Annihilate Me 2: Vol. 1 (3 page)

“What other facts?”

“Alex is the face of Wenn.
 
People identify him with Wenn just as
they identified Steve Jobs with Apple and identify Mark
Zuckerberg
with Facebook.
 
Time and again, Alex
has proved himself as Wenn’s new visionary.
 
He might be under fire now, but over
time, he’s essentially untouchable.
 
He has controlling interest over the company, and he has over fifty-seven
percent of the voting shares.
 
Right
now, even if the board wanted to oust him, they couldn’t.”

“That isn’t true.
 
Whether you know it or not, your husband
is fighting for his job in that boardroom.”

“Fighting for his job?
 
What does that mean?”

“Including Alex, there are eight
members on the board.
 
You know
that.
 
What you might not know is
that his father cultivated the old guard.
 
Thank God, four of them are still on it.
 
They’ve known Alex since he was a boy,
and, unless things get increasingly ugly and they believe they have no other
choice, they’ll remain loyal to him.
 
But there are three relatively new members who don’t share that same
kind of alliance—especially that smarmy little sonofabitch Stephen
Rowe.
 
The newcomers are only
thinking about the bottom line, not to mention the pressure they’ve already
received from investors and will continue to receive throughout the day and
possibly the coming weeks.
 
Rowe is
nothing if not persuasive.
 
Worse,
he’s also a snake in the grass—a true opportunist.
 
If he wanted to, he could convince other
members to publicly side with him against Alex.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?
 
To create the sort of PR nightmare that would
cause your husband to step down for the greater good of the company.
 
You’re correct on one level—Alex
has the voting shares in his favor.
 
But he’s a good man.
 
He’s a
conscious man.
 
And if he was
pressured enough to step down ‘for the greater good of the company,’ I think
he’d do it out of respect for what his father built.
 
Rowe is the problem.
 
I know what he’s going to do.
 
I know that he’s going to lobby the
board to pressure Alex to step down so he can take his place.”

“I think you’re being
melodramatic.”

“I think you’re being naïve.”

“Barbara, where is this coming from?”

“Years of experience that you don’t
have.”

“Maybe not, but I do have common
sense.
 
And I also know Alex.
 
Since when has he ever been averse to
dealing with pressure?
 
If he wanted
to, he could crush Rowe.
 
And
please, fill me in.
 
Why are you
being so hostile?”

“Because I know what Rowe is
capable of.
 
I warned Alex against
him before he even invited him to join the board.
 
I’ve never trusted him.”

“On what grounds?”

“Gut instinct—and
reputation.”

“Even if he tried to do anything to
Alex, he wouldn’t have time to pull it off.
 
Don’t you get it, Barbara?
 
Time is against him.
 
With Wenn’s stock so low, we now have a
buying opportunity at hand.
 
This
could be over by week’s end.
 
The
stock may be back to normal at that point.
 
Why is everyone signaling the potential ruin of Alexander Wenn just
based on what’s happened today?
 
It’s ridiculous.
 
It’s a
misguided hissy fit.”
 

I pushed back my chair and
stood.
 
I loved Blackwell, but where
was her faith in Alex?
 
“Don’t you
believe in Alex more than that?” I asked.
 
“The company has only grown since Alex took over after his father killed
himself.
 
I’ve already said it once
today, and I’ll say it again—today is a blip.
 
My husband is a genius.”

Before she could say another word
to me, I left her office, shut the door firmly behind me, and walked down the
hallway to the bank of elevators, still stunned and discouraged that our
exchange had gone so far.

CHAPTER THREE

When I returned to my office, I was
sidelined by Ann, who motioned me away from her desk and the proximity of
Alex’s office, presumably for privacy.

“The board just broke up,” she
said.
 
“Alex is in his office.”

“That was sooner than
expected.
 
How did he look?”

“Furious.
 
I’ve never seen him so upset.
 
In an hour, he plans to hold a press
conference.”

“I knew that one was coming.
 
Naturally, one had to come—and in
this case, the sooner the better.
 
When I first got here, I asked Tank to make sure that it was held in the
lobby, not outside.”

“I’ve since talked with him.
 
Everything is set.”

“Are the other board members still
here?”

“I think they left.”

“
Left
?
 
They’re not going to stand behind him on
this?”

“I’m not sure.
 
They could have gone elsewhere in the
building.
 
I watched them get into
one of the elevators, and then they were gone.
 
