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Chapter 44—Impressed
As she approached, Gina saw the tall, beefy Raymond standing in the middle of his large office, seemingly talking to someone at the side of the room that Gina could not yet see. The taps of her shoes on the wooden floor grabbed his attention. He looked toward the door and saw the statuesque figure walking toward him. Uncharacteristic of him, his smile developed fast and wide but soon turned into a rather alarming grin. He even walked toward the door to meet her, with two open arms, fingers of one hand clutching a short, chubby cigar.
"Gina, Gina, my goddess of the week! Marvelous performance! Marvelous!"
His secretary who was about to step into the office bringing coffee witnessed this and was puzzled. Never had anybody heard Raymond praise anyone—let alone in the manner he displayed just now.
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THE BOSS Chapter 45—At Arm's Length
"So how exactly did you achieve that feat, Gina? Tell us," Raymond said, truly eager to hear the story. Raymond made Gina tell her story from the beginning to the end, making sure she skipped no details. Every time she tried to tell the event summarily, Raymond would say, "Back up, back up a bit … how did it get there?" She finally reached the end of the full and detailed account of the meeting. She then surmised, "I have to say, while I didn't think it was his intention, Tom's misbehavior helped. I used it as a prop, to show how ridiculous they were without pointing it at them, but Tom. Grabbel saw how determined I was, and my boss here," Gina looked at The Boss with deep affection, "had backed me up."
THE BOSS Chapter 46—Colin, the Thorn
"Let's discuss our strategy now," The Boss said, breaking the silence. "Abram will announce his decision to his executive team; he will go with us based on the majority of votes. I was told he would do it today." "So, we will be okay then," Raymond said. "Yes, if all goes as planned. But nothing ever goes as planned. The thorn in our side now is Colin the CIO …" "What the hell does a CIO have to do with this?" Raymond was already annoyed. "Exactly. His non-favorable view of us was based on his grudge against Gina. Now, if all goes well, he and his objection shall be neutralized. But what if that doesn't go well?"
THE BOSS Chapter 47—A Rotten Day
Dungi was crying. He was exasperated. His last project with the company was the Doxxan account, and it was coming to an end. Once the client completed the last payment of five hundred thousand dollars, his contract with Abalido and Quinaeros Inc. would end. Yes, he was a contract employee, he had always been since he started five years ago, and Gina was not aware of that. She had been evading him, refusing his many requests for a meeting for the past two days since she came back from Portland. He had wanted to ask Gina for an extension of his contract. Portland project would suit him well, he thought. He didn't understand why Gina kept on avoiding him to talk about that opportunity. He had also tried his luck with the other Busin
THE BOSS Chapter 48—Colin and Dungi
Colin was mad. He knew he had been upstaged by Abalido and Quinaeros—or as he perceived it, by Gina. He didn't know how, but he could guess that there was some intervention in the process that changed it from requiring unanimity to deciding by voting. The meeting with the board of directors was moved to the following week, and he had until the end of that week to cast his vote. Adrian had already fallen in line and cast his vote on the same day Abram announced his decision to change the mechanism. Now he was the only one standing against the choice of Abalido and Quinaeros—but at one against four, it had no impact, he would just be the odd one out. But if he fell in line as Adrian did, Abram—thus Gina—would have their unanimity after all. Damn you, Gina! A pickle. A dilemma for the crooked-hearted.&
THE BOSS Chapter 49—Outmaneuvered
Colin didn't go back home. He went back to his office. At 7 PM, the floor was still buzzing with activity. The lights in his office, however, had been turned off and his secretary had gone home. He entered his room and didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He needed to think about the information he just got from Dungi. He had to make a quick decision, he had only a little time until he had to cast his vote. The information was not enough to blackmail, he thought. But probably enough to stir trouble, and if it hid a more sinister plot, something was bound to come out, and he just had to be ready to catch and cash it out. He took big steps out of his room toward the CEO's large suite. He knew that Abram would usually still be in his office unless he had a dinner meeting. He would wind his day down with his dri
THE BOSS Chapter 50—At Private Club
At 8 PM, Abram called The Boss, and was truly sorry but, "Could we meet tonight? You, Gina and myself?" To which The Boss said yes. He called Gina and Rhonda and asked them to meet him and Abram at the club on the top floor of his apartment building. He requested their presence without the courtesy of asking or pretending to be sorry. The club was another posh establishment in The Boss' apartment building, accepting only the residents and their guests. Every seating section was private, surrounded by tall shelves of books and bottles of the finest liquors and malts, as well as water and canned drinks in a refrigerator whose door disguised it as part of the lower shelves. When patrons occupied a section, a butler would be assigned to attend to them. First, he would bring an assortment of cheeses and finger foods, and serve them their first round of drinks, then he would disappear until he was called
THE BOSS Chapter 51—What Were You Thinking?
"He has been nothing but warm to you, at least that's what I observe," Rhonda protested when Gina told her The Boss had been giving her the cold shoulder. "But even if you were right, why do you think that is?" "I am clueless." "Has anything been going on between you two that you haven't told me?" Rhonda looked at her friend as she drove them back from the meeting at the private club. "Because, in retrospect, I think The Boss somehow felt you left him—not in the professional sense as I have initially thought." "Oh, he did? Tell me." "It was when I accompanied him—you know, the karaoke night with the Doxxan people."
THE BOSS Chapter 52—He Shipped Me Off
Gina took the bread from the toaster, put them onto two plates, spooned the scrambled eggs onto the bread. She brought the plates to the dining table and placed one in front of Rhonda and another opposite her. The smell of the toasted bread and the sight of the creamy eggs were tantalizing to the empty morning stomach. She went back behind the counter and fetched two tall glasses from the cabinet, took out a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator, and poured it into the two glasses. She put the glasses down on the table and sat across from Rhonda. Breakfast was served. "I truly thought it wouldn't matter to him. He was always composed; he certainly could see Roy meant nothing. It was purely business, a job. Oh, goodness! It was a job done for him! I needed to entertain Roy, I had delayed my promise to go out
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