Chapter 2 - The Notary’s True Face
Arthur Kensington,
the man Nathan had just called an "old timer,"
stood up with a grace that completely contradicted his disheveled appearance.
He didn't look like a notary anymore;
he looked like a lion who had been patiently watching a hyena play in his territory.
Nathan,
sensing a shift in the room's atmosphere,
frowned and tapped his Rolex.
What are you waiting for?
The ink is there,
the signatures are complete,
just do your job so we can go to our lunch.
Arthur didn't move toward the stamps.
Instead,
he walked toward the window,
looking out over the city of New York as if he owned every brick and beam.
Mr.
Pierce,
he began,
his voice no longer shaky but deep and resonant with authority.
I have spent the last hour listening to you speak to my granddaughter as if she were a piece of discarded luggage.
The silence that followed was so heavy it felt as if the gravity in the room had doubled.
Nathan’s mouth fell open,
and Madison’s tablet slipped from her fingers,
clattering onto the hardwood floor.
Granddaughter?
Nathan stammered,
his face turning a pale shade of gray.
What are you talking about?
Emma is an orphan from a small town,
she has nobody.
Arthur turned around,
a cold smile playing on his lips.
Emma is a Kensington,
he stated,
each syllable hitting like a hammer blow.
Her father is my eldest son,
and her mother was a woman of such grace that she would never have let a man like you into her kitchen,
let alone her family.
Nathan looked at me,
his eyes wide with a frantic,
unbelieving terror.
Emma,
is this true?
Why didn't you tell me?
I met his gaze,
my heart finally feeling the freedom I had craved.
Because you never asked,
Nathan.
You were too busy telling me who I was to ever listen to who I had been.
You wanted a waitress you could save,
so I gave you exactly what you wanted to see.
I wanted to know if you loved the girl or the crown she wore,
and today,
you gave me your final answer.
Arthur stepped toward the table,
ignoring the divorce papers entirely.
You see,
Mr.
Pierce,
my family has always valued humility above all else.
Emma chose to live simply,
to see the world from the bottom so she would know how to lead from the top.
But you,
you are a man of mirrors and smoke.
Nathan tried to regain his composure,
adjusting his tie with shaking hands.
So what?
So her grandfather is a notary?
That doesn't change the fact that CloudAxis is a billion-dollar company.
I don't need your family,
I have the investors.
Arthur laughed,
a soft,
dangerous sound.
The investors you are meeting at two o'clock?
The Kensington Group is the lead partner in that venture capital firm,
Nathan.
We provide sixty percent of the funding you were counting on for your IPO.
And as the owner of this building,
I should also inform you that your lease is up for renewal today.
I have decided not to sign it.
Madison jumped to her feet,
her face flushed with anger and fear.
You can't do that!
We have a business to run!
Arthur looked at her as if she were a smudge on his sleeve.
I can do whatever I wish with my property,
young lady.
And I find that the "brand" of this company no longer fits the values of this skyscraper.
Nathan fell back into his chair,
the black credit card still sitting on the table between us.
He looked at it,
then at me,
realizing that the "charity" he had offered me was less than the pocket change I had grown up with.
Emma,
please,
we can talk about this,
he pleaded,
his voice now high and desperate.
I was stressed,
the IPO has me on edge,
I didn't mean those things about the beef stew.
I stood up,
straightening my cardigan.
Actually,
Nathan,
the beef stew was my grandmother’s recipe.
It was a test of character for your team,
one they all passed,
except for you.
You mocked them for enjoying a "peasant" meal while they worked eighteen-hour shifts for you.
Arthur took my arm,
ready to lead me out.
The divorce is final,
Mr.
Pierce.
The papers are signed.
You wanted Emma to disappear before your presentation?
Consider your wish granted.
We walked toward the door,
leaving Nathan and Madison in the wreckage of their own making.
But I wasn't finished with CloudAxis yet.
May you like
The presentation at two o'clock was still happening,
and I planned to be the one holding the microphone.
