Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
ELLIOT
A fter leaving the Spearman Foundation, I head to the office. There’s a lot I need to do before I can head to San Jose. For starters, I need to check if there’s an available apartment in one of the buildings we own or manage.
When I enter the office, Zoe, the receptionist, greets me. “Good afternoon, sir. Would you like me to tell Mr. Smith that you’re here?”
“Hello, Zoe. Please don’t bother him. I’ll just let myself in.”
Jonathan is in his office, feet on his desk, chair reclined, and phone to his ear. He’s laughing at something. When he sees me, he straightens up immediately and almost jumps out of the chair. “Let me call you later, babe.”
“I didn’t know we paid you to make personal calls during working hours.”
He clears his throat. “I had no idea you were in town.”
“Save the pleasantries for someone else. Why did you dismiss Fern Spearman?”
Jonathan stares at me dumbfounded. “Sh-she wasn’t here for a Spearman bid, per se. They wanted us to do pro bono shit. We’re not a charity. It’s hard enough to meet the quarterly goals without adding a leech to our portfolio.”
I run a hand through my hair. I swear if I didn’t need him, I would fire his ass right now.
Who’s going to take care of the company if I let him go?
Looking at him, I realize he’s not that indispensable.
I can always set someone as interim CEO while I search for a qualified candidate, can’t I?
The beauty of owning a company is that I can do whatever the fuck I want with it.
“This is the kind of thing you run by me,” I say.
“You’re not always available,” he argues.
I scoff. “And yet, last week you reached out to me because you wanted a raise.”
“That’s different.”
“No. Let’s start with the fact you didn’t let the client pitch. The moment she mentioned this was a charity, you pushed her out the door. That’s not how we do things in North Bay Construction.”
“Funny, but I’m the CEO, and that’s how I handle this company. If you don’t like it…” He waves a hand toward the door.
I look at my watch, pull out my phone, and text Blake, my head of security.
Elliot: Can you escort Jonathan out of the building?
Blake: Kyle just told me you’re in town, and now I have to clean up your trash? Not even a hello, asshole? You’re priceless.
Elliot: You were my next call.
Blake: Sure. I’ll see you in a few. Give a call to HR. They like to know when you fire people. It prevents lawsuits and shit like that.
Elliot: Consider it done.
I smirk. “After a long consideration, we’ve decided that you’re no longer what the company needs.”
“You can’t just fire me. I’m the CEO.”
“Funny you mention that because when you signed the contract, you were aware of the clause where it says that, at any point, I can dismiss you.”
“I’ll call my lawyer.”
“Sure, if someone takes the case, I’ll bill you the legal fees after we win. In the meantime, please leave the building. I have some catching up to do and problems to solve.”
Like putting someone on that chair so no one can ask where I’m at or what I’m doing with my life.
Before I forget, I send a text to my lawyer.
Elliot: I fired my CEO. He’s threatening to call his legal team.
Fitz: You’re a pain in the ass, McPhee. Aren’t you lucky that his contract says you can fire him without cause?
Elliot: I am, that’s why I keep you around.
Fitz: Are you in the country?
Elliot: Yes.
Fitz: Good, I have a few things for you to sign. I’ll try to fly down to San Francisco next week, unless you want to visit us in Seattle.
Elliot: Seattle? Us?
Fitz: I moved a few months ago—I’ll send you the wedding invitation soon. Just tell me where you’ll be.
Elliot: Look at you finally settling down. The world is coming to an end.
Fitz: No, it will when you get married. Time to move on, McPhee.
Elliot: I have.
Fitz: I’ll let you keep the illusion. Who’s going to run the company while you find a new CEO?
Elliot: I’m in town. I guess I’ll do it for now.
Fitz: Good, then we don’t need any paperwork until you find a new puppet. I’ll send you my address so you can visit me. I won’t take no for an answer.
Elliot: I’ll try.
“So, you fired him because he didn’t treat the pretty girl well enough?” Blake asks as we go through the employees that might be able to take over the company.
“That wasn’t just it. You’ve been telling me that he has to go.”
“When was the last time you listened to me?”
I grunt as I look at the next résumé. Okay, so I probably didn’t think this through, but what was I supposed to do? I could see everything playing out when I told him we were taking on that project and he had to assign a team to start working with Fern Spearman.
We were going to get into a fight that might’ve given him some leverage to sue me. This way, he can’t do anything.
When I lift my gaze, I notice Blake staring at me.
“It’s for a good cause, you know?”
His eyebrow shoots up. “Getting rid of the asshole or the new project that will miraculously keep you home for a few months.”
“Only a few weeks,” I clarify. “I don’t see myself staying any longer than a month.”
He shakes his head.
“According to the database, we have an empty studio apartment in the Pacific Heights building. I’m taking it.”
Blake grins but doesn’t say a word. I’m thankful for it.
I have no idea what’s going to happen after I assess the property. It might be too expensive for the foundation, and they might disregard the idea, just as many people with good intentions do. All I can offer is a crew and my knowledge, maybe some money.
This is what they wanted, right?
The best construction company to take care of this project—and as an added bonus, the founder of North Bay will be working for them.
Except, they won’t know it’s me. That’s the beauty of social media, the internet, and people believing what they want to believe.
We feed them what we want to be on record.
Only those who dig deep would learn the story about my company—well, and me.
But that’s not something a charity company cares about. They’ll only be interested in what I have to offer. Free labor, a crew, and discounted material. By the time they get curious about me, I’ll be long gone to another site, another county, and another life.