Shut Up and Talk

Chapter 30

Ian called a meeting two days later and a week before the race in Manta. His evasiveness surrounding the impromptu gathering should have concerned me, but it didn't. The fact that it was being held at Devin's law firm should have been another giveaway. Lastly, I hadn't seen him since the night at my place and we hadn't spoken either but I chalked that up to us both being busy.

We flew in separately. I'd been in Rome visiting a sponsor, Paul had been in London and Ian was in Dublin looking at property. When I stepped into the boardroom Ian and Paul were already there.

"Gentlemen," I said, taking my seat.

Paul smiled but Ian looked lost in thought. I flushed at the sight of him. I had that night etched in my memory.

"How was Rome?" Paul asked.

"I brokered a seven-figure deal, but what else is new?"

"Sounds good. You handed it over to the legal department?" Paul asked, pouring himself water.

"I dropped it off before I came here. So what's going on?" I hoped it wasn't something silly. There were a thousand other things I needed to do. I had contracts to examine, phone calls to make and appearances to book and confirm.

Ian's body shifted to one side as if he'd throw up into an invisible bucket at any time. He looked off into a far corner of the room and didn't seem engaged. Was something wrong with him? Maybe he was sick and didn't want to tell me. He knew I couldn't handle it and that's why Paul was doing all the talking. He was going to give me the horrible news that Ian was dying!

"We want to discuss your job performance," Paul said.

Son-of-a-bitch! My breath got caught up in my throat. "My job performance?" My voice turned cold and Paul would have been a fool to think he wasn't in for a battle. The dreaded words had been uttered and I was readying myself for an attack. The bastard had finally drawn a line in the sand and if he thought he had Ian, he was sadly mistaken.

"Ian's been doing some soul searching," Paul said.

"Is that so? Then why don't you let Ian talk."

We both focused on him, but his gaze remained downcast and he didn't utter a word. I turned my attention back to Paul. "So you'll talk for him?"

Paul's eyes didn't leave my face. He wanted to stay calm and show me how intimidating he was. He was no match for me.

"Too much tension around here, don't you think? Too much scheming and gossiping. It's not healthy."

"All true."

"And you haven't helped."

"Neither have you."

"You've placed us in an awkward position. We're gonna have to let you go."

His expression didn't change, but Ian blanched and his shoulders sunk. I had the urge to scream at him, to tell him to stand up to his brother. "Ian, I'm waiting for you say something."

"Devin's come up with a generous severance package," Paul continued. "You'll agree that it's more than fair." He slid the agreement towards me. "You should have your solicitors look over it."

What solicitors? He knew there were none. "Aren't you going to stop him?" I asked Ian. My voice chilled the room even further.

"No, he's not," Paul said.

"You know this isn't right!" I said, frustrated with Ian's silence.

Paul cleared his throat to regain my attention. "As of January first, our association will be terminated."