Chapter 76: Too good to be true?
Carmen
Nico was avoiding me. It wasn’t obvious, not in a way anyone else in the company would notice. He invited me to all the meetings, including those with his managers, and I was still updated on the next line of actions like nothing had changed.
The location of the letters with Forren had been shared with me, and so had the result of catching two men at the hideout who had poison in their teeth and were willing to die rather than be captured.
It was fine work, precise and calculated, and expensive too. It was hard to find men that were willing to give their lives like that or had been conditioned to, and clearly our enemy had no problems in that area. That alone made things more complicated than I liked.
Putting my folder on the table in meeting room 7, I waited for the others to arrive. The head of operations for the company was already seated, flipping through a set of documents with a focused expression, so were a few shareholders who felt the need to be in attendance, seated with an air of importance.
That alone showed the importance of the meeting that was to hold. A few other directors were around, murmuring quietly among themselves, including the managing director who sat closer to the head of the table. Enough that the only people we were waiting for were Nico, the CEO, and the new businessmen that asked for the meeting after submitting their proposal.
One that was quite generous but also problematic.
They were bringing in a lot of money and in exchange they were asking for quite a number of shares, shares which would affect Nico’s 41% share in the company and another ten that also belonged to him but in another’s name.
It ensured that he had enough say to choose the direction the company would go.
More still was the generosity, they were willing to buy the shares far above market price. It was a good deal, almost suspiciously so. One that I spent all week trying to find a loophole into and couldn’t.
Every document I checked came back clean. The company was legit. Very legit and belonged to the Lowell family, a long-standing business family with rumors of being rich enough to be trillionaires.
They even had family members in politics and seemed to have their hand in every pie imaginable. Partnering with them was a good thing. I would, if I could, without hesitation.
Raising my head slightly as Nico finally arrived, the door opening just enough to draw everyone’s attention, I caught the brief flash of displeasure on his face, subtle but there, noting that the Lowell family was yet to arrive, something I found quite funny considering if they had arrived then he would have been the one we were waiting for.
He moved to sit down, adjusting his suit as he did, and barely had he done so when the Lowel family representative walked in with two other people right beside him, a man and a woman. Too close, too in sync, that it made me wonder if they had stayed back on purpose just to arrive last and make an impression.
The representative was older, in his mid-fifties, with slightly graying hair but had a friendly air to him, the kind that could put people at ease quickly. The two other people behind him, a woman with black hair tied neatly into a ponytail and a man who looked immaculately proper in his suit, were both younger, around my age.
They each wore glasses which made them look like they spent most of their time in front of a computer screen all day, if not for the calluses I could see on the young man’s hands, rough and visible for only a second, which he didn’t hide fast enough as he folded his hands into each other and moved to take his seat.
Glancing at the head of the table, it was clear to see that Nico was slightly annoyed, something he hid beautifully well with a smile. It was the stiffness of his smile that gave him away. I knew the look well enough to recognize it instantly.
Introductions were made as was proper, names and positions exchanged across the table, and the Lowel representative slowly began to speak with a professional expression on his slightly weathered face, his voice smooth and controlled.
"You must have gone through the proposal! What do you think?" he asked, cutting straight to the chase, something I was thankful for, especially since such meetings usually dragged on for hours and it was already way past lunch.
Moreover, I didn’t care about Nico’s company. I was simply working with him for a short while.
"We thought it was quite generous!" the managing director said, which was the truth, as he continued to speak with the proposal in his hands, glancing down at it briefly, "The Mech Automobile company’s finances also check out!" he added, his tone measured.
The representative beamed with joy at that, his smile widening naturally.
"...does that mean there’s cause to celebrate our new partnership?" he asked with a booming smile that I was impressed by. It looked genuine. It was hard to find anything wrong about it.
"Not yet! I need to meet the CEO first! Mr Bracen, I’ll talk to him and maybe we can go ahead with signing the contract," Nico said, his voice calm but firm, and when the representative frowned, I was surprised by how he seemed to do so with his entire body.
It was subtle, controlled in a way that made me prefer the smile. Of course he’s trained in negotiation tactics, I realized as I heard him speak again.
"Meeting him would be no problem but he’s a busy man. Unless the contract is signed, I do not think he would consider meeting you anytime soon!" Mr Bracen responded.
Nico slowly nodded his head, his expression mostly calm right before he got to his feet to the surprise of everyone seated around the table.
Nico was extremely polite to employees and within his company, but clearly he no longer saw a reason to be.
"It’s a good thing we have time then! I can wait!" Nico said as he slowly headed to the door, his steps unhurried, with Martin following closely behind him carrying papers and documents like an assistant, which looked slightly out of place considering the fact that he looked much older, somewhere in his thirties compared to Nico.
He was much bigger but shorter, and with his gruff looks and dark shades, it was clear that he was more of a bodyguard than an assistant.
But Nico had just gotten to the door, with one of the secretaries having quickly gotten up to open it for him, when Mr Bracen spoke, his voice deep but loud enough that everyone still in the meeting room could hear him clearly.
He sat still, arranging the papers in front of him unbothered by Nico walking out on him as he spoke, "You are not worried we’ll go to your competitors and offer them something better?" he asked in a deep voice with a calm expression that still looked friendly, but I knew better.
It sounded more like a threat.
But Nico didn’t even turn around to give him a response as he walked through the doors and continued walking away without hesitation.
The meeting was disbanded shortly after, chairs scraping lightly against the floor as people began to stand, quiet conversations breaking out almost immediately. I also got to my feet to walk away, gathering my folder, wanting to talk to Nico but knowing better than to barge into his office when all the directors looked pissed and were trying to talk to him at once.
I understood why.
I read the proposal.
It was great... good.
Almost too good to be true.
Almost.