Alex will be able to answer that
question for you.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No—I just wanted you to know
that Alex is back.”

Her undercurrent was clear:
 
And that he needs you now.

We started to walk back toward her
desk.
 

“Thank you, Ann.
 
I don’t know how you do it, but you
always know how to handle every situation—especially the difficult
ones.
 
I appreciate it.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

I went to Alex’s office, knocked
twice on his door, and went inside when he called for me to come in.

*
 
*
 
*

When I clicked the door shut behind
me, I found him seated at his desk and staring intently at his computer.
 
When he saw that it was me, a sense of
relief came over him, and he immediately rose.

“Jennifer,” he said.

“How are you?” I asked.

“Pissed off, but happy as hell to
see you.”
 
He nodded toward his
computer screen as I crossed the distance between us.
 
“You’re all over the Internet, you
know—including video.
 
I was
just watching what you had to say before you entered the building.”

“That didn’t take long.”

Even though he smiled at me, I
could sense the tension behind that smile, and it sickened me.
 
I would never know the extent of what he
was going through, but I had a rough idea, and my heart went out to him.
 

He winked at me as I approached him.
 
“I think I just heard you call me a
genius a couple of times.”

“You are a genius.
 
You’re more than a genius.”

“My true genius was to marry you.”

“Oh, Alex.”

I held out my arms to him, slipped
into his embrace, and then closed my eyes when he enveloped me in his
arms.
 
For a long moment, we just
stood there, holding each other and I could feel our energy passing between
us.
 
From the start of our
relationship, what Alex and I always had was visceral.
 
It began with a jolt of unexpected
attraction when we first met in an elevator in this very building.
 
But now, after months of dating that
culminated in marriage, it had the full weight of love behind it.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come with
you this morning.”

“You got sick.
 
It’s understandable.
 
What’s happening right now is upsetting,
and you took it hard.
 
I don’t want
you to worry about it, OK?
 
You’re
here now.
 
That’s all that matters
to me.”

“I feel as if I let you down.”

“You didn’t,” he said into my
ear.
 
“I promise you that you
didn’t.
 
But I’m glad that you’re
here.
 
I’ve missed you.”

When I pulled away from him, I gave
him a meaningful kiss on the lips, which he returned with something that went
beyond mere passion.
 
He cupped my
face in his hands, met my kiss with his own, and then gently ended it with
several kisses on my lips, cheek, and neck.
 
At this point in our relationship, we
weren’t just lovers who happened to be married—we also were the best of
friends.
 
I couldn't imagine what
he’d been through this morning, and I felt laced with guilt that I hadn’t been
able to be there for him.
 

He sat down on his chair and patted
a hand on his lap.
 
“Sit with me,”
he said.
 
“I want you close to me.”

I did as he asked, hooking my right
arm around his neck for support and feeling again just how strong he was.
 
Alex stood six-foot-two, he wore his
dark hair raked away from a chiseled face peppered with stubble, and his eyes
were the color of the sea.
 
They
were his best feature—blue-green and framed by thick lashes.
 
And now they were looking at me.

“Have I told you that you look
beautiful?” he asked.

“I believe you did when we woke
up.”

“Then I’ll say it again—you
look beautiful, Jennifer.”

“I wish I felt beautiful.”

“Are you still feeling sick?”

“Just with concern.”

“Don’t be.”

I ran my fingers through his
hair.
 
“Have I told you how much I
love you, Alex?
 
And how sorry I am
that this is happening to you?
 
Because I
am
sorry.
 
You of all people deserve better than this.
 
This shouldn’t be happening to you.
 
They shouldn’t be treating you this
way.”

He shrugged.
 
“But they are.
 
It is what it is.
 
I’ve been here before.
 
I’ll make a statement, and we’ll see if
that’s enough to settle down the media, as well as our investors.”

“How did it go with the board?”

“Let’s just say that some of them
are less than pleased with me.”

“Is Stephen Rowe among them?”

He furrowed his brow at me.
 
“Why would you ask that?”

I told him about my conversation
with Blackwell.

“You got into an argument with
her?”

“Only out of concern for
you—but yes, it got intense in her office.
 
But I haven’t taken it personally.
 
She and I are friends—we’ll work
it out.
 
Both of us are just worried
about you.
 
We see thing
differently, that’s all.
 
You know I
love her.
 
And I hope that she knows
it, too.”

“She does.”

