The Love Of Money - Episode 247
09-08-25 (19:05)
He gave me a look that accused me of being naive.
"You will. We all do."
"Ooh! She's pretty!" Carla said.
I glanced over to see her scrolling through my phone.
"Hey!" I said, trying to snatch it back from her.
Carla moved the phone out of my reach, flashing the
screen at me so I could see the image. She'd been
looking at the picture of Danni I'd received a few hours
ago, lying on her bed fully nude.
"Forgive her," Rajesh said. "Mr. Tanaka hasn't finished
breaking her in." He popped the remainder of a taco in
his mouth and smiled at Carla; it was tinged with
disdain. "She's still feral."
"Don't listen to him, Marcus," Carla said. "He's ingested
so many chemicals that he has to shoot them directly in
his dick to make it work."
"It isn't the first time you've said that," Rajesh said.
"What's the matter? Obsessed? Hiro unable to satisfy
you in his old age?"
"Say that to his face," Carla said as she narrowed her
eyes at him.
"No thanks. I prefer keeping my head on my shoulders,"
Desal said. and I wasn't sure if he meant that literally
or figuratively.
He sighed and looked down at his watch. "I'll be glad
when this useless business is done."
"Useless?" asked.
"Of course," he sniffed and popped a shrimp in his
mouth. "This is all a formality. Everyone wants Maddox
to take over. Chandler's effective, but he lacks Kelly's
killer instinct. She'll trim the fat and turn this company
into an efficient machine in no time."
"So, no chance I can convince you to go with
Chandler?"
"Why would I do that?" He asked amusedly.
I shrugged. "Collin fired her for a reason."
"And Collin is no longer with us, Rajesh said. "Don't get
me wrong... he was a brilliant businessman-better than
anyone here. I just think that, without his guidance,
Maddox is the best choice. Besides, she had a point. The
numbers were better under her."
Besides, she had a point. The numbers were better
under her."
He looked at his watch again and said, "We'll start
soon. I'll see you two in there." He stood from his seat.
"Marcus, it was good meeting you. Like I said, if you
ever get bored, call me."
Your girlfriend's seriously pretty," Carla said, offering me
my phone after Rajesh had left. Her tone had taken a
subtly more serious effect than all the other times we
interacted, and it took me by surprise.
"Thanks," I said, taking my phone back and stowing it in
my pocket as I stood up. I was still annoyed at her high
school antics. "She's not my girlfriend, though."
"Still single then, hm?"
I eyed her carefully and said, "Yeah, but not really
looking." I remembered what she'd been doing with
Kai.
"Don't worry," she said, gracefully rising from her seat.
"I'm not going to try anything." She started to walk past
me and paused; our shoulders brushed as she leaned in
until those perfect lips hovered near my ear. "But I do
look better out of my clothes than she does," she
whispered. I could smell her rich and expensive
perfume and felt something warm and wet flick across
my ear, eliciting an involuntary shiver. Then she walked
away.
"Be careful, there," a feminine voice said behind me.
Thinking we'd been alone, I whirled to see Astrid
standing beside the coffee bar, refilling an empty mug.
She watched me out of the corner of her eye as she
added cream to her cup. She looked graceful and
elegant doing something as mundane as pouring
another coffee.
"You saw that?" I asked.
"I saw you turn her down. Good. She'd eat you alive."
"Maybe," I said, looking at the door where' Caria had
disappeared. "I think I could handle her."
She arched a dainty eyebrow at me. "Really?"
Recalling Bobbi, I said, "Yeah, I've handled worse. She's
married, though. What's more, she's married to a
friend."
You and Hiro have gotten close?" Astrid asked, testing
her coffee.
"I think so. From my understanding, he and my grandpa
got along well, and we've had some pretty good
Interactions. I think of him as a friend."
Astrid nodded. They did get along. He liked Collin a lot. I
think he will vote for Chandler since he was Collin's
right hand for so many years."
"Don't suppose you can tell me who you're voting for," I
said.
"Kelly," Astrid said without hesitation.
"May I ask why?" wasn't just trying to make nice with
her... I genuinely wanted to know what she saw in
Maddox. All I knew was the little i gleaned from
Chandler and Helen and that Collin had fired her. It
would be nice to get an outside perspective from
someone on the opposition's side who seemed
reasonable.
"She has better numbers," Astrid said. "It makes more
sense."
"What if she wants to take the company in a direction
we don't want?" I asked.
"In a direction that didn't increase profits?" Astrid asked.
"No. I mean ethically."
"Corporations aren't meant to make ethical decisions,"
Astrid said. "They're meant to make money and make
everyone more prosperous."
"You don't think corporations are morally responsible?"
Astrid shook her head. "Corporations are legally
responsible. Lawmakers are morally responsible. It's the
duty of governments to legislate laws that the
corporations have to follow."
"Whoa," said, I wasn't expecting something so... coldly
logical from someone who seemed so warm. "That's...
I'm gonna have to think about that"
She smiled warmly at me. "Marcus, right?"
"Yes," I said. "Astrid?"
"Astrid Håkansson," she said, offering me her hand.
I took it and immediately noticed how cold her fingers
were.
"Sorry for the cold hands," she said. Something in my
face must have tipped her off. "Poor circulation."
"Oh," I said. "No problem."
"It's definitely a problem when you're from Norway,"
she grinned. "I have to practically stand over an open
flame to stay warm."
I thought of a few other ways to stay warm, but she
didn't seem the type to appreciate that kind of humor.
Also, I wasn't fourteen.
"So you're just visiting New York?" asked.
"Yes. Just for this meeting. My father doesn't like to
handle business over the phone, but he's not feeling
well, so he sent me." She looked at me as if reading
the next question on my face and said, "I'll be in town
until Sunday."
I could take a hint, coming from her, I'd take it gladly.
Her demeanor reminded me of Danni, but looks-wise,
she was the closest thing I'd ever seen to an actual elf,
with her slender, graceful figure and delicate features.
"Would you like to maybe grab dinner sometime this
week?"
"I'd like that," Astrid smiled prettily. "It'd be great to get
to know the new Gerrard. She pulled out her phone,
unlocked it, and handed it to me, already opening a
new contact page. I entered my info in, hit save, and
handed her phone back to her. "Great!" she said. "I'll
text you later, and we can schedule a time and place!"
"Sounds like a date!" I said.
"Not yet," Astrid replied, her blue-green eyes shining in
amusement. "Let's see how this first one goes."
"Deal," I said.
Astrid and I were the last to enter the board room with
a few minutes to spare, I sat beside Erin while she took
a seat on the other side of the table. She'd been sitting
next to Chandler, but Carla currently occupied that seat.
"Astrid!" She said in a loud whisper as the Norwegian
woman approached her. Carla stood up and wrapped
her arms around the slender woman, crushing her
prominent breasts on the other woman's much slighter
frame. "We have a few minutes! Catch me up! Don't forget to leave a Comment 
