Chapter 39 - Quinn
THIRTY-NINE - Quinn
“Boy Wonder! What’s up, man,” Rob says as he takes the chair next to me.
It squeals beneath his weight, and the sound of him slapping me on the arm is like a firecracker in the room that is quickly filling with people.
“Oh, shit. I've never sat at the fancy conference room table before. I feel like I'm coming up.”
I turn to my friend and slap him on his arm just as hard as he hit me. “Well you're making all the noise in the world like you own the place, but at least it looks good on you … unlike this tight ass shirt. You couldn't have gone a size bigger? These buttons are about to pop, bro.”
Rob doesn't even bother to glance down at his shirt. “Don't worry about my buttons. Worry about your own damn buttons. You and your fucking Polo, and your I’m-better-than-Rob attitude. You're letting this conference room get to your head, Q.”
“Don't call me Q when we’re at the office,” I say with a straight face that I'm not able to hold.
Both of us break out laughing, drawing the ire of Stephen and Nick from across the table.
They look in our direction, but their eyes quickly find somewhere else to stare.
They even manage to keep straight faces this time.
Good. Had their eyes lingered a fraction longer, we would've had to have private discussions in my office about their behavior and dedication to the company.
I've already planted the idea of replacing one of them with Rob in Olivia’s head.
Now I'm just looking for some insubordination to put my plan in motion. Maybe tomorrow.
“So, I see Olivia has called all of the department heads in for a meeting in the executive wing,” Rob says. “Any idea what this is about?”
I shrug. “I can only assume it’s about the East-World Bank deal,” I answer. “That’s the big thing that happened a few days ago. I'm honestly surprised she didn't announce it sooner.”
“Oh, that’s right. You guys had a big meeting with them. How come you didn't tell me and Marcus how it went, man?”
I think back to how Olivia came at me in the parking lot because I hacked their system, and made sure I had zero thoughts about her needing me in her life.
She and I haven't spoken since that day, and I honestly don't know if we ever will again. So, as much as the meeting was a resounding success in my eyes, it’s not really a happy memory for me. A day I was supposed to be celebrating turned out to be one I wish I could forget. I thought she and I were building on something. Turns out, it was nothing. It’s not that I'm too heartbroken to move on from her, but to say that I'm disappointed would be a massive understatement.
I wanted us to work and believed that we would. It's a shame that she didn't.
“It wasn't the best day,” I reply honestly, as has become a habit lately. “The meeting went south with a quickness, and I may or may not have done some illegal shit to prove to EWB that their current cybersecurity was inadequate.”
Rob smirks and I smile big. “Inadequate, huh? How’d you do that?”
“It was nothing, really. All I did was hack their system and lock their CFO out of his account with a bit of ransomware. Nothing fancy.”
“You are off the chain,” Rob says as his belly shakes from laughter. “You're looking a lot like Quincy King’s son these days, bro, and I am here for it. Risking it all for the betterment of the company, huh?”
“Nah,” I say. “It may have looked like I did it for Obsidian, but I did it for her. She would've lost her mind if we left there without that deal, so I got it for her.”
Rob stares at me, slowly shaking his head. “Damn. And they say chivalry is dead.”
I chuckle quietly. “Yeah, but she wasn't happy about it. Said I risked too much by hacking the system, which is true. I was lucky it worked out, but she and I haven't spoken since.”
“Oof,” Rob exclaims. “That’s cold. You lock down a company-saving deal for her and she ghosts you immediately after? That’s how people end up in their villain era.”
“You ain’t lying,” I reply. “But it’s cool. It might take a while, but if she's moving on from me, I’ll eventually do the same. I’ll come up, get in better shape, or some other shit that men do to make themselves feel better about being left hanging, and that’ll be it.”
“Shorty was like a siren,” he says. “She chewed you up and spit you out, man. That’s what happens when you're messing with those older women.”
I smirk, remembering how her age came into play in the depths of the playhouse. “Well, it wasn't all bad.”
The conference room table fills up, each seat occupied by a different department head and those of us who work in the executive wing.
Eden comes in and takes a seat in the corner closest to the head of the table, and we nod to each other as she sits down.
Eden and I have had an unspoken love for each other for a while now, but it has really peaked since the EWB meeting.
It’s almost like she knows Olivia was in the wrong that day, but her loyalty to her friend won't allow her to say it.
I'm not mad at it. That’s the way a true friend gets down.
She won't say anything to me, but I get the sense that she has said a few things on my behalf when it’s just her and Olivia behind closed doors.
After Eden and I exchange a glance, the glass doors open again, and Olivia’s presence fills the room—her fragrance, her aura, her vibrance, her beauty.
She struts in with a new sense of confidence that I'm not sure I've seen on her.
Her face isn't as tight as it usually is.
She has a smirk that won't leave her lips, and even her clothes—a black skirt with a black and gray blazer over a white blouse—seem to fit differently.
She steps to the front of the room, stealing all of the air, and never looks at me once.
After everything that has happened between us, I know something like that isn't an accident. It’s her way of reminding me that she and I are through.
