THE BOSS
Chapter one
Mark Calloway stood regarding his employees, his lips twisted thoughtfully. He was bored, he had to admit. Ever since he had retired from wrestling and taken over his family's firm, he had found his life becoming dull, and all these stuffed shirts sitting staring nervously back at him didn't make him feel any better. He hated these damn meetings and the only good thing about this job was that he was good at it. Still, it didn't make it any more enjoyable and all he wanted right now was to go home and have a good work out in his gym. Something told him that wasn't going to be an option anytime soon, not judging by the looks on the faces of the people in the room.
"Mr Calloway? Sir? We have to make an offer today for this business, or else the Danvers Corporation will buy it out from under us," John Wells, the company accountant told him.
Mark sighed. Boring, boring, boring. If only something would happen to liven up the day, make it pass more quickly. "Would that be such a bad thing?" he asked the man wearily.
"Well...yes sir, it would. They have a bunch of patents that are worth a small fortune, and the owner seems to have forgotten that they exist. We could possibly make millions on this deal."
Mark levelled a hard stare at the small man and rolled his shoulders wearily. "How much was the asking price again?"
"Ten million, which includes the buyout of all stock, free and clear," his accountant instantly said, shuffling a sheaf of papers.
"So we have to spend millions to make millions. And you're certain that we'll recoup any losses?"
"Yes, Sir, I have all the figures here."
"Very well. Offer them one million under the asking price and if they don't accept, withdraw the offer. Danvers will never pay that amount in the first place, as you well know," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
His accountant had the grace to look shamefaced. "Of course, Sir. I'll put a call through immediately."
Mark watched as the little man hurried out of the room and he turned his attention to the fantastic view of Houston out of his huge office window. He wouldn't mind being outside right now. Hell, he thought, he was the boss, he'd just take a day off. It wasn't as if things wouldn't carry on just as smoothly if he weren't here. All the company did was buy other companies, get them on their feet and then sell them on again. Sometimes they kept a company if it was promising and made it extremely profitable, it becoming one of Calloway Corporations many businesses. Mark smiled as he thought of how much he had managed to improve the profits of the business in the three years he had been running it. But even so, it wasn't very satisfying, and he missed wrestling. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of raised voices outside the office doors, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise when the door burst open and a young woman stormed in. She had jet black hair and amazing whisky coloured eyes, which at the moment were sparkling furiously as she looked at him, an unbecoming sneer turning her mouth down.
"I'm so sorry, Mr Calloway, I couldn't stop her," his secretary said as she rushed into the room behind the girl.
"It's okay, Jeanette," he said with a smile at the middle aged woman who had worked for him since he started here. He turned his attention back to the girl and frowned. "May I help you at all?"
"A few months ago, I would have said yes!" she snapped, making him raise his eyebrows as she walked right up to him and put her hands on her hips, looking as aggressive as she could being only 5 foot 5. "But not now! Now you've completely ruined my father's business with that damn factory you run next door!"
Mark tried not to smile at the fury facing him, but his lips twitched anyway. "Your father's business?"
"Yes! I've written to you for four months and never once have you replied! We run a trout farm and the crap that your factory has been spewing into the river has managed to kill everything! So thanks to you we're out of business!" she said, her voice getting more and more high pitched the more agitated she got. Her eyes fell to his twitching mouth and she almost stamped her foot. "It's not funny!"
"No, I agree it isn't," he said, frowning. "But I don't recall receiving any letters from the owner of a trout farm."
"Well, I don't suppose for one minute that you deemed it important enough to open mail from such a lowly company," she said sarcastically, then reached into her bag and pulled out a jar of some odious substance. She unscrewed the cap and held it in front of him. "This is what you've been pumping into our river!"
Mark looked into the jar. "I'm not quite sure why you brought that in here with you, but I suggest you put a lid back on it. I also suggest that you stop with your accusations, because if they're unfounded you could find yourself in deep trouble." He frowned down at her, feeling irritated now.
"They are not unfounded, and I'm going to prove it when I drag you through the courts! As for this jar," she added, looking at it distastefully and then looking back at him in the same way, her eyes sparkling, "I think you should become acquainted with the waste product of your printing empire!"
Marks eyes widened a fraction of a second before she threw the contents of the jar all over his shirt, the stench that rose up from it almost making him gag. His teeth gritted in fury and he looked up from the mess, fully intending to grab the woman and teach her a lesson, but she was already walking out of the door, her black hair swinging in a shining curtain around her shoulders as she went.
His employees sat there, shocked at the scene they had just witnessed, but not saying a word. "Get security to follow her, and find out who the hell she is. Then get Wells back in here to explain why I never received those letters," he snapped out at the assembled group, not caring which one of them followed his orders as long as someone did. "Jeanette, get me a fresh shirt please while I go and wash this stuff off. And someone get me the files on the printing firm we own by the river." He looked back once as he walked towards his private bathroom, to find everyone still sitting looking stunned. "Now!" he barked out, making them all jump up and scurry out of the room.
He stripped his shirt off and looked down at the mess all over it. Who the hell was that woman?