THE CRUEL CEO IS MY BABY DADDY

CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD

The oversize boardroom at Goslings Headquarter was brimming with the heat of disagreement. A board table full of men, older men, above 50, all of whom looked at each other with disgust. The argument was heated and yet not a word was said. All politics was discussed with the eyes. The ceiling was high.

“I suggest we use Denver labs. It's a good idea. Raw materials are cheap, cheaper materials mean more profit." an old man said from a prominent seat at the table.

"Martin, we all know how profit is made, but there are more concerns. Denver is a new contractor. We can't just cancel our deal with Naiad like it had never existed," another man said, sitting right across from him. "You know that this is insane, right? We are just about to release the newest line of Gosling cosmetics. It's too late for us to change stuff like that. This is important. How can we just make such a major decision at the last minute? What if they can't deliver on time?"

“What do you mean they can't deliver on time? Of course, they'll deliver on time. Don't you trust me? You should trust me. I've been on the board for a very long time.” The old man, Martin retorted.

“Delivering on time is not the only problem.” A woman spoke up from the table as well. “We also need to think about the quality of the goods. They are cosmetic products, after all. We won't be able to gauge the quality of the goods on time if we have to change our contractor now, at the very last minute.”

“We don't need to check anything.” Martin from before spoke again. “I am sure about that. I've spoken to the contractors and I've seen their factory. They do good work. This is good money, easy money. Our stock prices could skyrocket from this, trust me.”

“This is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, not just some mum and pop business. How could we just randomly trust you with so much money? We can't just invest in something that we're not sure about. Don’t you think so, Chairman?”

Seated at the very top of the table was a young man in his thirties, at least a few decades younger than every other man on the board. He was, in fact, the president, Killian Gosling. The man who addressed him was his uncle. In fact, all the men and women seated here were related to him and his family in one way or another.

How did he end up as his grandfather’s successor, the chairman and president of the board of the gosling group of enterprises? To put it simply, his grandfather was a no-nonsense man who never tolerated misbehavior from his children. To him, the birth order of his children, brothers and grandchildren didn’t matter. Only the most competent person could sit in the seat of the president and that person happened to be Killian. Kilian is a dangerous man of a quiet demeanor. He would not talk until he needed to. He would rather sit back and listen to other people speak. That way he was always able to gauge what was in their minds. After letting them go around and run in circles, he finally had the last say and when the chairman spoke up, no one dared to go against him.

"Say, Martin." He addressed the first man to speak." are you sure you can vouch for the quality of those goods? The ones from Denver, the new raw material deliverer that you're so sure would work." Killian asked in a husky voice, his tone stern and unyielding, yet incredibly irresistible. It carried a strong domineering aura that was both extremely sexy and greatly intimidating.

“Oh, Chairman, I would rather you didn't call my contractor a deliverer. I mean, calling him a delivery man is a bit demeaning, don't you think? Of course, I can vouch for that. Everything I've said here is true. Their quality is top-notch, and they will sell to us at the best price. Profit!" Martin, the old man from before, spoke up. He was Killian’s uncle, his father’s older brother and his biggest rival. Martin was the first son. After all, he felt that he should have been the chairman instead of this child that he saw growing up.

"Well then, Martin, we happened to have a cup of their newest face cream formula. As is prescribed by pharmaceutical laws, every cosmetic product should be at least edible by a bit, so if you take a spoon of this.” He motioned to his assistant to take the cream up to him. “And it’s as good quality as you vouch, then you should not feel any serious symptoms. If you are so sure about Denver cosmetics, that you are willing to risk your health to prove it, then we will give you a try. Why don't you take this opportunity to prove yourself and your contractor? Have a spoon of this face cream. If you eat a spoonful and are not dead in a few days. We will definitely support your contractor and give up on Naiad. In fact, I'll sign a very good deal with Denver this very week,” Killian said without even flinching. He barely blinked, stared straight into Martin's eyes and he could see the man sweating. His eyeballs bulged out of his head because he knew for a fact that he had not tested or had Denver’s products approved. He was just looking to have Denver labs approved by the board, by all means.

