He paused, seeming to brace himself. “If you force me to terminate your employment, you’ll only receive the money you’ve paid into the fund as a lump sum. Your benefits will end immediately.”
For a brief moment, Tommy’s expression softened. “You’ve been invaluable to the company, Oscar. Truly. But it’s time to step aside, to start the next chapter of your life.”
The words hit like a hammer.
“You can’t do this to me!” Oscar shot to his feet, slamming his fist on the table so hard the water glasses rattled.“There has to be a vote, you can’t just make these decisions on your own!” His pulse roared in his ears. How dare they fire him after everything he’d done for this company? “I’ll sue!”
Rupert Holmes cleared his throat, his expression unreadable. “Following your outburst at the last board meeting, we held an emergency session last week. We voted to terminate your employment. Thomas asked that we offer you the chance to retire instead, with dismissal as a last resort if you refused.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “We’d planned to do this privately next week. Thomas insisted we speak with you first, to spare you the embarrassment.”
Oscar stared around the table, stunned. A few people avoided his gaze; others met it head-on, faces cold and impassive. Only Tommy looked uneasy.
“You don’t want to do this, Tommy,” Oscar said, voice cracking. “I can see it in your face.”
He’d apologized after that last meeting. It had just been the cocaine, the stress at home, the pressure. The glass hadn’t even hit anyone. This was a gross overreaction.
“You’re right. I don’t want to do this.” Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. Oscar swallowed, for a second he actually believed he might be saved.
“The last thing I want is to hurt you, Della, or Evie,” Tommy went on, voice low. “But my top priority is this company, its investors, and our customers. Please - take the retirement. Don’t make this harder than it already is. You have enough vacation and leave to clear out your office tomorrow, and you’ll continue to receive salary through December thirty-first.”
Oscar’s face contorted. “This is why you paid for Evie’s tuition and got her an apartment, so she wouldn’t cut you off!”His words came out hot; at the same time, they confirmed the dark theory he’d been nursing all week. Tommy wanted him out. Tommy had put Evie in his orbit. Tommy had stolen everything.
For the first time, anger flashed on Tommy’s face. It was a hard, sudden thing that made Oscar take a step back. Tommy’s jaw tightened; his eyes went cold. “Don’t you ever, ever insinuate I would hurt Evie or bribe her to stay in contact with me.” The words were low, shaking with a barely suppressed fury. Oscar felt the room tilt. He might have gone too far, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t be pushed out quietly.
Tommy rose, his voice climbing with each sentence until it was loud enough to stop the board from breathing. “If she stops speaking to you because of this decision, I will continue to pay her tuition and rent. If she chose botany instead of computer science, I would still pay. I want her to be happy, because her happiness makes me happy.” He stepped toward Oscar, controlled menace in his posture. “So don’t you dare make this about her or my relationship with her just because you’ve driven her away with your -”
Rupert stood, laying a steadying hand on Tommy’s shoulder before he could finish the sentence about what had driven Evie away. “Evelyn and Della are the only reason Thomas offered this as an alternative,” Rupert said calmly. “But if it’ll make you feel better -”
He looked around the table. “All in favour of offering Oscar Stanley his retirement package, effective January first?”
Every hand went up.
“All opposed?”
Oscar raised his, glaring around the table. Rupert didn’t even look his way. “Unanimous,” he said flatly.
He continued without missing a beat. “All in favour of terminating Oscar Stanley’s employment as Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately, should he decline retirement?”
Again, every hand rose.
“Unanimous,” Rupert repeated. He turned to Oscar. “Your decision?”
“I need to think about this.” Oscar’s voice came out hoarse. He couldn’t believe it, one small display of temper, and they were throwing him out. There had to be another reason. Someone must have turned them against him. “I need to speak to Della.”
Rupert shook his head. “This isn’t a negotiation,” he said. “You have two options. Four more months of salary, continued health benefits, and matched pension contributions -” He opened a folder and slid it toward Oscar. Three cheques lay inside, each signed by Rupert and Tommy. “- or these,” Rupert finished. “Your final pay, accrued vacation and leave, and your pension contributions. If you refuse the retirement, security will escort you out immediately. What’s it going to be?”
A sharp knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts and Oscar shot to his feet, sweeping the last of the cocaine into a tissue and shoving the fifty and his credit card into his pocket. His pulse spiked with a mix of paranoia and anticipation.
He positioned himself beside the door and cracked it open, keeping the chain fastened. “Yes?”
“Osveta?” The word - revenge - rumbled from the other side, low and deep enough to raise goosebumps on his arms.
“Svift,” Oscar replied. Swift.He shut the door, unhooked the chain, and opened it again.
The man who stepped through made the room seem smaller. Oscar’s gaze hit a solid wall of muscle. A chest so broad it nearly filled the doorway, the stranger ducked his head to enter, shoulders brushing the frame. His eyes were a cold blue green, his blond hair pulled back in a low ponytail, a pale scar cutting across his upper lip. Handsome, Oscar thought faintly, in a brutal sort of way.
Oscar shut the door once the man was inside and without a word, beckoned him to the table. The chair groaned as the stranger eased into it, the sound oddly loud in the small room. Oscar, just under six feet and carrying the soft paunch of a man in his sixties, felt suddenly small beside him; the man’s presence made the motel room feel crowded.
He set his briefcase on the table, flipped it open, and pulled out a photograph of Tommy and a scrap of paper with the address of a rental near the airport. “This is Tommy Sloane. I want him taken and held at that address until I contact you with further instructions.” He shut the briefcase and pushed it across the table. “Half now. The rest when it’s done.”
