The Pacific conference room faced south, giving a full view of the port of La Puerta and club district. Once a quarter, the Lanover Industries board of directors met here to review and plan for the future.

“Madam Chair? Your vote?” Sean Boyd asked, glancing up from his notebook.

“Yes,” Nancy nodded.

“The total is now six to one in favor of continuing the Australian acquisitions.” Sean addressed the seven people seated around the oval table. As Chair of the Board, Nancy's vote was only called on for the record or to break any tie that might happen. She flipped her page to the next item and sat back, watching her peers.

Sean sat opposite her, the doors to the conference room behind him. He looked especially dapper today in a crisp three piece suit. Glancing up with his deep set hazel eyes over a slightly crooked nose, he caught her examining him. Sean flashed her a smile before making sure the other members were ready.

“Penultimate motion. Reduce workforce staff by fifteen percent,” he announced, tapping his jaw as he rested it in his hand. Nancy preferred him shaven, but his trimmed reddish brown mustache and beard went well with the slightly darker brown of his crew cut.

“Matt?” Sean asked, beginning the vote in order of seniority. Sitting to Sean’s right was Matieus Clough, one of Nancy’s family’s oldest and dearest friends. He and her father fought together in World War II and founded the original Lanover Construction.

A giant of a man, he stood a head above Nancy when she wore her taller heels. Almost as wide as he was tall, half the other board members could easily fit in his double breasted suit. Sighing, he ran his large hand over his grey beard as he shook his head. Nancy knew his vote before he spoke it.

“No. We’re operating well into the green. Furloughing people for no reason is just greedy. And cruel,” Matieus answered, pushing the glasses up his bulbous nose as he directed the last bit at Ingrid, the motion’s sponsor, who ignored him.

“Patrick?” Sean continued.

Patrick Koldolski reclined in the chair to Sean’s left, glancing out the window with sunken eyes. Frail and hunched, the back of the chair towered above his white haired head. He sighed, using his cane to push the chair back around to the others, careful to keep his oxygen line from getting tangled.

One of the first investors who helped fund the company in its infancy; he was old when Nancy was little. Practically a revenant now, she suspected the only thing that kept him going was spite.

“Yes,” he voted with a wave of his hand.

“Ingrid?”

The oil embargo during Nancy’s teens nearly bankrupted the company. It was Ingrid Beatriz who kept it afloat, bringing fresh capital when she joined the Board. She was small, wiry, and had the most skeletal fingers Nancy had ever seen. Brushing one of the dark ringlets out of her face, Ingrid made it a point to smile across the table to Matieus.

“I vote yes,” she grinned, bunching up the wrinkles on her cheeks.

“Elias?”

Every quarter Elias Giacalone's chiseled jaw, heavy-lidded eyes, and almost shoulder length side swept hair made him a popular visitor to the office. Pulling his eyes from Nancy's legs, he exhaled, strumming his ringed fingers on his belly. He joined eight years ago looking to diversify his holdings.

“The numbers seem solid," he shrugged. "We cut a bit of fat to run faster. I vote yes,” Elias answered, leaning back in the chair. He'd graced them with a suit jacket today, an upgrade from his usual partially buttoned dress shirt.

“Connie?” Sean asked, looking between Matieus and Elias.

Bao “Connie” La tapped a finger on her lips as she squinted at Sean and then Ingrid through her thick glasses. Chosen to represent the Asian and European divisions, she came on four years ago.

“Ya,” she finally nodded, causing Matieus to throw his hands up.

“Connie! You represent a third of the workforce!” Matieus pressed both hands to the table, pleading. Connie cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I represent the shareholders, Matt. I vote Ya,” she gestured with her hand before crossing her arms. Matieus deflated into his chair, shaking his head.

“Workforce reduction passes,” Sean announced. “Antony, your vote for the record?”

Sitting to Nancy's right, Antony Avalos's pale brown eyes glanced around to the other members before landing back at his hastily scribbled notes. This was his first board meeting.

“Umm, yeah sure," he said with the slightest shrug. He'd gotten lucky investing, which allowed him to buy out the previous shareholder two months ago.

“I vote yes as well,” Nancy said as Sean looked up from his notebook. “I’m sorry, Matt,” she said, turning to Matieus, whose mouth had fallen open. “The numbers do work out for this.”

