Laid and Leveraged (2 page)

Roger
Hollins
faced
her,
his
mouth
twisting
up
into
a
wry
grin
as
his
eyes
combed
over
first
her
face
and
then
her
tousled
hair.
Michelle
felt
her
pulse
quicken
and
hoped
it
didn't
show.
He
was
far
more
handsome
than
she
even
thought.
His
bright
blue
eyes,
made
all
the
more
striking
by
his
tanned
skin,
pierced
through
her
as
his
gaze
locked
with
hers.

“
So
good
of
you
to
join
us,
Ms.
Grant,
”
he
murmured,
not
bothering
to
shake
her
hand.
Was
that
a
slight
hint
of
sarcasm
she
detected
in
his
voice?
“
Please,
have
a
seat.
”
He
pointed
to
an
empty
chair
on
the
other
side
of
the
table,
not
her
chair
–
the
CEO's
chair
–
but
the
lowly
chair
of
a
mere
board
member.
She
hesitated,
wondering
if
she
should
point
out
his
error.

As
if
he
knew
what
she
was
thinking,
Roger
Hollins
pulled
out
the
CEO's
chair
at
the
head
of
the
table,
but
rather
then
offering
it
to
her,
he
eased
his
own
large
frame
into
the
seat.
He
smiled,
challenging
her
to
question
his
authority.

Michelle
stiffened.
All
right,
if
that's
how
Mr.
High
and
Mighty
wants
to
play.
She
squared
her
shoulders,
tossing
her
blonde
hair.
With
as
much
grace
as
she
could
muster
in
light
of
the
obvious
usurp
of
her
power,
Michelle
sat
down
in
the
seat
Roger
Hollins
indicated.
She
wasn't
going
to
split
hairs.
If
he
wanted
the
damned
chair
he
could
have
it.
Michelle
had
more
important
things
she
wanted
to
save.
She
clutched
the
portfolio
tighter,
and
cleared
her
throat
to
begin.

Roger
Hollins
didn't
let
her
start,
instead
opening
the
meeting
himself.

“
Gentlemen
and
Lady,
”
he
nodded
to
her.
“
As
you
all
know,
this
company
has
seen
its
fair
share
of
poor
management,
”
he
looked
pointedly
at
Michelle.

Michelle
felt
her
face
go
hot
with
rage
at
the
blatant
insult.

“
I
am
here
to
correct
that,
”
he
continued,
indifferent
to
the
flames
shooting
from
her
eyes.

“
Some
cuts
will
need
to
be
made
if
we
want
to
make
sure
this
ship
stays
afloat.
”
The
corners
of
his
sensuous
mouth
turned
up
into
a
smile
that
didn't
quite
meet
his
eyes.
“
I
hope
you
all
understand.
”

A
nervous
shuffle
sounded
around
the
room
as
everyone,
including
Michelle
waited
to
hear
what
and
whom
would
get
the
ax.

“
The
good
news
is,
”
Michelle
couldn't
help
but
notice
his
voice
had
a
rich,
baritone
quality
to
it
while
he
spoke.
“
I
believe
that
the
cuts
I
have
outlined
will
not
only
help
Today's
Energy
Incorporated
to
profit
but
will
also
make
it
the
United
State's
next
leading
authority
on
green
energy.
”
He
locked
his
blue
eyes
with
Michelle's
before
adding,
“
as
I
am
sure
the
founder
had
in
mind
when
starting
this
business.
”

Michelle
lifted
her
chin.
Yes
that
had
been
her
dream.
And
she
did
want
Today's
Energy,
her
baby,
for
the
last
fifteen
years
to
be
all
that
it
could
be.
Perhaps
Roger
Hollins
didn't
intend
to
destroy
her
life's
work
as
she'd
previously
thought.
His
next
words
erased
that
hope.

“
The
first
thing
we're
going
to
do
is
sell
off
the
solar
panel
factory.
The
cost
of
running
it
is
still
too
expensive
and
I
see
no
reason
we
can't
just
outsource
the
work
to
the
Germans.
It's
not
only
cheaper,
but
they
have
been
building
solar
panels
for
a
lot
longer
and
their
engineers
are
simply
more
capable
than
Americans.
”

Michelle
launched
out
of
her
seat,
her
skin
hot
with
fury.
“
Mr.
Hollins,
”
she
gritted.
“
I
think
you've
vastly
underestimated
the
American
engineers.
What
Today's
Energy
needs
is
its
own-
”

He
held
up
a
hand,
silencing
her.
“
I'm
afraid,
Ms.
Grant,
that
you've
failed
to
realize
that
these
decisions
have
already
been
made.
”
As
if
that
settled
her
objections
he
dismissed
her
by
returning
to
his
notes.
“
The
outsourcing
of
solar
panel
manufacturing
will
be
the
major
change
we
make
to
our
actual
production
which
leaves
the
internal
cuts
I've
decided
on.
”