• FOUR • The Wolf in the Henhouse

"Daniel," the sandy-haired man called out as he entered the brightly lit office without knocking. He handed a few files to the dark-eyed man behind the massive, well-polished mahogany desk that left faint traces of citrus in the air.

"Lucas," Daniel acknowledged. "What are we looking at?"

"The top folder contains the files for the main agents," Lucas said as he took a seat and leaned back, crossing his legs and putting his hands behind his head. Daniel may be the big dog, but they had been friends since childhood. "The second is the list to let go."

Daniel scanned each folder briefly, starting with the second one. Fifteen employees, most of them in secretarial or data entry positions. They wouldn't need this many with the new systems he was installing.

"These are fine. Pick the five strongest people, if they're worth a damn, they should be able to handle the workload of the whole fifteen. Make sure the ones being let go get a decent severance and a ninety-day stipend."

"Ninety days?" Lucas coughed.

"Yes," Daniel sighed. "These changes aren’t their fault, so I don’t want them to ultimately feel as if they are being punished. Everybody is nervous as it is, and we need to show that we can be trusted and have their best interests at heart so we don’t have an en masse bailing of the ship." Daniel opened the next folder. Each file had a headshot attached to a personnel page.

"Yes, boss," Lucas said with a twist to his mouth, clearly not happy with that decision.

"Don't worry," Daniel smirked. "It won't eat into your profits. You act like I don't pay you enough."

"You don't," Lucas snorted without missing a beat, but the roll of his eyes betrayed his sarcasm.

"After you get the cutbacks squared away, get me some face time with these guys," Daniel instructed, tapping the first folder. "You've done a great job heading everything up, but I think it's time for these guys to meet the wolf in the henhouse."

"Right away," Lucas grinned and left.

It's all well and good to treat the people he's letting go with care, but for the people staying... he needed to make sure they knew who was running the show now. 

And he also needed to locate this final shareholder, Alan Merrick. He wasn’t sure why Edward was deliberately vague about him, just mentioning it was his nephew, but Daniel didn’t want any potential issues to complicate business, so the sooner he found him, the better. All attempts to reach out had been left unanswered, and it gave him the impression that something was off.

Almost fifty people altogether were gathered for the meeting. It looked like Lucas added a few faces. It made seating far too close for comfort, and others were standing, but they wouldn't be here long. He could hear their clothing rustling against each other’s and the leather of the chairs, and whisper across the smooth surface of the table. Small creaks came from the seats as people adjusted.

Daniel eyed them over. He noticed the ones that fidgeted in their seats or where they stood, too nervous to look at him, as well as the ones that raised their heads confidently, some daring to look him in the eye. He didn't appreciate the latter and glared at each one until they unconsciously submitted by dropping their eyes.

But one man kept his eyes on him the longest, his stare meant to challenge and intimidate. He had green eyes and was tall and trim, just slightly smaller than Daniel.

And he was pissing Daniel the fuck off.

Daniel steeled his gaze and let a fraction of his power seep through. The man's face paled, and he dropped his eyes involuntarily and swallowed. Satisfied, Daniel began his meeting.

"I know this is a difficult time for everyone here, but I'm pleased to announce that once we're officially integrated, you'll find working under Clearfork Securities not that different than before.

"I'm Daniel Sanford. Most of you have already met your Chief of Operations, Lucas Dunn. You'll be seeing more of him than me most of the time, as he'll be running things here in my stead.

"But, to begin with, we've let some of your support staff go with severance pay and a ninety-day stipend. If any of you wish to leave now, you'll be getting the same offer. We hope you won't go, but we understand change can be difficult, and I will be honest here - there will be a significant amount of change as we upgrade, organize, and restructure."

Daniel loathed these meetings and the overwhelming smells of the different body odors and perfumes in the tight confines of the room choked him. He wasn't for long speeches anyway and was already itching to leave. They've seen his face now. They know he means business.

"I need.... Smith, Johnson, Brown, Covington, Williams, and Mendez to stay behind. The rest of you are excused. Lucas will be around to touch base with you, or feel free to reach out and let him know your decision."

Everyone other than the ones he called got up and left.

"Gentlemen," Daniel addressed them quickly. He noticed the green-eyed man was one of the ones who remained. Great. "You are the quarterbacks. The success here rides on you. You have a fresh start under Clearfork's name, so you need to explain to your current clients that nothing's changed, and to the clients you’ve lost, that everything has changed, and see what we can do to reel them back in. I'll be looking for an Accounts Manager, I need someone strong at closing who can handle their workload and not hesitate to lend a hand where it's needed."

Daniel noticed how a few of them shifted their eyes to the green-eyed man. They didn't say anything, and he continued.

"In one month, I'll be setting up personal interviews, but until then, I'll be going over all of your work, past and present, with a fine-toothed comb. I want to know everything about you, your families, and what causes you to lie awake at night.

"Let's be clear. I'm not one of your refined CEOs. I built Clearfork by providing security details and tech to high-profile figureheads. Reading people and situations is my specialty, so as long as you are open and honest, we'll get along just fine. I will let you know that through Clearfork, I have high-level contact with potential clients that would benefit from Elevated Financials’ services, and I would love to see you provide them with your expertise.

"Now, I look forward to speaking with you all individually, but today's session is just an informal meeting. Do any of you have any quick questions for me?"

He could tell that he had unbalanced them. He knew it would take them a minute to digest everything he said, and he planned to be long gone by the time they did. He could already see the wheels turning, excited about the new potential accounts. While everybody was still wearing a blank expression on their faces, he stood as his stomach growled.

"Alright," Daniel wrapped up. "It's been a pleasure, but I'm leaving for lunch. Get with Lucas if you need anything and have a good day."