“Work Force Reduction motion passes. Six to one,” Sean announced. Nancy flipped the page in her notebook, glancing to check the moods at the table. She needed at least three votes in order for her tie breaker to work.

Matt would vote no on principle. Patrick, not knowing this was Nancy’s motion, would vote yes. At his age, he was just playing the numbers game to see how much he could accumulate before the end. Ingird, a ruthless capitalist and also unaware of the motions true sponsor, would vote yes as well.

Elias’s lavish lifestyle would likely push him positive. With no direct benefit for the overseas operations, Connie would vote no. That left Antony. His unsure glances and lack of questions screamed 'in over my head'. So far, he'd voted with the majority. If he kept form, then there would be no need for Nancy's tie breaker.

“Final motion, Venture Acquisitions,” Sean announced. “Matt?”

“Absolutely no. This is just predatory and contrary to what this company should stand for.”

“Patrick.”

“Yes.”

“Ingrid.”

“No,” she answered, snapping Nancy’s head up from her notebook. Ingrid’s pale blue eyes stared back at her. “If we’re cutting workers, then we’re going to get negative press," Ingrid said with a hand wave. " Churning failing businesses will cause a media dog pile."

“Elias,” Sean continued.

“Sure.”

“Connie?”

“No.”

Three to Two. Nancy’s stomach tightened as everything now rode on their new member. As her eyes landed on him, he broke his gaze from a smiling Ingrid and turned to her. Her jaw clenched, realizing that he hadn't being checking with each of the other members. Just one.

Seeing the fire coming from her eyes, he immediately looked down to his notes. Nancy's chest tightened, with the expectation of what was about to happen.

“I’m, going to, umm, vote no,” Anthony answered, looking everywhere but at Nancy who was tapping her pen on her notebook. She opened her mouth to say something but Sean cut her off.

“Venture motion fails. Madam Chair, your vote for the record please?” Sean said with the slightest shake of his head. Nancy inhaled sharply through her nose and relaxed her jaw before looking back out to the others.

“I’ll go on record saying this is a wasted opportunity. I vote yes,” she said, sitting back in her chair and balling her hands into fists in her lap.

“Venture initiative fails. Four to three. Well, ladies and gentlemen that brings our fall meeting to a close. Does anyone have anything they would like to add before we dismiss?” Sean looked around, stopping briefly on Nancy with a pleading glance. No one offered anything so he continued.

“In that case, I'll have the meeting notes typed up and in your inboxes tomorrow morning. I wish you all safe travels and we’ll see you next quarter.”

As the others gathered their things and started the shuffle out of the conference room, Nancy stayed seated, her gaze glued to Antony. When he noticed, he stuffed his things in his bag and exited as quickly as he could. Her gaze followed him but settled on Ingrid as Antony passed behind her.

Ingrid, still seated as well, sighed as their eyes met. She watched Antony leave before looking back. Nancy's hands quivered in her lap as her gaze bored into Ingrid.

“Your director’s proposal wasn’t bad, but now isn’t the time for it,” Ingrid said, breaking the silence after a moment.

“It’s not your place to decide what’s the time for anything.” Nancy leaned forward and crossing her fingers on the table. Ingrid's eyes narrowed just a bit as she smiled.

“I didn’t decide, the board did.”

“Did it now?” Nancy asked, turning her chin up and staring down at Ingrid. “It hasn’t gone unnoticed that our brand new member is suddenly falling in line behind you.”

“Oh please! You’ve been doing this long enough. You know how the game is played.” Ingrid laughed as she stood and collected her things.

“This isn’t a game,” Nancy replied, standing as well. Ingrid looked up at her blinking and shook her head.

“Of course it’s a game,” she said, closing her briefcase. “One your father didn’t play very well. You've done an adequate job, but change is coming, Nancy. You either change with it, or it rolls over top of you.” Ingrid rounded the table, opening the door. She looked back at Nancy with the slightest hint of a smile. “Don’t make this the hill you die on, dear.”

Her drive home was a flash of unbridled rage. Her goals had been set back at least five years today as well as Ingrid's threat, looming over her like some wizened sword of Damocles. Trying to find the best path forward helped to quell her anger. There were alternate paths to her plans but they required either more resources or were more time consuming.

