Page 75 of Insufferable Boss

"Really?"

I shut my document.

"Have you ever thought that the challenge you're facing now and the reasons you want to leave are why your father stipulated those terms in the first place? Sure, you're a pain in the butt, and I want to let you go more than anything else, but wouldn't it be disrespectful to his intentions for me to agree?"

Furious, he rose to his feet sharply, almost startling me.

"You know what, Kane," he said. "You have the most to lose if you don't accept this, so I thought it'd make sense to come to you to quickly resolve this as soon as possible. But I should have known that all you'd have an interest in is making life as fucking difficult for me as possible."

He wasn't completely wrong there, so I didn't bother arguing.

"I'll take it somewhere else," he said, and I shook my head.

"That doesn't dissolve our lawsuit. Wherever you take it, you better be sure you have the money because it'll be coming back to me once again once we win."

With that, he glared angrily at me, exited the office, and I had to admit that he had given me something to worry about. The next person he could and would probably take this to was my sister, and if she ended up having more stake over us, she could make things incredibly difficult. Maybe not now, but in the future, and that was the last thing I wanted to deal with. And if he took it to Lena...”

I tried hard to think but realized that I wasn't certain at all about what she would do and how she would react to this. I wasn't sure if she would have the money to buy him out immediately, and I knew that was the real reason he had come to me. But if it went to my sister, I suspected that even if she didn't have the funds now to buy him out, she would most definitely be able to come up with something. Actually, her husband has the funds to buy him out.

Sighing, I picked up the phone and called our legal counsel, and a few minutes later, he was in my office.

"Well, technically he can do this," he said. "He can get paid, have his rights transferred, but of course, whoever he transfers it to can't exactly participate in the company in any capacity for the first two years. But they don't have to, at least not directly. All they have to do is claim it's Dylan’s stance because, of course, they bought him out, and that's automatically two votes against you. He doesn't have to be present, and he can sign his rights to be assigned to someone to relay on his behalf if, for any reason, he has to be absent. This is a reasonable clause that was included in the will."

I listened to his words and then I asked.

"So, what is the best course of action?"

"Anything that will ensure that your sister isn't the one who gets his rights, because if she does, then she's automatically higher than the rest of you and she’ll be making the decisions."

I nodded at his words and began to ponder what to do.

36

Lena

"This wasn't approved by the board."

At these words, I didn't have to look up to know whom they were coming from. I was quite familiar with the voice and had been since we were kids, though now he did feel more like a stranger than anything else.

"What are you going to do?" I replied as I went around setting up equipment in the laboratory, marking off what was settled and what wasn't.

"Well, I could make trouble for starters," he says, and I am almost amused.

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"Exactly." he said, and we both went silent until eventually, I turned around to meet his gaze.

"What are you doing here?"

He stared at me for longer than was necessary, and I wondered why. And then it made me concerned because for once he had his somber look on, which told me that he wasn't here to taint me or be dismissive or play games. Whatever he was here to say was immensely serious and required all my attention.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, and he nodded.

"I'm perfect. So perfect in fact that I've come to you with an offer that you shouldn't dare reject. Unlike your dimwitted boyfriend."

I was immediately offended and ready to block out the rest of what he had to say for several reasons, but I decided in the end to just hear him out so I could return to my work.

I turned around and saw that he indeed had his serious face on.