“Well then, go ahead, Martin,” Killian urged. He motioned to his assistant to take the cup of cream over to General Martin, and have him take a spoonful.

“There’s no need for this. I've had a bad stomach for the past few days and I have gastrointestinal problems, so it's useless. I mean, I mean, I might be sick of something else, and then they'll think it's cosmetics. Just trust me.” The old man tried to get out of the sticky situation.

“Martin, Martin, how could we just trust you? This is business, after all. Go ahead. I'm sure doctors can tell whether it's the face cream or your gastrics that's bothering you if you fall sick in the next few days. And if you die before they find out, then I’m sure the coroner will be able to tell you after your autopsy.

Whispers broke out in the boardroom. Martin broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't stand straight. He thought and thought for half a day and finally came to the conclusion it was not worth risking his health for. After all, he was already in his sixties.

Seeing that he was hesitant, the few members who supported his motion before looked away. They were all afraid that they would be asked to eat face cream too.

Killian glanced at the old geezers with an evil smirk. Then, with his eyes he signaled to his assistant so the cream was taken away from his face and the decision was made.

“Anita. Proceed with the signing and make sure that the products and suppliers for Gosling cosmetics are safe and secure. Also ensure that the public is introduced to a trustworthy brand. I'll trust you with this.” He spoke to the woman who had addressed him earlier. “As for you, Martin, why don't you take a while and relax at home since you have gastrointestinal problems? Two months off. Make sure to nurse your health.

And just like that, the meeting was over. It was decided through the wit of the chairman. He was the youngest chairman who had ever presided over the board. In fact, he had a tight reign over the board members than his own grandfather. Mind you, the board is made-up of his uncles and. His grandfather's counterparts, friends and business partners. Yet this young man had been so astronomically good at his job that no one dared to go against him. Many of them were just afraid of him. He had an unpredictable manner and his face was always expressionless, so it was almost impossible to know just how dangerous he was or what he would do next. Whatever the case, no one dared to go against the chairman. Whether they feared him or loved him, he wasn’t someone they could mess with.

“Sir, I have your schedule ready. For now, you can have lunch. You have a two-hour window that is open. Afterward, you can meet with your grandfather. It should be scheduled for about an hour. Following your meeting with your grandfather is a meeting with the contestants for project CUPID. There are over 12 designers waiting for you to give them approval. Of course, the designers will pass through the board, but we were hoping that you would meet with them and reassure them of your approval over this particular project.” Killian's assistant iterated as they walked out of the building to the car parked out front.

“My grandfather called/ already? Wow, Martin is quick.” The designer merger is not necessary, just another opportunity to feed those greedy board members. I'd rather not be there.”

Sir, if you do not go, then we are worried that the authority of your presence will be lost. In fact, the board members seem to already have each one a pick for the project. We need you to be there so that a designer can prove to every one of the designers that the deciding procedure will be impartial and will be given to the best designer at the end of the day. Otherwise, it would be impossible for people to believe that the situation was not rigged. As we know, no one is on the chairman side and the chairman is on one side. You need to be there to reassure the designers of this.” He's assistant spoke once more.

“Fine. Drive me to the family house, I’ll meet my grandfather now.”

Alright Sir. He said, motioning towards the open car.

At the other end of town, the mother, son and nanny trio had gone up to meet their friend Julie for a very wholesome brunch. The atmosphere was quite lively in the huge garden of her mansion. Finally, after so many years, Heather got to meet with Judy, her best friend, and talk with her. Of course, the interchange was very heartwarming. Lola blushed every time Judy looked in her direction. Of course, those glances did not go unnoticed by heather, but she decided not to poke into the private business of her people.

“Mommy. Mommy, look at this red flower.” Liam came running to his mother. He had a handful of some red flowers in his hands, cut haphazardly.