The cursing subsided by the time she pulled off The Six and she was breathing normally as she parked in her driveway. Getting out of her car, Nancy was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the door closing. Looking up, she saw Narmeen coming towards her, holding her things.

“Madam. I have given your husband my resignation.” Nancy blinked, shaking her head.

“May I ask why?”

“Your son, madam. He said very rude things and touched me inappropriately,” Nareem answered, the corners of her mouth turned down. Nancy’s jaw tightened and the leather handle of her briefcase whined in her clenched hand. She closed her eyes and exhaled.

“If I asked you to take the rest of the week off with pay to give me time to sort my son out, would that convince you to stay?” Narmeen shook her head.

“No ma'am, I’m sorry. I won’t be in a home with him.”

“I understand,” Nancy nodded, taking a deep breath. “We’ll pay you through the end of the month and will tell the agency how wonderful you were. I am very sorry this happened.”

“Thank you, madam,” Narmeen nodded, then walked past to her car. Nancy closed her eyes, letting her head fall back and took several deep breaths. The smoldering rage she had worked to smoother sparked and blazed bright again. She opened the door to find Jared waiting inside. Ignoring him, she set her things down.

“So… you ran into Narmeen then?” Jared asked, shifting from one foot to the other. She glared at him for a second, her lip twitching, before she threw the door closed, shaking the foyer.

“MICHAEL!!!” she screamed, her voice reverberating through the house. Jared took an unconscious step back. Nancy waited, lip quivering, hands balled into fists.

Her lanky son rounded the corner from the kitchen, his slow saunter halted as Nancy stormed over to him. Puberty had sprouted him up a foot in the last year, but Nancy still towered over him.

“What is wrong with you?! Why do you think you can treat people like this?!” she bellowed as Michael's brown eyes found the floor quickly. "You said the first time was an accident, but then you do it again!"

“She’s just a servant,” Michael mumbled, looking off to the side. Nancy starred at him for a moment before her brows drew together.

“Just a servant?” she hissed through clenched teeth, grabbing his jaw. "Do you know how to cook? Have you ever cleaned anything?! Fixed anything?!" she demanded, turning his face to hers. Michael, wide-eyed, tried to back away, but was held in place by his mothers iron grip. Nancy put her face in his.

“Don’t you EVER disrespect someone for making a living doing something you aren’t able or even willing to do! Do you understand me?” she asked, full fury burning down at her son.

“Ye... yeah,” Michael stammered as his mother stared him down. Nancy held his face for a few moments before releasing him.

"We're going to conduct an experiment," she said, straightening to stare down at him. "I'm going to find the largest meanest man to work for us. I don't even care about the quality of the work. Then we'll see if you can keep your hands to yourself." Eyes still blazing, she turned from him and looked to Jared who took another step back.

“I have to deal with shit all day at work. I would appreciate not having to deal with it here!”

“Just get a different job,” Michael mumbled. Nancy closed her eyes and turned slowly to her son.

“What did you say?” she whispered as Michael backed away from her.

“Get a... different job. We’re rich. Just do something else,” he shrugged. Nancy blinked at him as her jaw dropped.

“How disconnected are you from reality? My job, is what makes us ‘rich’. Which by the way, you, are not!” she yelled at him, pointing to herself. “You have nothing that I don’t give you and you’ll never have anything if you don’t stop acting like a petulant spoiled little brat.” She punctuated her words with her finger in his chest. Nancy's face softened as a smile spread across her face.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. While I try to find a company or person who will work in this house, you'll do the work they would,” she said, pushing her finger further into his chest.

“What?!”

“You heard me,” Nancy stated, withdrawing her hand and putting her fist on her hip while looking down at him. “You’ll do the work of the ‘servants’ until I can find someone willing to tolerate your existence.”

“I don’t know how to cook!” Michael whined. Nancy leaned her head to the side and grinned.

“Your father is going to buy you some cookbooks. He’ll watch over and help you,” she said, turning and walking back to Jared. “He’s going to be very attentive and make sure you get all your house work done before I arrive home,” she said, one eyebrow up as she stopped in front of him. Jared opened his mouth to say something but closed it as his shoulders wilted.

“Okay. Fine,” he nodded.

“How long is this going to be?!” Michael yelled.

“Probably a while, as we’re likely now blacklisted from yet another service company because of you,” Nancy replied, turning to him. Michael threw his hands up.

