11
R emy checked the time on his computer. He had a meeting with Kieran in half an hour. His boss had gone to tour Monroe Hygienics and ultimately made the decision Remy knew he would have. Andrew Monroe was pushed out of his company with a unanimous vote from his remaining shareholders. He knew that even if it hadn’t been unanimous, Cayman Industries had been able to buy fifty-two percent of the shares.
Takeovers tended to go over much smoother when you had the backing of a company’s board, and the board had already issued expectations the CEO hadn’t delivered on. While it was still a process, it would be much easier than if it’d been a blind hostile takeover with little to no one in their corner.
Remy turned his attention back to the schedule Chloe sent him. He’d ask her to amend a few of his meetings since he would be going out of town tomorrow morning on business for the rest of the week. He was going on a tour of a small company manufacturing training toothbrushes for children. They were mini-sonic and played a few different songs about brushing their teeth while in use.
Had it not been for the takeover they’d just initiated, it wouldn’t have been a product that the company was interested in. However, Remy thought it would be the perfect addition since the hygienic company didn’t sell one for children yet.
While he was out that way, Remy planned on stopping in and seeing how Trenton, the man hired as the operations manager of one of the extension offices, was doing. He’d been running things for several months alone, and Remy felt it was time to visit him to see how things were going.
Not that he thought he would need continual checking in on. If he did, they wouldn’t have hired him. Trenton caught on quickly to the operations, and once he’d been working for a while, he’d settled in fine. Remy just wanted to ensure things were still running well for him and that he didn’t need additional support.
He approved the schedule and returned it to Chloe before rising from his seat. It wasn’t quite time for him to meet with Kieran yet. So, he decided to grab himself a cup of coffee since he’d bypassed it and breakfast first thing that morning.
He entered the breakroom on his floor, prepping his coffee. As it brewed, he decided to grab one of the muffins from the box of pastries that Chloe always brought each morning. It started as a habit when she’d become pregnant, and it seemed to be continuing since she’d given birth.
Remy didn’t mind it. They made for a good snack when he was craving something sweet or on days he’d skipped breakfast.
He remained in the breakroom, eating his muffin and drinking his coffee until five minutes before his meeting. Throwing the muffin wrapper away, Remy took the rest of his coffee and got on the elevator, heading up to Kieran’s floor.
He waved at Alijah, who was on the phone. She waved back, gesturing him into Kieran’s office. He knocked once on the open doorframe before stepping inside.
“Hey,” Kieran stated, looking up from his computer screen.
“Hey,” Remy responded, taking one of the two seats across from Kieran’s desk. “How did it go yesterday?”
“The tour went well. You’re right; it will bring in a good amount of revenue once we eliminate those unneeded expenses. By the end of the year, I feel like we should be breaking even, and then nothing but profit after that. Especially since one of the major money-draining obstacles is gone.”
Remy took a drink from his coffee mug. “I’m assuming you mean Andrew.”
“I do. He was paying himself sixty percent of the revenue. While it wasn’t the only bad and greedy decision, it definitely attributed to the terrible financials. ”
“How’d he take it when you told him he was dismissed?”
Kieran leaned back in his desk chair. “Not well. I was even generous enough to give him a week to have all of his things vacated from the property. That is until he thought he could speak to my wife any kind of way.”
Remy made a face that hoped Kieran was kidding for Andrew’s sake because it was clear to anyone who knew him and Alijah, and even those who didn't, could pick up on it that he didn’t play about his wife. He almost felt bad for Andrew, but at the forefront of his mind was making sure Kieran and the company weren’t about to be sued.
“You didn’t put hands on him, did you?”
“I wanted to,” Kieran responded, rubbing his chin. “However, Alijah seemed to think laying him out on his back wasn’t worth it.”
“Good, because a lawsuit against you or the company while we’re doing a hostile takeover of his does not look good and would work against us.”
Kieran shrugged. “It probably would have been fine.”
Remy found himself chuckling as he shook his head. He and Kieran knew it would have posed issues for the company. He also knew that Kieran didn’t care about any of that when defending Alijah, and he couldn't say he blamed the other man. Remy also tended to be protective and possessive when he was in a relationship.
For the next hour, he and Kieran discussed which expenses they would eliminate and how they planned to restructure once the takeover was complete. It was an informal planning meeting and Remy knew they’d get more detailed and in-depth once they brought in accounting and put someone in place to run operations.
Once their meeting finished, Remy took his empty coffee cup and exited Kieran’s office. He stopped at Alijah’s desk, and she ceased typing, looking up at him.
“Thank you for making sure Kieran didn’t injure Andrew.”
Alijah laughed. “You’re welcome. I didn’t need him getting into it with Mr. Monroe. It was understandable that he was upset about losing his company. I also didn’t want Kieran accosting the man in front of his wife. She was there visiting.”
