Page 121 of Lilly

"No," I say calmly. "Yours came from the pro shop. It's perfectly fine. The bottle I gave Phillip was filled with water from the cooler in William's office."

"You did something to William's water?" Albert asks Phillip.

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why did you spit it out?"

"Because...." He struggles to find an excuse. "Because I knew..."

"Because you knew it was contaminated!" Albert shouts. "Why the hell would you put something in William's water?"

"Perhaps I should explain." William walks up to us, stopping in front of Albert. "Hello, Albert." He smiles and shakes his hand. "It's good to see you again."

"And you as well," Albert says, appearing calmer now. William has that effect on people. He always has. "Pearce said you're feeling better?"

"Yes. Much."

Albert eyes him up and down. "You're still thin as a rail."

William chuckles. "I'll remedy that when my appetite returns. That was one of the side effects of the drug. Loss of appetite. Fatigue. Dizziness. Pearce felt the same way when drinking that water."

"What was causing it?"

"We recently discovered it contained a drug that kept my blood pressure so low that I felt symptoms of hypotension, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get my blood pressure up. But now the drug is mostly out of my system and I'm feeling more like my old self. I expect to be at the next council meeting."

"Good. We've missed having you there." Albert turns to Phillip. "As for you, go. Get out of here!"

"Albert, you can't...you can't possibly believe them," he stutters.

"Don't lie to me, Phillip," Albert says. "It was clear from your reaction that you were the one who did it."

"Why would I do such a thing? I have no reason to. I barely know William."

"But you'd like to have his position. Everyone knows you want a place at the top. But after this little stunt, we'll make sure you're never even considered. Do you know how many decisions we've had to table until William's return? It's cost us time and money, not to mention the harm you caused to William. The man hasn't even been able to run his damn company, a company that we rely on quite heavily, which you already know." He waves his hand in front of Phillip. "Now get out of here. The ruling council will be in touch regarding your punishment."

Phillip storms off, leaving his tennis racket behind.

"I'm very sorry about this," Albert says to William.

"No need to apologize. This was all Phillip's doing. As long as he's adequately punished, I think we can all move on from this. I just need some assurance that he won't seek revenge on Pearce or me or our families."

Albert smiles at me. "I doubt we need to worry about Pearce. Phillip has feared him for as long as I can remember. But yes, we'll keep a close eye on Phillip to make sure he stays in line."

"Thank you, Albert," I say.

"Pearce and I should be going," William says, "but we'll see you at the next meeting."

"You'll be attending, Pearce?" Albert asks.

I glance at William, who looks regretful for saying 'we' instead of only referring to himself. "I'm not sure yet. But we can certainly still schedule that round of golf."

"Yes, well, you gentlemen enjoy the rest of your day."

As we walk away, William says, "I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have spoken for you regarding the meeting. I certainly didn't mean to."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." I pat his shoulder. "Should we have some lunch? Put all this behind us?"

"I would enjoy that. I've missed your company, Pearce. We need to get together more often."

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