14. Charlie
CHAPTER 14
CHARLIE
W ork was the only thing that got Charlie’s mind off of Olivia in the days following their near-kiss.
He had never cared about work before. He had taken the job on the board of his father’s company because it had been handed to him when he’d turned twenty-two, and he had kept it all these years because, in a way, it had allowed him to feel close to his family, even though they had never tried to be particularly close to him. Walking through the halls of his father’s building, he could remember what it had been like to be here as a child, to play in the break room while his father worked, to feed quarters into the vending machines and get sodas and candy bars and feel like the whole world belonged to him.
Now that he actually had a job here, he didn’t feel nearly so on top of the world. It was much harder to make sense of his place in this company these days.
On one hand, everyone did treat him very well. Even the upper management inclined their heads to him when he passed and called him Mr. Coldwell , as if he had some position of authority here. He didn’t, of course. He was only a member of the board because he had been placed there by his father. He probably knew less about the inner workings of the company than an entry-level coder.
Today, he sat in a meeting in one of the conference rooms, taking notes on a piece of paper. It was more than he usually did. He usually tried to avoid attending these meetings at all, and when he did come, he certainly never took notes. He attended when he was told that the board needed a quorum to pass a vote about something or other, and when that happened, he would usually speak to one of his father’s trusted associates — one of the oldest and most established members of the board — to find out where he ought to vote. He couldn’t recall ever having researched the issue at hand to make a decision for himself.
Today’s meeting was about the prospect of making a new appointment to the board. “We don’t really need anyone else,” said Thomas Sanderson, who had been Charlie’s father’s second in command up until his retirement. “The board we have has functioned well for decades.”
“But Harris wants to retire,” said Cory Ames. Cory was one of the youngest board members, only a few years older than Charlie himself. He had been appointed to the board after making a breakthrough in the field of robotics that had changed the industry. He was a household name these days, and everyone had known that if he hadn’t been given a position on the board, he would have left the company and gone into business for himself. It had been the only way to keep him on staff. It was a decision that Charlie agreed with — Cory was one of the brightest minds at the company.
“So Harris will retire,” Thomas said. “That won’t change anything. Harris hasn’t attended these meetings in almost a year. Look around you. He isn’t here today.”
It was true. It was high time for Howard Harris to retire. He was in his seventies, and he’d been with the company since the very beginning.
“We can do this without his help,” Thomas insisted. “We don’t need him.”
“Maybe we don’t,” Cory agreed. “But we do need people , and you know that, Thomas. Harris retiring is one thing, but what happens to this company when you retire?”
“I don’t have plans to retire.”
“Ever?”
“When I do, you can talk about expanding the board. But it won’t be any time soon.”
“Now, hold on,” Charlie spoke up, for he had just realized how little sense that argument made. “You’re suggesting that we shouldn’t expand the board until we absolutely have to do it? But we need a quorum to add new members to the board. They have to be approved by at least five votes. How are we going to get the five votes if we wait until we don’t have the full board to even call a vote. Bad enough that we have to try to do it without Harris — there are only seven of us here now.”
“You’ll never get five of this seven to approve what you’re suggesting,” Thomas said.
“And you think it will be easier if we wait until there are only six?”
“Charlie’s right,” Cory said. “That’s exactly why we need to have the vote right now, today. It’s the reason we can’t afford to wait.”
“We shouldn’t rush,” Thomas said. “There’s no reason we need to do this hastily, and we shouldn’t just accept the very first person suggested to us.”
“She’s a good suggestion, though,” Charlie said.
“What would you know about it?”
“Well, I’ve got the same papers in front of me as the rest of you do. Samantha Benning has been at this company for fifteen years. She’s the most senior programmer we have. What’s your reason for not wanting her on the board?”
“Are you accusing me of something?” Thomas asked, leaning forward.
Charlie was bemused. “What would I be accusing you of?”
Cory snorted. “He thinks you’re saying that he doesn’t want Benning on the board because she’s a woman.”
“Well, we’ve never had a woman on the board,” Thomas said.
“Are you saying we shouldn’t?”
“I’m saying we shouldn’t add a woman just because she’s a woman. Just to make some kind of point.”
“But that isn’t why,” Charlie said. “She’s incredibly qualified. She might be more qualified than some of us. She’s a hell of a lot more qualified than I am, I can tell you that.” He looked around the table. “I call the question.”
“Oh, come on,” Thomas said. “We haven’t agreed to vote on this.”
“We don’t have to have a quorum agree to call a vote, do we?”
“No,” Cory said. “Someone just has to call the vote. You have every right to do that. I’m in favor of her appointment.”
