"My cell is on the counter, but if you call your uncle and start screaming, I'm kicking you out. I don't need corporate espionage waking up the neighbors. Viven ignored the barb. She grabbed the phone, dialed a number from memory, and walked into the narrow hallway for privacy. Roland set a plate in front of Chloe.
"Eat up, Bug. We've got to get you to school. " "Is the towel lady staying? " Kloe asked, stabbing a piece of egg with her fork. "Just for a bit. She's having some trouble at work. Did she get in trouble with her boss?
Roland smiled a tight, ironic smile, something like that. In the hallway, Viven's voice started low and quickly escalated. What do you mean recused? David, you were on a retainer that could fund a small country. I don't care if Richard threatened your partnership track.
You file the injunction or I will personally ensure. She stopped. She pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the blank screen. He had hung up on her. Viven leaned back against the cheap drywall.
The drywall gave slightly under her weight. David was her fiercest litigator. If David was backing down, Richard had already bought the firm, or at least terrified them enough to sit on the sidelines. She was truly cut off. She walked back into the kitchen.
The fight had drained out of her face, leaving behind a pale, hollowedout expression. She placed the phone on the counter and sat on the wobbly stool at the island. "Lawyers bailed? " Roland asked. He poured a cup of black coffee and pushed it toward her. David cited a conflict of interest, Vivien said quietly.
Her fingers traced the rim of the cheap ceramic mug. Richard got to him. He's cutting off my oxygen. If I can't get an injunction filed by Friday, the board will ratify the vote. It becomes permanent.
I'll be bought out at a fraction of my shares and I'll lose the company. Your father's company," Roland corrected. She glared at him. "My company? I doubled the market cap in four years.
He just laid the bricks. I built the empire. " "And then you filled it with people who would sell you out for a nickel," Roland said. He picked up his own coffee. "You managed by fear, Vivien. Fear is highly effective when you hold the purse strings.
The second someone else holds them, the fear evaporates. You didn't buy loyalty. You rented obedience. The lease is up. Viven opened her mouth to argue, but the words died in her throat.
She looked at Khloe, who was oblivious to the highstakes autopsy happening 3 ft away, humming while she colored. "I have to get to school," Khloe announced, dropping her crayon. She looked at Vivien. Are you going to wear those clothes all day? Vivien blinked.
I don't have other clothes. My dad has big shirts. You can borrow one. Yours is wrinkly. Chloe hopped off the chair, grabbed her yellow backpack, and trotted to the front door.