A Busy Night at Ravers Enterprises

------------------------------- A Couple of Hours Earlier…--------------------------------------

“Daniel.”

Stepping inside the conference room, Brooke Lakefield called out to her closest ally on the Board of Directors. Some people might have thought it was strange that she was still so close to Daniel even after her divorce from his brother, and office gossip abounded about the two of them, suggesting that they were hooking up on the side. The truth was much less scandalous; Daniel was aware of how difficult his brother’s sexual appetite could be, seeing many a girlfriend and mistress leave because they couldn’t stick the heat. During her divorce, he had always been available with a sympathetic ear, and even now, after all this time, he still treated her like a sister.

The younger Ravers brother had been talking to another board member when Brooke arrived, but his companion moved away as she approached. It wasn’t a surprise; some of the board viewed her with open contempt. Despite being a member for many years now, they still believed her appointment was leveraged from her marriage, not earned. Which absolutely wasn’t the case. Say what she might about Robert, he had always seen her true value, and it was he that asked her to take the position, not something she had demanded.

“So, what’s this all about then?” she asked him as she neared.

“The only thing it can be about,” Daniel said with a sad smile. “The fact that this Zack kid isn’t Robert’s.”

Brooke frowned. Even though it was well known that Robert had satisfied many women in his time, Brooke had believed that she was the only one to get pregnant. And after the birth of Heather, as he began drifting back into his own ways, he’d had a vasectomy rather than risk a child by some random flavor of the week. So, she had no reason to even believe he could get another woman pregnant. It had also been her assumption that Heather would be the one to inherit the company, so it had come as a double surprise to find out that not only did Robert have a son from an affair during their marriage, but that child was being appointed to the head of the company, even if it was in just a figurative role.

However, Brooke trusted her ex-husband. A strange thing in these times, but Robert had always been good to her, and their split was amicable. It had to be, considering that she continued to live in Ravers’ Manor for years while they raised Heather, only recently finding her own apartment. She had no reason to doubt Robert. And he was no fool, so when he said that Zack was his son, she took it as a certainty. But, as it turned out, Robert was more gullible and sentimental than she imagined. For what other reason would he appoint a boy he didn’t know to replace him…

“But why call an emergency meeting this suddenly?” Brooke mused, having only received word thirty minutes before. “And so late? This could easily have been dealt with in the morning.”

Daniel smiled again. “Retaliation. Robert called an emergency meeting to appoint the kid, so the board is calling one to deal with the situation. Additionally, I don’t believe Robert was notified.”

“We’re having a meeting about Zack without Robert’s input?” Brooke arched an eyebrow, then glanced around the room. “How do you know he’s not just late? Some of the other board members aren’t here yet either.”

“A hunch, mostly. Usually when the board calls these kind of last minute meetings, Robert contacts me, asking if I know anything about it.” Daniel watched a couple more board members enter the conference room, waiting now only on the President of the Board himself. “Since I haven’t heard from him, I think it’s safe to assume that he wasn’t informed.”

“Isn’t that…suspicious?” Brooke had an eye for good business ventures, and had a knack for getting on well with people that wasn’t entirely reliant on her breasts, though they did come in handy on occasion, but Daniel had infinitely greater knowledge of the board’s bylaws.

Shrugging, Daniel explained, “Not necessarily. The guidelines don’t require Robert’s presence at a Board of Directors meeting at all, and at times, depending on the issues, it may be better not to have the CEO influence the decision. But, yeah, the fact that they’re actively trying to keep him out of the loop could be bad news for Zack.”

“Shouldn’t we warn Robert then?” This company was Robert’s baby, and she knew it meant almost as much to him as Heather. Almost. Though the suggestion wasn’t entirely selfless. She was also thinking of Heather. This was to be her inheritance and she didn’t want the board doing anything to jeopardize that.

“And panic him unduly?” Daniel shook his head. “We don’t even know what this meeting is about. It's likely they’re just voting to get rid of Zack and think that Robert would fight to keep him since he appointed him in the first place. Besides, we aren’t the only loyalists on the board. Some of the others might vote one way or another on different issues, but when it comes to Robert’s role and position, he’s always made certain to maintain a level of support. They’d have to turn one of them before they could enact any very drastic policies.”

“Well…if you’re sure…” Brooke bit her lip. Her instincts were usually pretty good and something about this whole situation made her nervous.

The final member of the board, the chairman, Miles Zurbrugg, arrived. Swanning into the room, he immediately walked to the head of the long conference table as the others began to take their seats. That he was even here was another red flag to Brooke. The tall, slender man, with high cheek bones and even higher hairline was a rather clandestine figure, communicating usually via conference calls despite being both chairman and a sizable stockholder in the company. He was one of the only other inside directors, beside Robert and Daniel, and yet he didn’t even reside in Azure Rocks.

This was only the fourth or fifth time that Brooke had ever even seen the man. He hadn’t been at the meeting to appoint Zack, instead voicing his disapproval from a far. The fact that he not only called this meeting, but had actually flown in to chair it in person gave Brooke a deep sense of foreboding, and usually her instincts were right on the money. And usually Daniel was right there with her, but, as she swallowed hard and looked to the man next to her, she saw him, serene, as calm as a seasoned sailor in a storm.

“Alright, let’s bring this meeting to order,” Miles announced, looking around at each of the other members. “There’s only one item on the agenda. A vote of no confidence against Robert Ravers.”

------------------------------- A Few Floors Up…-------------------------

Looking at his phone atop the desk and seeing that it was getting late, Zack Bishop stifled a yawn. It was almost as if just looking at the time made him realize how tired he was. How did Robert do this, day after day, the teen wondered, feeling utterly exhausted after just one full day as CEO. Even as ceremonial as his role was, there was still plenty to do, and plenty still to do before his work was done. Work that just couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Without moving in the chair, he turned his eyes back to the screen and watched the progress bar tick up by another percent.

As he stared, his mind idly drifted back to the same matter that had plagued him continuously since that afternoon. Gregory Bishop was his father. The man he believed to be his dad all these years did actually spawn him. The expected relief and happiness failed to come. Instead, he felt strangely dislocated, still unsure about who he was or what he was supposed to do with this information. His parent’s marriage was still wrecked, and he couldn’t stop picturing his mother moaning and writhing on a dick, preferably his. No matter what, they couldn’t simply go back to playing happy families.

DING

A message popped up on his phone, another one from Lisa. She’d sent several already, mostly in the afternoon, gauging his feelings after hearing the news. It came as a surprise to her that he’d learned the information via a news app on his phone; apparently his mother had called at the Rivera cabin earlier looking for him, in what Lisa could only assume was to tell him about the test results. So, why hadn’t she come to the office? What could possibly have kept her from telling him this vital information?

It wasn’t anger he was feeling, just confusion. It was so unlike his mother. Something must have happened to keep her away. Or had it already happened. The last time they’d been together, they almost kissed. He had so badly wanted to do it, even though he didn’t quite know why. The woman was undeniably sexy and amazing, and in her moment of despair, he only wanted to comfort her. Instead, he’d made things so incredibly awkward, his own mother couldn’t bare to look at him. He took some solace in the fact that Heather would never be able to fulfill her end of the deal.

Shaking his head free of fantasies of his mother, he watched the bar progress a little more before another sound interrupted him.

KNOCK KNOCK

He looked up at the door, open, a brunette head peeking in, as if conjured straight out of his daydreams.

“Mom?”