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Joseph was as miserable as the early morning traffic as he was on his way to work. Traffic was at a standstill and cars were nose to tail as everyone waited. Through the dark tinted windows that hid him from the outside world, Joseph could see people beginning to climb out of their vehicles and wander up the street.
The wailing of a toddler drew his attention to the car next to his in the traffic. The mother was standing outside her car looking every bit as irritated as he felt as she looked up and down the street as saw that they were all blocked in either way.
After a few minutes of sitting Joseph realize he was going to be late for his early morning meeting so he called his assistant to push his meeting back to at least an hour later.
He booted up the laptop that was sitting next to him in the backseat and started doing some work. As he tapped away at the device keys he occasionally glanced out the window. Persons had started gathering around in little groups or pairs along the highway with concerned faces. He could tell that it was something bad that was causing the holdup.
"Looks like an accident." said his driver as their lane slowly started moving forward.
Joseph immediately became tense. Any mention of vehicular accidents always puts him on edge. Ever since he lost his parents it had become that way. He hid a shiver that crept up his body and kept his eyes focused on the screen making sure not to look out the window.
"Are we able to pass through?" he asked in an even voice.
He winced at his own tone. A regular person would have asked if everyone looked alright but at the moment he just wanted to get as far away from the scene as possible.
"Yes, sir the two left lanes are moving forward. As soon as we pass the vehicles that collided we should be moving more freely." Niles responded.
Good so all Joseph had to do was keep his eyes focused on his screen until he felt the regular flow of traffic resumed.
Surprisingly it didn't take long for the traffic to start flowing but Joseph was so caught up in an email from his lawyer he didn't take notice. He resisted the urge to pull at his hair when he read the email stating that the man who had been conducting all his legal affairs for the past four years was resigning. The news was so unexpected that for just a minute he sat confused until he read the next paragraph which stated that someone else from their trusted firm would be taking over his case.
As if on cue his phone beeped with a schedule update from his PA. He has a meeting with two lawyers from the firm.
With a sigh, he already knew it was going to be another late night at the office for him.
Sometimes he found himself wondering if it was all worth it but when he remembers all he's gone through to get where he's at now, he knew giving up was not an option.
If his buddies from college would see him now, they would give him some proper ragging about becoming the uptight stick in the mud he swore to them he would never be. Back when he was in college he was that wild party-during-the-week party boy that frat girls would go crazy for. It had been his way of coping until a near miss of his life had given him a wake-up call one night when he had a little too much to drink.
He shook the thought away just as the car came to a stop and the door was pulled open.
"Thank you, Niles. I won't be needing you until later so take the day for yourself," he informed his driver as he stepped out into the cool morning air.
"Thank you sir. " his driver responded before leaving.
Joseph was barely out of the elevator when his secretary all but shoved message after message at him. His head was spinning and he couldn't think straight. He was barely processing what the tiny woman was saying.
"Thank you," he said in a clipped tone as he took the sticky notes from her busy hands and walked into his office.
He slid into his chair a took a deep breath. As he scrubbed his hand over his face trying to ease his tension, a soft knock sounded at his door before his secretary entered with his morning cup of brew. Strong, black, no creme no sugar.
He nodded his thank you as she took her leave.
Investment banking is a lot of work. Being the owner of such a company means the work is doubled for you. The endless meetings with clients, contract negotiations, presentations, and deals take hard work and dedication. If your heart isn't in it, there's no way you can last in such a cutthroat industry.
Joseph had excelled because he had grabbed hold of his luck and built on it and by luck that's all it was, pure luck.
Now that was all changing because a snitch/thief was in his company. Having inside information leaked from an investment bank is one of the worse things that can happen to both parties involved.
It meant the loss of credibility, clients backing out of contracts, potential clients taking their business elsewhere, and messy lawsuits.
Whoever it was they were smart in their doing, so smart it had taken a while for anyone to catch on to what was happening and so smart that they had covered their tracks in a way that no one knew who was leaking information.
Joseph knew he would work his fingers to the bones to save his company. He had already lost so much in life, his company wasn't about to be on the list of things he loses.
As he finished his coffee and returned his cup to his desk his door flew open to admit Jason.
Joseph groaned in annoyance as his little brother strolled into his office and closed the door behind him. Not before Joseph caught a glimpse of some female employees eyeing his brother outside his door in ways he wished he hadn't seen.
"Hey, boss! " Jason chirped as he sat in the chair in front of the desk.
"I'll pay you to go away. " Joseph deadpanned
For a minute he could see Jason consider his offer before smiling mischievously at him then shaking his head.
"You ain't getting rid of me that easily," said Jason with a grin
