Authors: Alicia Hope
Royce
leaned
forward in his chair. ‘Of course
,
inno
vation can be risky, but so can
a
lack of progress
. It’s true
n
o other alu
mina
refinery has implemented this
yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work.
All it
means
is that
we have
the chance to
be
a
world
leader in the field
.
Surely that’s preferable to being
too scared to
dip a toe in the water
in case it gets bitten off
?
’
He
grabbed
a
small book he’d noticed
on the coffee table and waved it at Guy. ‘The cheese is moving Guy, and the RCL mice need to follow it.
’ He dropped the book again,
leaned over to rest
his elbows on his knees
,
and clasped his hands
together
. He
star
ed at the floor
for a second
,
before
taking a deep breath and
fixing Guy with an intense gaze
.
‘
Look, I
know
this wi
ll work to our benefit
, if we
have the balls to grab the
opportunity
.’
Guy gave a slow nod of his head
. ‘
I admire ya
confidence, Royce.
’
Royce
sat very still
, wondering what was coming next.
Guy
regarded him closely
.
‘But
, tell me,
if y’
so sure
about all this
,
why hasn’t
your CEO
been spru
i
kin’
about it
?
’
H
is eyes remained fixed on Royce’s face. ‘
Seems to me
like
she might’a
been left out
ta
the loop
.
’ He paused but continued eyeing
Royce shrewdly
. ‘
I
f you’re want
in’ to obtain project approval—and
I could be wrong, but
it
sure
sounds to me like that’s what you’re
leadin
’
to
d
—
the
request has to come
from her
, you know that
.
’
Royce swallowed.
He’d known this would come up. Guy was no fool.
N
ow all he could do was hope he’d read the situation right.
‘Guy, look,
I
—we—
need approval for this
now
. To be a leader in the field, we h
ave to move on this innovation
as
soon as we can,
“
q
uickly get to gung-ho
”
if you believe the corporate blurb. You
know as well as I do how
easily
technical inf
ormation leaks to our competition
.’
‘Y
’
haven’t answered my question.’
R
oyce opened his mouth
but the words
caught on the lining of
his throat.
Suddenly the intercom on
Guy’s
desk buzzed and he flicked the switch
.
‘Yes?’
‘Sorry to disturb you
,
Mr Wallace, but I have that call you were expecting
, on line one
.’
‘’Scuse me will ya
,
Royce?’
‘Of course.’ Royce got to his feet
, welcoming the break to gather his thoughts,
and went out to
the foyer. He stood
in front of the
large windows
,
but wasn’t admiring
the view.
What’s wrong with
me
?
He s
cuffed the carpet
with the toe of his shoe, deep in thought
.
Why can’t I just come out with it?
It’s not
that
hard to say, “She won’t understand any of this and will
only
hold up proceedings”.
This is the perfect opportunity to
prove they made the wrong choice of CEO
.
If I can get Guy’s endorsement, t
he board won’t
want to
jeopardise the
advantages of
fast-tracking
my
project
for the sake of
protocol
, I’m sure
of that
. As long as I can deliver on my promises, they won’t care
whose head I’ve gone
over
.
He scowled.
They might have
passed me over for the
job
, but
I should
n’t
have to explain and justify
every move I make
,
to someone
who’s
still wet behind the ears.
I
kno
w
what’s right for the company, a
nd the success of
this
project
will be ample proof of that
.
He cast aside the guilt corroding his resolv
e.
We’re all
pawn
s
on the
chess board with the board of d
irectors calling the play.
But, unlike me, she
,
and
h
e purposefully avoided
Verity’s name,
i
s at their mercy
,
while I know how to beat them at their own game.
‘Mr James, Mr Wallace is off the phone now.’
‘Thanks.’ Royce
strode into
the office and resumed his seat. B
efo
re
Guy could speak
, he
jumped in with,
‘
Guy, h
ow well do you know my
... CEO?’
It still rankled to refer to the t
itle that should have been his.
A sudden
memory
flashed into his mind, of
Ella
,
h
er go
lden hair
tousled from sleep,
smiling proudly
at him
and
saying in
her
velvety-soft voice, ‘
Stop agonising, my love, you’ll get there
. You’ll be CEO one day, just wait and see.’
The hole she’d left in his heart still
ached
. He blinked hard
,
and frowned.
Don’t go there.
No weakness, remember?
Work is all I have now. I ca
n’t lose sight of that.
‘Verity Parker?
’ Guy’s smile took on a slightly predatory slant.
‘
Well, from all
accounts, she’s
the kinda
lady
I’d be onto like stink on a monkey,
if I were young
and single
!
But
don’t
go mentionin’
that to Miz
Wallace
, now
.
’
He
winked and
looked on in amusement as
Royce shift
ed
uncomfortably in his sea
t
.
‘Oh,
ya
mean professionally-speakin’
?
Well, I know
she’s
tryin’
her damnedest to keep her head above water, and there’re plenty of sharks snappin’ at her pretty heels.’
He raised an enquiring eyebrow at Royce. ‘But
from what I understand, she’s
intelligent, capable, and quic
k on t
he uptake. Would
ya agree
with that summation
?’
Royce flinched inwardly.
Damn
, that doesn’t help my cause
.
B
ut
his
nimble
mind
recovered quickly.
‘Well, yes
, but
do
you realise
how long
it would take to
explain
the new process to her, considering her lack of exper
ience in this specialised field?
A
nd
then
to convince her th
e advantage
s outweigh the risks?
I
n the meantime, we mi
ght lose an opportunity to
get ahead of the opposition
, and
delay
realising
the
projected
benefits
.’ He
hoped he wasn’t
sound
ing
desperate.
Guy
empathised with
what
R
oyce was trying to do
. He
’d been an ambitious young pup himself, once, and
knew
the pain of being passed over for
a job
assumed to be
his
for the taking.
He also
understood why
, ever since the accident,
Royce’s career had been
so imp
ortant to him
.
Y
es,
he could
easily
imagine
how
difficult
it would be
for Royce
to
simply
lie down and accept the situation. But
there was no ignoring the fact
this was a blatant
attempt to cut Verity out of the chain of command
. If
it was
successful,
Guy foresaw
it
lead
ing
to more s
ubversion
,
followed by
corporate dysfunction
and the ultimate destabilisation of
the CEO’s
authority.
Although
aware
some thought otherwise
,
he
knew
the selection panel hadn’t appointed Verity to the position
only
to see her fail.
He
eye
d Royce intently.
Allowing him to bypass his CEO on this would set a precedent that could ultimately damage the company.
Guy
sighed and
frowned.
He was sure
Royce would realise that
too,
when the dust had settled
.
D
e
cision
,
made.
‘
I don’t reckon
you’re givin’
your CEO
enoug
h credit, Royce
. What makes y’
think it would take
more time
to convince her than you’
ve spent
with me
today? ’T
hough I guess
I’ve had regular updates from
the
onset
, w
hich I don’t believe she’s had the benefit of?’
Royce s
quirmed.
Guy swallowed a half
smile. He was pleased to see that underneath
all
the
corporate armour, the man was still human
.
He
went on
, ‘But I’m sure if ya
explained it to
her like y’
have
to me, she’d comprehend it soon enough.’
A mute star
e greeted
him, so he continued,
‘Now, although I still have a few reservations, I’ll support this project.’