It’s fine that you do your job, but you need to understand that Olivia Lucero doesn't deserve her job. I do, and we all know it. So, it’s in your best interest to get on board with the rest of us, and if you can't, then you may want to learn how to at least stay out of the way.”
I lock eyes with Jon and forget everybody else in the room. I know this is my first day and I need to keep it together, but he’s already fucking pushing it. My dark devil is more than just a need for kink exploration. It’s my past. It’s my father's son. It’s not to be fucking played with.
“Wow. First day on the job and I'm already feeling the weight of threats.
I'm shocked, and don't really know what else to say besides … or what, Jon? It’s clear that you've let my work persona influence the way you speak to me, not understanding that I am a Black kid from fucking Wilmington. You mentioned my best interest, but you should know that talking to me crazy is clearly not in yours.”
“I'm your boss,” Jon replies, doing his best to hold onto his anger. “I promoted you, and I will end you over any perceived insubordination. I suggest you remember that. Are you really willing to risk your new position over a woman you just met for the first time?”
Heat crawls up my back like a giant spider, and I'm suddenly annoyed that I'm even in this position.
I was happy where I was. My best friend Rob was just a short walk down the hall from my desk, and now I'm in the executive wing, secluded and surrounded by sharks that are willing to eat each other to get ahead.
This is the part of the corporate world that most people don't know about—the part where money and power outweigh civility, and greed is all-consuming.
I take a deep breath, ready to fly off the handle at the audacity of this asshole threatening me for not going against the CEO. Darkness clouds the corners of my vision and I'm ready to let loose, but before I can speak, there’s movement behind me.
“Quinn,” Olivia says, sticking her head between the parted doors and glaring at Jon and I like she just caught us gossiping about her.
Shit. What did she hear? Everyone knows Jon is the second-highest member of the company, and I was just going back and forth with him. Without context, who knows how Olivia might perceive anything I said.
I turn around in my seat, letting my defiance and anger slowly deflate. “Yes, Miss Lucero?”
“I need to see you in my office,” Olivia says, her eyes narrowing. “Right now.”