The Masked Emotions Book Two Redux: Longing

Ultimatums

AKIRA/NADIA

     Akira sat outside of Alturas, drinking a fine glass of wine, and enjoying a plate of beef crudo with quail eggs yolk while waiting for Nadia to arrive from her little group. Since taking her under his wing, he had quickly grown fond of her and began to think of her as one of his daughters instead of a pupil. Perhaps it was because both were kindred spirits They both have the same dark sense of humor, the same outlook on like, and thirst for retribution. He has been mentoring her in every aspect of his business and she was indeed a very quick learner. He glanced over at the Space Needle admiring the late August sky before he looked down at the four large manila envelopes on the table. "Konichiwa Akira." He heard her voice and he smiled when he saw her wearing the violet off the shoulder cut dress. Her hair was a messy bun, but she made it work. She kissed his cheek, sat in front of him, and crossed her legs.

     Akira marveled at her radiance of self-confidence and strength, to think over two months ago she was a victim of a vicious gang rape. He would hear her screams echoing through the halls whenever she woke up in the middle of the night or would see the maids taking her bedsheets out of her condo daily. Even for a while, she was afraid to be touched, but now, she was a Mistress and with enough practice, she would be able to put a large sum of her trauma behind her.

     They began talking about her studies. She admitted to him that at first, she was nervous when she started school, and secretly, he was terrified as well. Then she learned that Samuel had transferred to Austin Law and it placed her mind at ease. She knew she was not ready to see him. Not yet.  She began telling him about her brother and how she had to tell him to stop hovering over her and he refused to listen. Akira couldn't help but chuckle. She may sound annoyed by it, but her expression betrayed her. She liked the fact her bother was protecting her. After a while, she ordered food and he informed her that although it has not been confirmed. His sources had informed him that Samuel Knight tried to commit suicide a couple of weeks ago. Leaving a note with only two words on it. 'I'm sorry.'

     Nadia had mixed reactions when she heard the news. A large portion of her was very unsympathetic, it was disappointing that he was not able to finish the job, but there was that small, minuscule part of her. A part of her that felt sorry for him and that sickened her.

     "So how was class?" he asked.

     "Great," she replied, taking the glass of wine from his hand and drank it.

     "You're just like your brother." He thought, filling up her glass and signaled the waiter for another one. "Well, first things first." He laughed while handing her one of the manila envelopes. "As you are well aware, I have just named you as my proxy for Ericson Technologies. In this envelope you would find a list of board members that could easily be swayed to vote Mr. Ericson out, however, Harry owns over fifty percent of his company shares. The only other person who holds a large number of shares in his company is sitting before you. The rest of the members owns a pathetic amount and are only on the board for visual purposes."

     "So there's nothing we could do. I mean even if I convinced them to vote him out. He could just reinstate himself and then get rid of..." she stopped short "wait, all corporations are required by law to hold annual shareholder meetings, at which the shareholders will elect the corporation's directors, and isn't there a clause when it comes to public scandals?" She began to rummage through the files. "There is," a giant smile appeared that lit up face. "If the scandal is big enough, he could lose everything." she tightened her lip "We just have to start digging before the next shareholder meeting... Which is almost a year from now." Akira raised his glass before saying:

     "Slow and steady wins the race." Nadia nodded and raised her glass as well, but noticed the other envelopes on the table, but before she could ask, he handed them to her.