“ Oh, no. Liam, come on. You can't play with the flowers. Those are decorations for the table. Think how much work has gone into putting them there. Don't take them out of the vase anymore.” Heather reprimanded

“But Mommy, I wanted to give you.’ he said innocently, a bit of sadness and guilt lacing his voice.

“ I know, but could you not take them out of the vase anymore? They're prettier when they're in the vase. Don't pluck the flowers, OK, Liam.” She comforted him by cupping his cheeks.

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Lola, could you please take Liam with you? Go on a little walk, I need to talk to Judy for a bit.”

“ Of course, ma'am. I'll take Liam.” Lola replied, carrying the boy with her into the garden.

“Brunch is going pretty well, I see,” Judy said. A sweet smile clung to her face as she brought with her a jar of lemonade and poured a glass of the weather.

“Brunch is over, sweetie.” Heather continued. “I am sick and tired, literally. I need to go get some rest, but I have so much work to do. I'm sorry that we have to cut this short. I need to take them home and then leave for my home. It's just so much going on at once. And the traffic! After staying in Europe for so long, I had almost forgotten what a traffic jam felt like. Its crazy out here. Please don’t hate me. I promise we will come over again.” Heather pouted at her friend.

“Not at all! Actually, you don't need to take them all the way back to town. They can just, you know, stay here with me. I don't mind. I have nowhere to go and.” Judy paused for a while and looked in the direction of Lola and Liam.

“You want to chill and get to know Lola better,” Heather interrupted, as she took a loud sip of her glass of lemonade. Judy gave her an open-mouthed look. She didn’t expect her to be so brazen about it.

“What! Yes! Come on, Judy. We're friends. You shouldn't be like this.” Heather went on.

“I'm not. Be like what? I'm not like anything.” Judy tried to defend.

“ I see the eyes you give her. Something happened between the two, right? Because you were very I don't know. Insistent on her coming to this brunch. Not that I didn't want her here, but you did ask.” She pointed out once more.

“I mean. I mean, when I visited you guys in Sicily, she was really nice and I just, I thought it'd be OK to, like, have her here.”

“It's OK if you like her. I'm not gatekeeping her. Lola is my nanny, well my son's nanny. But, I'm not the master of her life. If anything, I think of her as a little friend and I would like her to live a quiet and happy life. I don't think you're a bad person. And I actually think that if you like her, you know, you should work things out. You talk to her, OK?”

“Why are you saying it like that?” Judy squinted playfully. She knew exactly what Lola meant.

“Because. You have a reputation. For being quite the player, casual hookups, one-night stands. That little girl doesn’t do any of those things. I've known her for 3 years, she is soft and inexperienced.”

“Oh my God, girl. Stop it.”

“ I'm serious. Judy, please. Be gentle with Lola.”

“I am gentle, OK, Heather. Now go meet your little designer friends at your little designer party.”

Right, of course. I just need to change this suit. Do you have anything else I could wear? Yeah, I just know the blouse to go with pants. We still have time. Let me show you around the wardrobe. It’ll be fun, like when we used to play dressed up in middle school” Judy chatted happily as she led heather inside.

“ OK, I'm off now. Tell laim and Lola that I left. I can't tell Liam myself because he is obsessive.” Heather said, she was finally ready after a whole hour of fooling around with Judy.

“ I know, don't worry. They’ll be fine.” Judy reassured her friend.

“Yes. I know they will, because if they're not, I will kill you.” She chuckled.

“Enjoy your meeting and don't let the car get in your head. There's so many Killians in this country, and what are the odds that you got with Killian Gosling, right? Relax.” Judy said as she helped groom her, using a lint roller to perfect her flawless look.

“It was a one-night stand about five years ago. You'll be fine. I doubt that he'll remember you, even if he was the one. But just as a precautionary method, be very professional. And if truly the person you slept with five years ago is Killian Gosling and you could just act like you don't remember. Brushed off quietly. Now go have your meeting and have a blast, and I'll see you later."