“Well, thank you for keeping his temper in check. ”
Alijah smiled at him. “I’ve become quite good at it. Did Lawrence tell you about the trip I’m hoping to plan since the two of you are an item now?”
Remy chuckled. “An item, huh? But yes, he did.”
“Good; I’ll let everyone know at least a month ahead.”
Remy nodded. He’d already told Lawrence he didn’t mind going. He also got the feeling that Alijah would not take no for an answer, which meant Kieran wouldn’t have an objection to them both being gone simultaneously. Or, well, he could object, but Remy knew Alijah wouldn’t hear it.
“I’ll see you later, Alijah.”
He returned to the elevator and rode it one floor down to his own. He had a few more meetings before his day would be over.
L awrence looked at the name that flashed across his screen, debating whether or not to answer it. However, his last few conversations with his father had gone fine, so he didn’t see a reason to ignore the other man. Taking a deep breath before answering, he brought the phone to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey, son. How are you?”
“I’m good, Dad. How are you?”
“I’m making it. We haven’t spoken in a while, and I wanted to check in on you. See what was new.”
Lawrence furrowed his brow. Usually, his conversations with his father were filled with the usual pleasantries, but they seldom got too far into each other’s lives. It’d been that way since Lawrence was a teenager. So, his father wanting to know what was happening outside of himmakingsure he was okay, was out of the ordinary.
“Nothing much. I’m still working in my new position, hoping to move up some more in the future.”
Lawrence didn’t see the need to throw in that he was dating someone. His dating life was a sore spot for his father and had been since he’d come out. Lawrence was sure that a part of Dennis hoped he’d been going through a phase when he came out as a teenager. Now, he liked to ignore it, which was always a note of contention between them.
“What about you? What’s new with you, Dad?”
“Same old, same old. Work, home, and repeat.” His father paused for a moment. “I have a vacation scheduled and thought I’d come your way. You could show me how things have changed around Denver.”
Lawrence was quiet for a moment. If Dennis came, it would be the first time he’d visited Lawrence since his parents separated and his father moved back to his hometown.
“I can do that. I’ll plan some things for us to do. Let me know what time your flight lands. I’ll pick you up from the airport and take you to your hotel.”
Lawrence wanted to clarify that his father would not be staying with him. While their conversations were pleasant the past several months, he suspected it was because neither of them brought up his sexual orientation. His father overlooked it to pretend it wasn’t real, and Lawrence had grown so tired of arguing about it when he did that he didn’t say anything. It didn’t matter whether Dennis acknowledged it or not to him. It didn’t change who he was or who he was attracted to.
“Great. It’s next month, but I haven’t purchased my plane ticket yet. I’ll let you know when I do.”
“Sounds good, Dad. I hate to rush off, but I have to get back to work.”
“Of course. I’ll talk to you later, son.”
They hung up, and Lawrence returned to his computer screen. He had an hour of work and three sales contracts to read. He knew their legal department did a great job translating agreed-upon items from the forms he submitted. However, he’d taken to reading them and comparing them to the things he and the potential client agreed on. He didn’t want any hiccups that could cause there to be a delay.
He would send the contracts over first thing in the morning. The sooner he sent them over, the faster he could get them back, and they could place their orders. Lawrence was excited to be closing with multiple clients that week, especially since the last two had been slow for him. Not to mention that one of the companies would be placing one of the most significant orders his company had seen since Lawrence became employed there four years ago.
It was worth celebrating, and he planned on doing just that over the weekend. He didn’t have anything planned outside of getting his favorite foods and watching his favorite movies. Lawrence knew Remy would be heading out of town tomorrow for work, and he wasn’t sure how long the other man would be gone. He would extend the invitation if Remy were back in town by then.
When Lawrence’s workday ended, he locked up his office, said goodbye to a few of his co-workers staying late, and got in his car. On his drive, he decided to go for a swim when he made it home.
Once Lawrence arrived home, he removed his clothes and pulled on a pair of swim trunks. He slipped his feet into a pair of slides, grabbed a towel, and headed to the pool.
There were a few people down there. Most just sat with their legs in the water, talking or on their phones. Lawrence placed his towel on one of the lounge chairs closest to the pool's deep end, slipped off his slides, and dove in.
He swam the length of the pool, coming up from under the water on the shallow end. He wiped the water from his face, opened his eyes, and found a young woman smiling at him. It read of flirtation, and Lawrence thought about telling her she was barking up the wrong tree. He decided against it since it wasn’t necessary before nodding at her in acknowledgment, turning, and swimming back to the other end.
He stayed at the pool for about an hour before his stomach demanded food. He dried himself off and slipped his feet back into his slides.
When he returned to his apartment, Lawrence headed straight to the bathroom and started the shower. He tossed the towel into the corner and placed his swim trunks on top before stepping into the steaming shower.
He dressed in basketball shorts after showering and washing his hair and went to the kitchen. He warmed up the leftover lasagna he had made the night before, settled on his couch, and decided to spend the rest of the evening watching crime dramas.