"Your grandfather would NEVER agree with your met with a man like Brian Kinney," the older man spat venomously at the woman.
Heidi smirked before he made the statement he was sure to piss Arnold off. "I'm sure that's why my grandfather had the forethought to leave the company to ME and not YOU. Kinnetik is a forward-thinking company and although we at O'Neil Industries are steeped in tradition, we also have become a company which thinks outside of the box. So we're at an impasse, I guess."
"He was supposed to leave it to your father, Heidi."
"But he didn't, Arnold. So now that we've established for the millionth time that my sperm donor was passed over in the inheritance line, we can move on to business. Now if you'd like to keep your job, I'd advise you to shut up and accept what is, and not what you want. Anyone else?"
Heidi looked around noticing the others who looked as if they wanted to say something but didn't dare. She and her grandfather had talked before he passed away and although no one else knew the reason of why her father Devon O'Neil was passed over, Heidi did. The man was a bigot. The funny thing about Arnold wanting Devon in charge was that the older man was a closet case of the first order. The only other people who knew that were Devon and Grandpa O'Neil, since he and Arnold were best friends. Had Arnold had his way, Devon would have fired the man without good reason or severance pay, but Arnold didn't need to know that.
Continuing on with the meeting, and looking every now and again at Arnold's fuming face, Heidi explained the new track the company was entering. With the video game market booming, it was in O'Neil Industries best interest to grow with it. The fact that most units also offered live-streaming worked to their advantage as well. Although their electronics line remained high-end, they could afford to stretch their imagination and invest in a method of longevity for the company and that was not based in televisions and stereos alone. She listened as Margaret Covington- a really old name for someone only forty -one. She had taken to calling her Maggie the Magpie but in a good way. She was his accountant and kept people like Arnold from squawking at him at every turn.
"Hedi, the new market strategy you came up with is ready. Everyone, I included a copy with the other portfolios for the meeting. It's the red folder." Once she was assured that everyone found the correct item she began. "From the layout and the beta testing which cost only a fraction of what we're looking to spend on advertising..."
"...And just how much are we spending on advertising?" Arnold asked in his surly voice. If there was any other way, Heidi would have him removed from the board while he would still be able to keep his job. But his grandfather's instructions in terms of his best friend were clear.
Gritting his teeth and swallowing hard before answering, Heidi managed to be civil when she spoke. "We're spending a quarter of a million dollars on advertising to start."
"That's preposterous! Your grandfather..." Arnold raised his voice in protest.
"Is NOT HERE; he died in case you've forgotten," Heidi yelled back. The room grew silent immediately, each member of the board afraid to move or breathe out of rhythm for fear that the usually-patient and gracious young man begin to hand out pink slips. Most of the staff and Board members had learned early on that Heidi O'Neil was not a man to cross or question. She was as decisive in her decisions as his grandfather before her and she had no problem displaying her authority when warranted. And this was one of those times. Heidi cleared her throat again and took a calming breath before looking at her grandfather's oldest living friend again. Making sure to hold Arnold's eyes captive and letting every ounce of cold and controlled fury dhe felt show through her own, she began speaking. Her volume was so low, that all of occupants of the room leaned forward in their chairs to hear her but there was no mistaking her words. "Understand this. My grandfather knew what the plan was before he died and left this company to me. So this is not as out of left field as you would think, Arnold. In any event, if you can't get with the new program and regime around here, you will find yourself tossed out on your ass. I will not be harassed, bullied, undermined and any other action you can think of to get me to do what you think I should. In the grand scheme of this company and the new direction we are moving in, your old ways and ideals do NOT matter. One more outburst from you in this regard and I will ban you from all further meetings. The next step from that will be out the door with only half of your pension in tact. This is the last warning you are going to get and this is only out of respect for my grandfather's memory and your age. Maggie, please continue."
"Sure, Heidi," she said, hiding her smile within her folded lips. She really couldn't stand Arnold either. Since she was a third-generation accountant for the O'Neil and their respective businesses, she knew all about what Arnold was planning to do behind Heidi's back and she wasn't having any of it. His ultimate plan was to force Heidi into turning over the company to Devon, who he felt he could manipulate. He didn't agree with the fact that the first thing Heidi did when he took over as CEO of O'Neil Industries was to fire Devon after finding out that he was embezzling company funds to keep his mistress in style within a New York penthouse with an unlimited spending account. As his accountant, Maggie took great pride in the knowledge that she had saved Heidi's inheritance- something her own father wouldn't have done since he was loyal to Devon. She continued with her comments before Arnold had interrupted. "Honestly Heidi, if we're going to spend this amount of money in the advertising, the company really can afford to go all out for it. Brian Kinney used to be a partner in Vanguard Agency before he quit due to a difference of opinion with Gardner Vance. It wasn't a slight or impulsive move on his part. He didn't agree with taking on one of the high-profile clients and Gardner had told him that if he didn't he was fired. Due to being ethically and morally outraged, Mr. Kinney decided to quit. The good news for him was that there was a discrepancy within his contract that alluded to the situation; that Brian could not be forced to work with any client in which the business relationship was not conducive to the growth of the company. Since Brian couldn't work with the client in good conscious and wouldn't renege on that, Gardner had to buy Mr. Kinney out of his contract and the latter used the money to start Kinnetik."
