Page 71 of Takeover-
“He wants in on Sundra,” Sam said.
“William Vandershoot will not be an employee of Sundra Networks, regardless of what personal information of yours he places on the table, nor what recommendation he might try to extort from you.” Malik pushed off the chair and paced the length of the room. “I am tempted to let him follow through with his plan so that the both of you face the consequences of your sloppy behavior.” He turned. “But then you are doing that right now, aren’t you?”
“Better a crisis managed than a disaster allowed,” Sam said.
“Ah, yes. And what would you do, Anderson, in my position?”
Sam tented his hands and placed them against his lips. He hated these kinds of questions. Malik might as well have asked,How should I punish you?His spine hurt from all the tension in his back. “Announce the merger as planned. Have me leave early. I won’t object.”
“And Mr. Sebastian?” Malik said.
“I can’t be site manager.” Michael’s voice was soft, but firm. “You should pick someone from Sundra for that position.”
Malik nodded. “Very good and nearly correct. Officially, your exit date remains the same, Anderson, but you will make yourself scarce at the office earlier.”
“Done,” Sam said.
“Mr. Sebastian, as you surmised, you will not be promoted.”
“Understood.” Michael sat firm in his seat. Calm, as if this were but a summer breeze blowing over him and not yet another chance at his rightful position being snatched away.
That was far better than Sam managed. His legs trembled underneath the table.
“Greta has agreed to work at Four Rivers and manage the transition on-site. Mr. Sebastian will work directly with her. We’ll revisit your role at the office once the merger has been completed and integration is underway.”
Not a closed door, then. Sam let out a breath.
Malik’s expression softened, which was unusual. “If all goes well, this will be a mere bump in the road for you, Michael.”
Michael nodded. “I’ll do my best to earn back your trust.”
“You have my trust. Both of you. This was not an easy thing to bring to us, especially considering all you’ve been through, Michael.”
A crack in Michael’s unflappable armor appeared and he nodded, his lips pressed thin.
No, it hadn’t been easy. But it had been the correct move. Slowly, Sam’s ability to breathe normally returned.
“Now, if you’ll excuse Mr. Anderson and me, we have another topic to discuss.” Malik nodded to Greta. “Thank you.”
Greta and Michael both rose and filed out at the obvious dismissal. Sam had no time to say good-bye to Michael. He’d have to catch him later. And Greta. He owed that woman a drink. An entire month of drinks.
When the door closed, Malik took a seat. “A unique situation?”
Sam folded his hands on the table. “Unexpected and unique.” A chance meeting in a hotel, an odd twist of fate, and exactly the man he needed. “We were both surprised to see each other at Four Rivers.”
Malik’s mouth twitched in a way that looked suspiciously like the start of a smile. “Michael will be fine. Believe it or not, this is not the first time such a situation has happened. We have protocols and procedures for inter-office relationships and neither of you broke any written rule. Four Rivers’ human resource policy is silent on workplace relationships, and you’re not Sundra employees yet.”
And Sam wouldn’t become one. More of the tension leaked away. “You looked this all up? In”—he glanced at his watch—“ten minutes?”
“Greta has access to a good deal of Four Rivers’ paperwork. She did the legwork.”
Wine of the month club for G. Two-year subscription. “Then why penalize Michael?”
“We’re not. No one outside this room will think anything of what will happen. It’ll look like he was groomed by Greta, rather than promoted because of your relationship with him.”
It made sense, a great deal of sense. “I should have seen that, considered that.” If he’d been less emotionally involved, he might have. Or perhaps, Malik and Greta played at a higher level.
Malik leaned back in his chair. “I hazard to guess that your head is not screwed on very straight when it comes to Michael Sebastian.”
