Sample Sunday - One Time
Unedited, but altered to keep a bit for the imagination. Subject to change, etc, etc. Enjoy😊 (But note that spoilers abound!)
“I do whatever I want, Nala,” he grinned. “So… do we have a deal, or are you leaving? I hope you’re leaving – our logo is going to look so good over that big open front entryway.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” I sneered, shaking my head as I turned to Alan and my father. “Where is our legal team? There has to be some way out of this… bullshit.”
“Oh, everything about this is ironclad,” Orion spoke up. “But, in case you want to try it… our legal team loves litigation, and we will bury you under years of it.”
Fuck.
He was probably right.
“Whatever,” I shrugged. “We’re still not going anywhere. Even if we have to just—”
“Just what, Nala?” he asked, stepping even closer. “Just… pay it?” that evil ass grin spread even wider as he looked to my father. “William… Alan… aren’t you going to tell her?”
My head whipped around to them. “Tell me what?”
Instead of answering, the two men looked at each other, and then began careful inspections of the damn ground.
“I’ll tell you, Nala,” Orion spoke in a singsong that made it much harder to keep my hands to myself. “You can’t afford it. This place hasn’t operated in the black in… years.”
“What?!” The word came out in a whisper that defied the intensity of what I felt. “How is that possible? We get more new customers every day, we’ve been having record sales numbers. We have investments, we should have savings—”
“Not with your Daddy’s gambling problem.”
My hand was out before I could stop myself.
The entire room went quiet and still, reacting to the fact that I’d just smacked Orion Sterling dead across his fucking mouth.
He put a hand to his lip, checking for blood before he gave me a brief nod. “That’s your one time.” Looking past me, he pinned a glare at my father. “It’s time to wrap this up.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“It means pack your shit. Or figure it the fuck out.”
Immediately, my mind starting racing.
I didn’t want to go that route, but I could cover a few months until we figured things out. But beyond that… what was going to happen?
“What about our charities? Our employees, their kids, you — mmmm,” I grunted, buttoning my lips to keep myself from saying something that might cross a line while still trying to appeal to some humanity in this man. “Why are you doing this? You have a billion dollars and more market share than we could ever dream up. Why us? Why now?”
“Oh – don’t get emotional on me, Nala, I was just starting to respect you,” he said, taking a step back before he tossed his hands up. “It’s not… personal. It’s business. I have other options, sure, but it would take years, and I’m not a patient man. Like I said, this was ripe for picking. You even already have such a loyal customer base, community support—”
“These people will never support you,” I quipped. “They’ve loved this family, for decades. And when they hear the underhanded way you pushed us out – and I promise, I will make it my life’s work to make sure everyone knows - they will go literally anywhere else.”
Instead of that putting even a tendril of fear in him like I’d hoped… he smiled.
“You’re right,” he said, coming back into my personal space to tower over me again. “Which is why… I have another possibility for you.”