"Out of curiosity, how much was letting Brian Kinney out of his contract worth?"Heidi was dumbfounded by how much Maggie knew about Kinney and Kinnetik. Well the man sure isn't dumb.
"The contract stated that if Mr. Kinney was to be bought out of his partnership, he would receive seventy-five percent of all the accounts he'd brought in. Mr. Kinney brought in ninety percent of Vanguard's total accounts four years ago."
"Holy shit!" Heid whispered. "Kinnetik is a multi-million dollar company. I always wondered how it was able to reach that status in so short a time since it's still relatively new."
"I'm on pretty good terms with the CFO of Kinnetik. Ted Schmidt was my mentor during my internship at Wertschafter's Accounting. He and I haven't lost touch. On an even more personal note, I think we would be fools not to go with Kinnetik." At Arnold's look of contempt, she decided to remind him that she owned more stock than he did in the company. "It's a move that Mr. HA would have approved and as a major shareholder, I also do." That ought to calm Mr. High-and-Mighty Turncoat Scheffield down. Heidi Allison O'Neil, the current CEO's grandfather would have wholeheartedly approved of a man like Brian Kinney in more ways than one. But that last thought she would keep to herself. Smiling inwardly she watched as Heidi digested the information she'd given on paper and her personal thoughts. That was one of the things she loved about Joseph and Heidi- they never discounted her opinions or her business acumen the way Arnold and Devon often did.
Heidi filed away that piece of information for a later time, thinking that he would certainly have other questions about it. "Are we done with the new business for O'Neil Industries for today?" she asked her assistant.
"We're okay for this meeting, Heidi," Mark Evans answered. When Heidi took over as the CEO of O'Neil, he had called Mark in to act as his assistant. They hadn't seen each other for many years prior but had kept in touch especially after Heidi sold the rights to Castle. Although that was Heidi's baby, the blond had paid Mark a hefty sum for the idea which sparked it. "Next on the agenda is Winston Inc. and then the call with Microsoft."
Heidi rolled her eyes but honestly he was enjoying herself. There weren't many twenty-somethings that could say they were in charge of two multi-billion dollar companies and still receiving residual income from a business venture that had been thought up in his teens. Just like O'Neil's, Heidi had inherited Winston Inc. from his maternal grandfather, Matthew. Originally it was supposed to go to her mother but after she married Devon, it was mandated that the company go to the first-born grandchild which just happened to be Heidi. "Am I scheduled to go over to the building or are they coming to me today."
Justin ran a hand through his hair and slowly walked out of the building, beyond exhausted, but not yet ready to call it a day. If he went home, he'd end up falling onto his bed and falling asleep, and then he'd be awake all night again. And he really couldn't afford another night without sleep. Not with school heating up, working long hours at the diner and then yet more hours at the art store.
He will say this though, at least with working at the art store, he didn't work the diner until well after dinner and that meant avoiding Brian and his entourage before they headed off to Woody's to suck and fuck the night away. Not that he was looking down on that choice; after all, if he'd had the energy, he'd do the same. But he could barely move after a day of classes followed by one, if not two jobs; so, fucking someone wasn't even an option at this point in time.
Slinging his bag over his neck, Justin smiled at the hottie that had been staring at his ass the entire time he'd been walking behind him and turned the corner. Well, at least he knew he still had it, even if he wasn't currently benefiting from it. Although, maybe… Justin looked over his shoulder at the guy contemplatively. He was gorgeous and it had been far too long since he'd gotten his dick sucked. Maybe he should hit that and see if he'd interested in a bit of fun for one night. He did have day off coming up this Friday.
Turning around he started walking towards hottie photographer, where he'd laid down on the grass, and fuck if he didn't look good. Licking his lips he met hottie's eyes and smiled, the one that he knew had many a man drooling as he made his way through Babylon. There were benefits to being Brian's favorite boy toy; every man in that club knew that he'd learned from the best, and every single one of them would give his left nut for a taste of that skill. Was that a bit of arrogance on his part? Maybe.
But it wasn't like it wasn't deserved.
Hottie returned his smile and fuck; that was a mouth he couldn't wait to have wrapped around his dick, and definitely an ass he'd like to fuck. Hell, if the guy's cock was worth it, he might even let him have a go at his. He wasn't picky at the moment. And well, it wasn't like he had to worry about the rules anymore, spoken or unspoken – like the one where Justin could fuck anyone he wanted so long as he realized his ass was Brian's.
The blonde guy sigh and wondered why he could not be like his aunt. Heidi O'Neil was a knockout. 5'7, long blonde hair, blue eyes, slender and sultry and wicked. She had to be around thirty-nine by now and she carried every year like an added brand of power, only something to increase her beauty because what she'd once lacked in experience she had in spades to match her ambitions. She was dangerous. Justin's couldn't forget that. She was a man that loved to be admired, She loved the attention, She loved when people gave her the attention that she wanted and when she wasn't getting it, things got-Rough.
