Page 312 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

Not one of them has the guts to speak first, so I take the lead.

“This is your meeting,” I say, opening my hands. “Let’s talk.”

Daniel Reeves, the unofficial spokesman for the eight, says, “Zach, what are you doing?”

“I’m waiting for someone to say something,” I tell him.

“You know what I mean,” Reeves says. “Over the years, we’ve tolerated a lot from you. In the early years, you were still getting your chops, and nobody’s holding it against you, but you’re a real leader now. When you move, people pay attention. So why is it that when our company was plugging along great, you decided it was time to uproot and move headquarters where nobody will ever find it?”

“It’s on a map,” I tell him. “Seriously, pull out your phone and bring up GPS. It’ll give you directions and everything.”

“Zach …”

“What?” I snap. “This wasn’t a problem until it was made into a problem. The only thing happening now is the satisfaction of a self-fulfilling prophecy the eight of you bled throughout this company.”

“You can’t run a business like this from a place like that,” Geraldine Peña, my CFO, chimes in.

“Who cares where the headquarters are?” I ask. “Everyone said we were supposed to set up in Silicon Valley, but I didn’t hear too many complaints when I decided on New York.”

“That’s not the most troubling matter,” Reeves jumps back in. “You make our investors nervous, Zach. You always have.”

“I’ve also made our investors filthy, stinking rich,” I answer. “They’re the ones causing our stock to drop. They could turn this whole thing around by coming to their senses and remembering the same thing you should remember.”

“What’s that, Zach?” Reeves asks.

“They’re where they are because they trusted me.You’rehere because you trusted me,” I answer. “I haven’t always been right, but I’ve always tried todoright. Every step of the way, I had people telling me it couldn’t be done or that I was going to kill the company by making this decision or that. Here I am, twenty-eight years old, still sitting at the head of one of the largest tech companies on the planet. Do you think I tripped and fell into the gig?”

Mason Handler, my executive vice-president answers, “We know what you’ve done for the company, Nikolai. We just don’t all agree that you’re taking it in the right direction now. That’s what we’re talking about: Now. Maybe we’ll pull out of this, but the numbers keep going down. We’ve been losing since you left for that godforsaken hellhole.”

“Maybe it’s that I don’t understand, maybe it’s that you're not clear, but I fail to see how your incendiary, though remarkably bland, quotes to the press are doing anything but making it worse,” I accuse. “I read that piece in the Times, Handler. Don’t think I’ll forget about it, either.”

“You can sit here and try to throw the blame back on us, but the fact of the matter is it’s simply not appropriate to have a CEO more concerned with his personal life than he is with the company he runs,” Reeves says. “Not when a corporation of this size is at stake.”

“I don’t grant your premise,” I respond. “Since day one when it was just Jacque and me sending code back and forth to each other across our dorm room, I have worked tirelessly for this company and that dedication has only grown as the business has grown.”

“This ain’t an easy conversation for any of us,” Verne Pollock, our biggest investor and easily the most gutless person in the room, says. “We don’t want to start taking action, but the investors I represent—”

“Oh, come off it, Verne,” I spit. “The only investor you’ve ever represented was yourself. You’re not loyal to this company any more than you’re loyal to me.”

“That is outrageous!” Verne roars, rising to his feet. “I will not sit here and be spoken to in this way!”

“Oh sit down,” I tell him. “You have a stroke and these seven will replace you faster than they’ll replace me.”

“Yeah, then we can just join each other on the unemployment line, won’t we?” he asks.

I take a breath. This approach isn’t working, and I don’t know why I ever thought it would.

“Listen to me,” I say. “We can talk about the specifics of the relocation, but first, we’ve got to remember we’re not all in this thing together. If this company goes under, I’m sure everyone in this room will get a dozen offers before the doors close, but the company I helped build, the foundation of my entire career, is over. If you think I don’t take that seriously, you’re out of your mind.”

Reeves starts in again, saying, “We understand the personal attachment you have to this company, Zach, but you have to understand where we’re coming from. It isn’t just another dip in stock prices, Zach. You’re Napoleon marching the company straight to Waterloo.”

“Okay,” I say with a chuckle. “So, what are we talking here? Are you honestly going to try to have me removed?”

Reeves says, “We don’t want to do that. At this point, the board is prepared to trust your judgment, so long as that judgment is to give up this ridiculous move to Mulholland and get this company back on track.”

The room is quiet for a minute.

I take a deep breath. “Give me a month,” I tell them. “If I haven’t convinced you by then this is the right move I’ll drop the whole thing.”

---