“Me too,” Charlie said, raising his hand. “Who else?”
He looked around the table, waiting to see what would happen.
At first, there were no hands. Everyone just stared, and Charlie felt a sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. Maybe he had been too hasty. Maybe no one would get on board with what he was proposing, and he would find himself alone. Maybe by rushing this vote, he had ruined Samantha Benning’s chances of joining the board.
But then another hand went up — and another.
Cory grinned at him across the table and mouthed the word four , and Charlie understood. They needed only one more.
He looked at the three people with their hands down. Thomas was immovable. That was obvious. And he didn’t think he would be able to get Bob Gleason either. But at the very end of the table was Jeff Raskin, his hands in his lap, fidgeting and looking uncomfortable.
“Jeff,” Charlie said quietly.
Jeff looked up at him.
“It’s a good idea,” Charlie said. “She’ll be good. You know she will. And we’ll be better if we have her here. We’ll be able to get more done. We’ll actually be able to get numbers on future votes — we’ll be able to make progressive choices for the company. I know you want that.”
Jeff hesitated a moment, and Charlie thought he hadn’t convinced him… but then he nodded and put his hand up. “You’re right,” he said. “She’s the right choice.”
“That’s five,” Cory said. “That’s enough.”
Thomas’s jaw worked. “Your father would not have approved of this, Coldwell.”
“My father’s the one who appointed me,” Charlie said coolly.
“He didn’t do that so you could go against the choices he would have made.”
“He did it so I could take a hand in the direction of this company, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I have no regrets. This was the right choice.” Charlie rose to his feet. “Is that the only business we had today?”
“That’s all,” Jeff said. “Thanks for making it, everyone. I’ll put together the offer for Benning.” He stood up too. “Have a good day.”
Charlie left the conference room quickly, not wanting to find himself face-to-face with angry members of his father’s board. He knew he had thwarted their wishes. The truth was that he felt a little exhilarated by what he had done here today — it was exciting to have made a difference in the future of the company, to have truly cast his own vote instead of simply following along with what others said he should do.
Cory caught up with him in the hallway. “Hey,” he said. “I’ve never seen you like that in a board meeting, Charlie. You seemed like you really cared about what happened in there.”
“I did,” Charlie admitted. “I’m not used to feeling that way about it.”
“What changed?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s different. I just know that I felt… awake in there, in a way I haven’t before.”
“Well, whatever it is, I hope you keep it up.” Cory socked him on the shoulder. “It was nice to have someone in there who doesn’t just want to stick to the status quo. Hey, would you like to get a drink with me?”
“That sounds nice.”
“There’s a bar down the block. I think you’ll like it.”
The two men walked down to the elevator together. Charlie was stunned at the way the day had gone — first the meeting and now this. He had never imagined that he would become close with someone from the office, but this felt like the beginning of a friendship.
It felt good to do something successfully. It felt good to have tangible evidence that he was more than the family black sheep, that he was actually fit for the job he had been handed by his father. I can do this. I can do this well.
For a moment, he thought of Olivia again — of what she would say if she were to find out about today’s events. He had no doubt that she would be impressed. She would make a joke about the fact that she had once thought of him as nothing more than a rich boy, a skirt-chaser and a philanderer. He would be able to show her that there was more to him than she’d known.
It was a wonderful thought — but did he dare to discuss it with her?
The idea of getting close to Olivia again after what had happened the other night was incredibly intimidating. He hadn’t been able to restrain himself from the kiss he had known was coming. If she hadn’t pulled away, it would have happened, and Charlie didn’t know how to feel about that. He suspected it would have been a very bad idea. It would have muddied waters that needed to remain clear and complicated things between the two of them. The line between the professional and the personal was important to maintain — it was vital if they were going to continue along the path they’d started on.
It was simple. They had to sell the house, divide the money, and move along.
That wouldn’t happen if he allowed himself to get drawn in by his desire to kiss her — a desire he hadn’t even wanted to admit that he had.
But it could no longer be denied. In addition to being beautiful, Olivia was sensitive with him in a way no other woman ever had been. She gave him something he had always longed for, and he wanted more of it.
He hated the fact that he was in this position.
If only they weren’t professionally entangled… but no, he wouldn’t have been able to get involved with her under those circumstances either. He would have run the risk of driving her away, and that was something he couldn’t stand to do. He didn’t want to lose her like that. It would be far better to keep the wall up between them. It would be better never to start anything with her at all than to risk losing her.
He turned his attention back to Cory. They would celebrate their victory in the board meeting together, and for today, that would be more than enough.