Heidi entirely rejects the concept of heteronormativity, including being against all marriages and monogamous relationships. Sleeps with a different woman every day and does not care if she hurts anyone but she's a caring person (deep down, anyway)Heidi cares deeply about the people around her. That matters. He always thinks it's always been there, even though it has emerged more to the viewer over time. It's always been in there in Heidi's mind.
Let's face It: She's witty too . Heidi 's very funny. Sometimes Justin feels like she holds herself in high esteem but has a sense of humor about that fact.
She is great at what she does. Heidi's cocky, but she knows she's cocky. Deep down inside, she doesn't think she's more worthy than anyone else. That said, she does think she's better at s- than most people. Justin likes that about her. Ultimately, she's competitive - and maybe she's too competitive? - but she doesn't want to ever back down.
Justin loved his aunt but one thing he could not understand for her:Why not could love?
Because love is weakness. It feels real now ,at the start it always does ,but ir's an lillusion. It fades and then you're left with nothing.
I don't believe in love. I belive in fucking.
It was terrible day when he heard these words go out of his old lover's mouth. He knew he had found the male version of Heidi O'Neil but this quote was got his shit out of him.
Justin shook that from his mind, and was nearly right on top of hottie when he heard a voice calling behind him, instantly making him freeze. Fuck. Why the fuck did this always happen? Did he have a fucking sixth sense for this kind of thing? Huffing an aggravated breath, Justin smiled apologetically and waved at hottie and kept right on walking because like fuck was he going to get into it with Brian here.
"Justin," Brian called again, a note of annoyance entering his voice.
Well, too bad for him. Let's see how he likes it when someone ignores his desires in favor of their own. Justin kept right on walking, internally smirking when Brian growled behind him and quickened his steps. Justin was tempted to do the same, but he wouldn't give Brian the satisfaction in thinking he was running away from him. Even if he sort of was. Besides, how often could anyone say that they had the Great Brian Kinney chasing them?
"Justin!" Brian yelled again, and Justin definitely smirked at the growing irritation in his former lover's voice that time.
Yeah, it was petty as fuck, but honestly, he felt that after everything that he'd put up with over the past two years, all the times he'd been shunted aside, all the time Brian shat on his wants and desires and feelings, all the times Brian has built him up only to pull the rug out from under his feet, he deserved a little comeuppance. Justin will never deny all that Brian has done for him; he could be a truly amazing man when he felt like it or when he allowed himself to be. And he has had Justin's back numerous times and he's not denying it, but there just comes a time where you get tired of fighting for something or someone that doesn't seem to want to be won.
"Don't you ignore me, you little shit," Brian hissed, grabbing Justin by the arm and turning him around. And damn, he hadn't realized that Brian was that close.
Justin stared up into blazing, fucking gorgeous eyes and steeled himself from falling into them once again. Because even as annoyed as he was, Brian Kinney had always been hot as fuck and owned more than a little of Justin's heart. He didn't need to get lost in those eyes, only to have Brian pull another Rage incident, leaving his heart shattered on the floor once again. He had more pride than that.
"Or what? What are you going to do about it?" Justin challenged, looking Brian straight in the eye, more than a little pissed himself. Brian looked surprise for a moment at his vehemence, but quickly covered it up. Justin sighed. "What do you want, Brian?"
In law, while developing case histories with critical raw data being fed through the organizational information net, one learnt to try and avoid forming blind spots.
Blind spots originated from many different things, most of which were a combination of both factual content and false assumptions. Personal taboos got enmeshed into the over all culture of the firm. Biases formed when information appeared which went against individual expectations. Raw data filtered through the organizational net sometimes got altered to a fundamentally deviant form by the time it reached the information pool. All of this contributed to the blind spot phenomena. If not caught early, it affected the ultimate direction the case proceedings took.
Melanie realized real life was not much different from case history strategizing, because she tended to form blind spots in her personal views all the freaking time.
She supposed it was an evidence of her humanity. She was flawed, she had biases, she harbored fears. Combine that with a mélange of real life experiences and fears germinating only in her subconscious, and you had a surefire recipe for forming tunnel vision and blind spots.
She'd always had strong opinions and she'd always clicked with people with strong opinions. That was one of the reasons why she'd fallen for Lindsay in the first place. They'd been together for sixteen years now—in love and pain and ecstasy and marriage and breakups and reunions and fallouts.
And that's how long she'd known Brian Kinney.
He'd exasperated her from first sight. He was too arrogant, too overconfident, too selfish, and too much of a smart ass to be worthy of her trust. He took too many risks and all too often directed the lives of everyone around him like they were puppets on a string. He was irresponsible and hideously smug about his notorious exploits with no evidence of regret ever over any of his wrongdoings.
She then looked over at her watch and saw that it was time for lunch with Emmett. Turning around she almost bumped into Heidi O'Neil.
"I'm so sorry-" she began but she cut her off.
"Don't apologize, it was totally my fault" Heidi excused herself while placing a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. Heidi smiled.