Page 51 of Insufferable Boss

"Dylan, I really have no interest in internal politics. And I have nothing against you, nor will I sway towards Kane's side for any personal reason. Whatever is said at the meeting, I'll take it into consideration, and then I'll make an informed decision as needed."

He stared at me.

"I'm asking that your decision be swayed in my favor," he said. "Because I'm your brother."

I looked at him, however, I didn't have anything I wanted to say at the time, so I returned my attention to my work.

"Do we have an agreement?" he asked.

However, I still didn't respond.

"We don't know yet what matters will be discussed first," he said. "So, saying anything now will not work in either of our favors."

I decided upon my response then.

"I'm not swaying anything in anyone's favor. I'll hear all the facts presented and make my decision as appropriate."

He looked at me, gave a wry smile, and rose to his feet.

I couldn't help but note how out of place the chair was as he left, and how he had almost slammed the door on his way out if not for the fact that it was quite heavy.

I knew what he was asking me, and I truly had no intention of being involved in this thing that was brewing between him and Kane. This was a business that we were in charge of running, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought about how difficult it must have been all these years for both Kane and our fathers to build the company to where it was. It annoyed me that we were the ones now taking it lightly, especially Dylan. So, truly, I had no shred of sympathy for him.

Kane was obviously trying to punish him. He wasn't going to lose his equity but rather playtime. And maybe afterwards when he was reinstated, he’d learn some responsibility.

23

Kane

This time around, everyone appeared on time. My sister, who had been on some sort of leave, was finally present, and so was Dylan and his lawyer. The only person who ran a few seconds late was Lena, but this was easy to ignore when she appeared nearly out of breath. It was obvious that she had probably lost her way on her way here or been held back by something or the other. I didn't mind. I almost couldn't take my eyes off her as she settled down. Unfortunately for me, Dylan saw this as his opportunity to bring it up.

"I guess she doesn't get to be fired because she was late to the meeting, does she?" he shared a smile with his lawyer as my attention turned to her.

"No external parties can attend this meeting," I said.

"Harold is my lawyer."

"And I don't give a fuck," I cursed harshly, and the room went silent.

"It's against the rules," I said. "And I know you don't know this because you haven't read the bylaws of this company, but-"

"Actually," the idiot lawyer interrupted me. "An external party can be privy when an invitation is extended by a member of the board."

I turned towards the idiot.

"Just extended?" I asked, and he stared at me. I dared him to repeat that lie.

He lowered his head; however, I wasn't going to let him go.

"Just extended," I asked again, and probably not one to run from a fight, he responded.

"Extended and agreed upon by the other members," he added, and I gave him a straight look. He got up then, but before he could take his leave, Dylan stopped him.

"I guess this is it then," he said. "We can have the first official vote of the meeting."

The room went silent while I set my pen down. I was fuming as this level of stupidity felt like nothing but wasted precious time to me. Still, I couldn't outrightly reject his request, so I allowed it. Plus, I knew what he was doing. I had thought it over and over, and now that he had come up with such a brilliant solution, I was almost impressed. By taking a vote against something so inconsequential and seeing which side his sister would sway to. He was trying to see just what she would do, and in all honesty, so did I before the stakes became much higher.

My sister was the first to raise her hand. I nearly rolled my eyes then, but instead, I stared directly at her, and she did the same to me.