“Good morning, everyone,” she begins, smiling bigger than I've ever seen her smile in this room. Usually, this conference room is teeming with hostility and arguments. Today, it’s filled with her obvious pride.
“I apologize for being a bit behind schedule. I needed to send an important email before coming in because I won't have a chance to get back to my office once we’re done here. I have a meeting scheduled with our lawyers and the lawyers of East-World Bank, so I’ll have to keep this short and sweet. ”
She takes a deep breath before continuing. Still, not a single glance my way. A siren indeed.
“The reason I've called all of the department heads here today,” she goes on, “is because I need to inform you of our newest client. As of three days ago, Obsidian Securities has reached an agreement with East-World Bank that will make us their new cybersecurity team. A new client will mean additions across the board to ensure that we protect them and their assets to the best of our ability. Our finance team will link with theirs, we will have to add their files to our servers and appoint a liaison and customer service rep for their team as well. It’s a lot of work bringing on a new client, especially one as massive as EWB. We’re still finalizing all of our numbers, but from the looks of it, this deal will be somewhere in the ballpark of six years, for a total of around five million dollars … per year.”
Eyebrows in the room immediately shoot the tops of faces.
Jaws stretch down to the floor and I think I hear a few audible gasps.
Thirty million dollars is far bigger than anything the people in this room have ever known Obsidian to deal with, and they know that amount of money puts the company into a new realm of possibilities.
We are about to grow, and so is their income.
Out of nowhere, an applause breaks out. Joy is born in the room that has had nothing but negativity in it since I moved up here, and I see Olivia smile with her entire face.
This is what she wanted the whole time—to see her father's company winning—and even through our bullshit, I'm happy to see her get it. Obsidian is safe now.
Olivia raises a hand, bringing the applause to an end. Then she takes another deep breath and begins again.
“Obviously, this is a major event for our company,” she says.
“And I would just like to say that as happy as I am about reaching this deal, I want you all to know that it wasn't me who made it happen.
I went into the meeting with talking points and numbers at hand.
I spouted it all off from memory and the EWB board didn't go for it.
They actually told us no. They were comfortable with the partnership they had in place, and they had no intention of budging.
It wasn't until Mr. Quinn King took matters into his own hands.”
Olivia finally looks at me, and I see clear and obvious reverence in her eyes. I suddenly see gratitude emanating from her gaze as she looks at me in a way that she never has while we’re in this building. It’s enough to push me back into my seat, totally caught off guard.
“Quinn refused to take no for an answer,” she says, still looking right at me.
“In fact, he used his own laptop to hack into the Palo Alto security system, and he locked the CFO out of his own account … right there at the table, in the middle of the meeting. It was the most extraordinary, brilliant, amazing thing I've ever seen, and it’s the reason that Joel Epson didn't have a choice but to accept our proposal. He risked his career, and let’s be honest, even his freedom to get us this deal. I was too blind to see it at first, but it’s as clear as day to me now just how incredible his sacrifice was.
It’s not every day that someone risks jail time, but he did it for me …
for us. So, I would like you all to direct all of your applause, graciousness, and thanks toward our very own CISO, Mr. Quinn King. ”
The applause returns, but this time it’s only for me.
Everybody in the room turns to me with smiles on their faces as they clap, and my heart fills with their joy.
I look at Olivia and find her clapping too, but the way she looks at me is nothing like the way everyone else does.
There's an emotion in her that reaches out and grabs me by the heart, pulling right back to where I was before the night she left me in the playhouse by myself.
“So,” she says, trying to regain control of the room.
“As I said before, there is a lot of work that comes with bringing in a new client, and I need you all to prep your departments for what's coming. It is my hope that this deal will be signed in the next day or two, and we will begin taking over EWB’s accounts in a month, the second their contract with Palo Alto ends. So, congratulations, everyone. Thanks to Q, we just graduated to the big leagues. Now, let’s get to work. ”
With a gracious nod, Olivia blesses us with one last smile before she leaves the room.
I watch her go, hoping for a chance to talk to her, but I'm bombarded by people patting me on the back and thanking me for what I did.
I shake a hundred hands and make my face hurt from smiling so much before I'm able to leave the conference room.
By the time I'm out, the lights in Olivia’s office are off.
I guess she really did have a meeting right after ours ended.
Feeling both confused by her actions—like calling me Q in front of everyone—and excited about everything, I dap up Rob and make my way back to my office, where I sit down and turn on my computer.
I have my own preparations to make for the new files that will come with the EWB account, and it’s never too early to start looking for our next addition to the Obsidian team.
Once my computer hums to life, I go into my email and immediately find a new one … from Olivia.
My eyes bulge. “The hell?”
I click the email and read it to the bottom, and try as I might, I can't help my smile.
Q,
I can't tell you how sorry I am for the way I reacted after the meeting.
I was wrong. In fact, I have been wrong for a while now, but I don't want my words to be how I show you.
I know that you're much more motivated by actions, so if you're free tonight, I'd like for you to come over. I’ll be home by 7.
If you decide not to come, I totally understand and will have earned that response.
Either way, I am so sorry for how I've treated you, and I appreciate absolutely everything you have done for me.
I don't just mean EWB. I mean everything. Thank you, Q.
Olivia