Beneath the Chairman's Facade

Chapter 5

The horror that flooded Natasha on seeing the missed calls on her cracked phone screen, and the realization of her grievous error was enough to knock her back out cold. Natasha blinked away the dizziness and jumped out of the temptation called a bed. The first place she looked on impulse was the small wall mirror. The left side of her lower lip was totally swollen. It looked pretty ugly. She dialled Jarvis who picked immediately.

"Before you say anything," Natasha said hurriedly, "I really don't think I'm the person for this assignment. I'm calling in my days off."

"Ha!" Jarvis laughed coldly abandoning his screaming tactics. "To call your days off, you need at least a day's notice. That I let what you did yesterday slide doesn't mean I would today. I am not a f*****g bufoon. Get over to the airport and pick up the chairman!"

"Sir I'm more than an hour away from the airport and I'm already more than an hour late..."

"I don't care if you're the late that means dead. I don't care care if you want to fly, swim, disappear or appear. There's only one person getting fired today and that person is you. DO YOU DIG?!"

Jarvis did not wait for a response before abruptly cutting the call on her. He was always this rude, especially to her. And she had always tolerated him for Evan's sake, for the contemplation of their marital future together. Now, that future was no longer there. So what if she got fired? At this point, Natasha felt like she did not mind living on a janitor's salary. She could accept the bare minimum from a life that had denied her genuine love.

Then, she reconsidered. If she did not show up, the chairman might transfer his rage to over twenty employees and she would be to blame. She hated to imagine the sheer amount of people out there who would hate her without her knowledge. Her phone pinged with a message from Jarvis.

I've pleaded with the chairman for your error and that you mixed up the timing through your own fault. You'll be there in thirty minutes to pick him up!

"Thirty minutes?!" Natasha's eyes bulged. Was Jarvis really expecting her to appear and disappear? Natasha stumbled, nearly falling as she rushed into the small bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face and make her hair the least bit presentable. She had only the official clothes from yesterday so she threw them on anyway along with her heels. She rushed out to the inn check out.

"Ooh, that's a mess," the innkeeper winced referring to her busted lip. "Are you sure you want to go out there looking like you had a botched lip surgery?"

Natasha shook her head, "I don't think I have a choice."

"Here." The innkeeper offered her a box of fresh face masks. She thanked him profusely as she took one, wearing it while rushing out. She was supposed to rent a car yesterday using the company's card but there just wasn't time anymore. She halted the first cab she saw and slid in. The car smelled like fish but Natasha did not really notice.

"Barnabas Airport." She tossed the driver a hundred dollar bill. "Please as fast as you can."

The surly driver made no indication that he had heard her plea. His ride was more junk than car but Natasha was past caring. They got stuck in slight traffic and she had to put her phone on silent because Jarvis would not stop harassing her with calls. She told the driver to wait for her at the airport so he could drive her back to the company, giving him another hundred dollar bill. A small price to pay, considering thousands had been budgeted to accommodate the chairman's welcome.

The airport was rowdy and Natasha had a field day trying to spot the chairman in the crowd. It was very possible that he was already gone but well, she had to be sure. She went upstairs, past the queues, tarmacs and hangars.

"Oh well," she muttered. She may be cooked but she could take consolation in the fact that Jarvis would be cooked in with her. "Mr Eene, the Chairman is already gone," she announced to Jarvis over the phone.

"Gone?" She could envision Jarvis' scowl. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"I've searched the whole airport, he's not here."

A small pause. "Are you sure you're in the right airport?"

Except she was supposed to be at the airport in Greece! "Sir there's only one airport in Barnabas City, of course I'm at the right airport!"

"The chairman called me about a minute ago. He's still in the airport for now, Secretary Miller. How about you stop being a blind bat and f*****g FIND HIM before he changes his mind? I already promised him you'll come through!"

"Don't yell at me, I'm just as frustrated as you are," Natasha finally snapped. "I am still actively searching but the old man is nowhere to be found."

A longer pause.

"CEO Eene, can you hear me?"

"Did…?" A sniff, "Did you just say old man?"

Natasha rolled her eyes wondering how Jarvis would want to take offense with that when they had a much bigger issue at hand. Besides, it was factual name calling. "He is old," she felt compelled to point out.

"Natasha," Jarvis said informally. Which meant he was about to make a grave statement of fact. His calmness instead of his usual screaming meant Natasha might have committed an irredeemable mistake.

"What?" Natasha was impatient and curious. What could she have possibly done wrong that could be more damnable than picking up the chairman late?

"The chairman isn't old."

"Ookay," Natasha drawled, "middle aged?"

Jarvis sighed. "It's not really official yet but the board voted last week and chairmanship has passed. It takes some getting used to but whoever you think the chairman is isn't the chairman and once you acknowledge that fact you'll comprehend that the chairman is still at the airport right now."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Natasha laughed, relief filled. "That's good news then! A new chairman. We shouldn't be so hypertensive in that case. The new chairman cannot be madder than Chairman Hacker, can he now?"

"Natasha," Jarvis growled. Another blunder.

"What?"

"You shouldn't be looking for an old or middle aged man. The chairmanship passed to his son."

The relief quickly faded like it had never been there. Understanding hit her like lightening. The chairman was no longer Manuel Hacker, but Dennedy Hacker. Looking for old or middle aged men whatsoever was out of the question for Natasha recalled the chairman's son all too well.

He was far from old! Tall, stunningly handsome and if it was conceivable, way more crueler than his father. At this epiphany, Natasha finally spotted the powerful back profile of the formidable man in question.

And was he about to step into a bulky black jeep which seemed to be part of a five car convoy? Natasha literally leaped towards him to stop him and stop herself from damning the company's employees.