Page 30 of Insufferable Boss

I listened to his words with a straight face and almost shook my head. If he truly wanted to know how I was settling in, then he could and should have just called. But then here he is.

"Just a moment," I told him, and with a smile, he walked back out.

"I'll talk later," I told Diana. "It seems I have a surprise visit."

"Who?" she asked. "Kane motherfucking Lazarus?"

I ended the call and straightened up in my chair.

A few minutes later, he walked in with his hand in his pocket, but then pulled it out the moment he was in my space, and I couldn't help but notice that perhaps my office was a tad too small because he seemed to instantly shrink the entire space by two as he walked in with his hawk-eyed stare.

It seemed as though he was trying to see right into my soul with how directly and intensely, he stared at me. As the seconds passed and I began to squirm, I was sure that he was succeeding.

“Please take a seat,” I said, and he nodded and did so.

Then he stared at me, and I truly, at that moment, couldn’t believe just how handsome he was. It was glaring, but now, and somehow, he seemed even more attractive. Perhaps it was the evening glow or whatever, but I really wouldn’t have minded if in that moment a repeat of this afternoon, and perhaps even more, occurred. The very thought though filled me with hate, and I didn’t know if it was for him or myself.

“I wanted to stop by to see how you were settling in,” he said, and I nodded.

“Thank you, that's very thoughtful. I was going to come see- to speak to you as well.”

“Well, I'm here now,” he said. “Go ahead.”

I looked at him and knew with the way he stared at me, head slightly cocked to the side, undistracted, he was thinking about that afternoon, and as a result, it took me longer than it had ever had previously to put a sentence together.

“What do you want to speak about again?” he asked, and I slightly lowered my gaze. And then I remembered.

“Where do I stand here?” I asked. “I've met with the team… we've shared our ideas and vision for where to go with the new division, but it hasn't exactly been approved yet, nor have I been employed.”

He looked around the office and then he nodded.

“You're right. You're right.”

“I can go ahead to employ you now, but approving funding and eventually getting started towards the new division is another feat. We need to bring this to the equity holders and somehow be able to get the other two on board.”

I looked at him because that statement… if he had mentioned moving Mount Everest, things would have felt more plausible.

“Sure,” I said and picked up a pen to twirl around. “And how do we do that?”

“That's another reason why I'm here,” he said. “We should be on the same page as to how to handle things since the other parties are both our siblings. We should understand them a bit, right, and be able to know how best to handle them?”

I was amused.

“You fired my brother today, I don't think he's going to be wanting to be handled by you in any way for the foreseeable future.”

“Yeah, I figured, but that's where you come in. I don't have to handle him, but I'm pretty sure that you'll be more than up to the task.”

I watched him, and then I sighed.

“I don't know,” I said. “He seemed pretty pissed. In fact, I deeply suspect that a lawsuit for wrongful termination is coming your way.”

“I suspect the same as well,” he replied.

“But I didn't just fire him because I was mad. His lackadaisical attitude has indeed been slowing down his department. He's in charge of logistics, but I think he assumed that it would take less work than it actually does. It requires his presence, especially when tough decisions need to be made, but he's never around. He more than anything relinquished complete authority to the deputy head there, which is fine, but when tough decisions need to be made, and your brother is unreachable, guess who they call? Me.”

“They need a leader. Someone who can help them grow in a specified direction but it's not happening, and that is a crucial part of our company. We need innovation and speed, and it needs to be fixed. I have a man for the job, but I know your brother won't just allow me to replace him, so I needed to find a way for him to. Not sure yet if this will work but let me see if he will bend to my will in exchange for his job back.”

I smiled.