Flyboy Chapter 13 Teaser

The Wallflower and The Flyboy Chapter 13 Teaser

Marcus exited the car first, walking around to open the door for Alice and I. I took one last deep steadying breath and straightened my posture as I stood from the car, brushing my skirt flat upon my legs. I heard the car carrying Carlisle, Esme, and Rose pull up as we walked through the doors of the main lobby.

I kept my chin held high and my posture confident as we strode through the lobby toward the elevators that would lead us to the executive levels at the very top of the building. Once the doors closed, leaving the three of us alone in the cabin, I gasped for breath, leaning against the wall as the arrow slowly slid up in an arc past the numbers indicating each floor we passed on our way to our destination.

Marcus and Alice did their best to encourage me, finally getting me to stand erect again as we neared our floor. I closed my eyes, watching as Edward flashed behind my eyes, as well as Jasper, Emmett, pimple faced Eric Yorkie, and every other man I knew that was serving right now in the defense of our great nation. I had to do this for all of them, but most of all my Edward. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer Bella Swan from Kansas. I was most definitely, completely, and totally Bella Cullen, wife of Edward and current majority shareholder of this building and all that was within and I was going to clean house.

Alice gasped as she watched me. I glanced at her with a determined nod as a smile slowly spread across her face. Just as the bell dinged indicating we had reached our destination I turned to Marcus. “Let’s do this, partner.”

Marcus smiled triumphantly as the doors opened and we stepped out into an ornate entryway where a beautiful blonde secretary greeted us with a tight smile.

“Marcus, we were not expecting you. The meeting is just about to begin in the conference room at the end of the hall. Your guests will have to wait in the waiting area.”
Marcus sneered at the girl behind the desk. “No, Heidi, these ladies have official business in that room and will be going in with me. If you have a problem with that then by all means call security, but I can guarantee you that in the course of about ten minutes it will prove to be a totally wasted effort.”

She huffed before finally nodding begrudgingly. Marcus gestured toward the hallway to the right leading me with a hand on the small of my back as Alice followed closely behind. “My cousin, Heidi. Trust me, when we clean house, she will be amongst the ones to face demotion.”
I nodded with a snort, clutching the briefcase with all the documentation I needed tightly in my right fist. All too soon, we reached the large ornately carved double doors that obviously led to the boardroom beyond. Marcus turned to me with one last look. I took a deep breath, straightened my spine, and schooled my expression before nodding. Marcus pushed the door open, allowing Alice and I to enter before walking ahead of me to the empty seat at the far end of the table.

The air in the room was stifling as I was immediately hit by a wall of pipe and cigar smoke. The room full of stuffy looking men, most of them balding, wearing black suits with vests underneath who watched us curiously as we crossed the room. The man at the other end that appeared to be the head of the table sneered at us, making the butterflies in my stomach lurch into a buzzing swarm, but I kept all reactions locked away from the surface as I smoothly floated across the room behind Marcus.

The man at the head of the table with the black hair, slicked straight back with the obvious assistance of some sort of pomade, stood up, leaning against the table with his hands.
“Marcus, I am surprised you have enough leeway in your budget to afford to travel for this meeting, much less bring half of your office staff. We must be frugal in these lean times and I do not see where your secretary and office clerk are needed to be here with you. I think we need to look at further cinching the loose fat in your funding, my son.”

As we reached the seat at the end of the table, Marcus pulled it out for me, gesturing for me to sit as I settled into it more gracefully than I had ever managed to maneuver in my entire life. This made Aro stop and cock his head in confusion as a sinister smile spread across his face.

“Handing over the reins of your offices to woman are you, son? I should have known you wouldn’t be able to handle such a big responsibility on your own. Why Edward ever thought you would be a prudent replacement for him is quite beyond my comprehension. Now get out of his seat, little girl. This table is for shareholders only.”

I smiled at him, watching with pleasure as his eyes narrowed into tiny slits. The rest of the room remained deathly silent, the only sound being the tick of the clock behind Aro on the wall and Marcus’s voice as he introduced me to the room.