“What about my homework?” he whined, causing Nancy to laugh.

“Oh, now you care about school work!? You’ll still be doing it after you finish cleaning and making dinner. So tell your friends that you won’t be seeing them for a long time.”

“This is bullshit!” Michael yelled. Nancy’s lip curled again as stalked over to him.

“What’s bullshit!” she yelled over him, “Is the fact that we can’t keep any help because of you. This is your last chance to act like a decent human being or I will ship you off to some middle of nowhere boarding school in some third world country.” Michael’s jaw dropped as his eyes grew huge. “Maybe there you’ll learn some humility and understanding,” she hissed before walking back to the door.

“I’m going upstairs,” she announced to the room, hanging her coat and picking up her briefcase. She started toward the stairs but stopped to look at Michael. “It’s in your best interest to be invisible for the rest of the night.”

Her hair shrouded her face as she leaned forward, both hands against the wall, the warm water running over her neck and back. Nancy tried to replay the day’s events but kept coming back to Ingrid’s threat.

For eleven years she'd been fighting a war against Ingrid and Patrick. In the beginning, she had extended olive branches only to be met with derision. No matter what she offered, they always wanted more. Ingrid in particular, was always looking to tip things in her favor. They took every opportunity to undermine or shoot down anything she proposed or backed.

Despite her war of attrition with those two, the balance had always slightly been in Nancy's favor. She had a great relationship with Matieus and Sonya, the previous shareholder before Antony. Before Elias and Connie, there was Sig and Andre who were favorable once she proved herself. That balance was now tipped with Antony in Ingrid’s pocket.

She straightened, brushing her hair back over her shoulder, letting the water hit her face and chest as she tried to figure out Ingrid’s end game. Ingrid had never shown a desire for the CEO position and had never expressed a desire for the Chair position. She seemed content to stay on the sidelines and profit.

There had to be something she wanted. There was always something someone wanted, she thought as she turned the water off. Turning, she jumped, finding Jared, naked, standing in the shower.

“What are you doing?” she asked walking past him to grab a towel.

“I thought I’d shower with you.” He admiring her as she leaned forward, whipping her hair in front of her and wrapping it with a towel. Early in their relationship, showering together always meant sex.

“What part of this evening made you think I'd be in any kind of mood?”

“I figured you could use some relaxation and thought I could help.” Nancy narrowed her eyes at him and straightened.

“Don’t play with me,” she said, wrapping herself with another towel. “You’ve hardly looked at me and now recently you want to be affectionate. I’m not stupid Jared, what do you want?” He opened his mouth but closed it and sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

“There's a position coming available in a couple months, Regional Special Agent. I submitted my bid, but I was wondering if you and some of your peers could nudge the nomination.”

“So you want me to get you a position with more responsibility so you’re around our son less?” She laughed and shook her head.

“No. It’s a liaison position so I unless I’m on escort, I'd likely be home more,” he explained, holding his palms out. “I can be here more to monitor him.”

Nancy stared at him for a moment, then sat at her mirror and unwrapped her hair, laying it over her shoulder. She took a deep breath and patted her hair with a towel a few times before turning to him.

“I’ll see what I can do, but you’ll be a hawk over Michael. If this happens again, he won’t be the only one shipped off to some hole on the other side of the world,” she said, glaring at Jared who held his hands up.

“Understood,” he replied. pushing off the wall. Nancy turned around and kept drying her hair as he walked up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “About that relaxation?” He smiled to her in the mirror, but her eyes blazed in reply.

“Get. Out.” Jared lifted his hands off her shoulders and backed up.

“Sure thing. Whatever you say, boss,” he replied, shaking his head.

Nancy watched his reflection walk out the alcove before looking back at herself in the mirror. Her knuckles were white from gripping the towel. Releasing it, she let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling, letting her jaw hang before it started to hurt. She took a deep breath and looked back in the mirror.

“This is what you wanted,” she told herself. “You knew it would happen. When you’re on top, everyone wants something. Everyone wants to pull you down.” She straightened in her seat, staring herself down. The woman in the mirror looked tired and worn but the woman in the mirror wasn’t her, she was better than this.

“Stop being weak. Stop letting them get the better of you. Get yourself together. Figure this out.”