“She and Bernie are going to pull
me together for tomorrow night’s event.
 
All we need is a little space from each other.
 
For the rest of the day, I’m going to
let things cool off between us.
 
When I see her tomorrow night, I’ll address our little argument with a
joke.
 
That should break the ice,
and get us back on track.
 
It’s not
a big deal.”

“How does she see things?”

“She’s particularly worried about
Stephen Rowe’s intentions.”

“She should be.”

“So, she was right?”
 
I checked myself.
 
“But when isn’t she right?”

“You don’t know him like she
does.
 
How could you?”

“She said that he was a snake in
the grass.”

“He is.
 
I wish I’d known that when I invited him
to join the board, but I didn’t.
 
He
seemed like a good fit.
 
He seemed
like a good guy.”

“Can he cause you any trouble?”

“With some effort—yes.
 
But if I act swiftly enough and turn
this around in our favor, he won’t have that chance.
 
Time isn’t on his side.
 
The stock will rebound.
 
Hopefully, it will do just that after
our investors hear what I’m going to say at the press conference.”

“What are you going to say?”

“That the
SlimPhone
is a hit.
 
In two weeks, we’ve sold
over two million units.
 
That’s a
win by anyone’s standards, but few in the media reported any of that this
morning.
 
And then there are all the
other things that are happening with Wenn.
 
Lisa and several of our other best-selling authors are about to come out
with new books through Wenn Publishing within the next few weeks.
 
In fact, Wenn Publishing is way up for
the quarter, a fact that the press also ignored.
 
So is Wenn Productions, which scored a
huge hit last weekend with our thriller, ‘From Manhattan with Love.’
 
We also just sealed a pilot with NBC for
our new series, ‘Fifth Avenue’.
 
The
press overlooked all of this today—they decided to leave it out and focus
on the negative, because that’s what sells papers.
 
It’s also the negative that draws
viewers, and web hits.
 
All they
looked at were today’s numbers, which admittedly were crushed by the
development of our phone.
 
But you
know what’s really big that not one single reporter touched upon?”

“Of course I do.
 
Wenn Pharmaceutical.”

“That’s right.
 
Our new HIV inhibitor is a game changer
because it kills
mutated
versions of the virus before it attacks T-cells.
 
It’s a revolutionary way to fight the
virus, and it promises an even more effective way than other drugs to sustain
one’s life to its natural conclusion.
 
It’s already passed final trials.
 
In the next few months, I’m confident that we’ll receive FDA approval,
and that when the drug is released, it will only lift Wenn’s profits
higher.
 
We’re going to be fine,
Jennifer.
 
I’m not worried.
 
The press might have chosen to focus
solely on today’s unfortunate numbers, but through them, in the next hour, I’m
going to make everyone aware of just how solid Wenn is, and how strong it will
remain, because Wenn is nothing if not diversified.”

“Like I said—you’re a
genius.”

“What I have is a team of the best
people.
 
You’re one of them.
 
So, as my consultant, how do you feel
about this direction?
 
Am I on the right
track?”

“The key will be in how you present
the information.
 
It must be direct,
positive, swift, and upbeat.
 
Don’t
make any excuses.
 
The world works
in fifteen-second
soundbites
—remember
that.
 
If you say anything negative,
that’s what they’re going to run with—so don’t go there.
 
They’re going to ask you about the
phone.
 
Of course they are.
 
So let them.
 
When they do, take them to school and
offer up the number of units Wenn has already sold.
 
Then, before anyone can ask another
question, move on with everything you’ve just told me.
 
Barrel forward.
 
Don’t let anyone interrupt you.
 
You must sell the facts of how Wenn is
nailing it through all of its many facets.
 
People need to understand that the idea that Wenn is at risk just
because of a damned phone is absurd.
 
Give them the same concrete details you’ve given me.
 
And then, just end the conference.
 
Collect your papers, thank everyone for
coming, and get the hell out of there.
 
Ignore their attempts to ask additional questions, because they’ll just
be leading questions meant to fuel their fire.
 
Keep it short and sweet.”
 

“So, who’s the real genius here?”
he asked.

“You were going to do that anyway.”

“Actually, I was prepared to go in
and defend our phone.
 
Then I was
going to mention the rest of it.
 
But you’re right.
 
If I
defend the phone, I’ll come off as reactive and defensive.
 
And that’s what they’ll play.
 
I need to cram that conference with
nothing but positive information, and leave them with that.”