章 4: Power Struggle
Having brought his work home (as usual), Derek finished most of it off at around midnight. With his night now open, and sleep yet again nowhere in sight, he'd gone for an old standby, exercise. Swimming to be exact.
Haven manor, was quite large, and as a result, the mansion was big too. Something that had allowed for the installation of an indoor pool.
A facility that Derek made use of almost every single night, swimming lap after lap, until he was bone tired. Usually after that, he passed out, literally, either for a few minutes, or on a good day, for a whole hour.
It was not enough sleep for anyone, but it had kept Derek going for years, so he was eternally grateful for it. The swimming had the added benefit of keeping him toned, but it also had the disadvantage of making his muscles ache like nothing else. Which was the case that day. He had gone from the pool, straight into a tub of ice cold water(if he troubled the staff for ice, word would reach his mother), so he worked with what he had.
He had just gotten out of the freezing water, his head barely hitting the pillow when his phone rang. He'd glared at his assistant's name. Wishing Emily nothing but pain and more pain, but he had still answered, and by the time the call ended, Derek was wishing her only good things.
Emily was worth her weight in gold. Derek's uncle was plotting again. The man was of the mind that he should have been named CEO when Derek's father had died. Instead, the role had gone to Derek's mother and she had kept the company going until Derek could take over.
His uncle, despite his absolute lack of skill in anything other than wasting money, still believed that he was the right man for the job. Which was why every once in a while, Derek had to fend off an attack from him.
He should have seen the latest one coming, but his insomnia had been worse lately. He owed Emily big time for catching the deception. A point he made no secret of when he finally made it into work. For the occasion he had gone for shades of dark. A charcoal black suit, his shirt lighter but not by much. Everything all sharp lines and unforgiving edges.
As expected, Emily was waiting for him by the elevators when he arrived. And upon seeing him, everyone else found somewhere to be, leaving the elevator clear for the two of them.
"Update," He said once the doors closed, all of his rage disguised by his deceptively soft voice. Emily did not miss a beat, readjusting her blouse, she filled him in on all the information that she had gathered.
"The meeting began, five minutes ago. I do not know the main topic, but it is being attended by the majority of the big guns so it has to be something important…" Derek nodded along as she continued, filing information away. No doubt, all that she said would come in handy as he navigated the tricky waters of the corporate world.
She led him to the meeting, and once there, she stepped aside, walking slightly behind him as Derek made his entrance.
Later, it would be funny remembering their reactions go from smug, to horrified. But in the moment, Derek saw all of them and his anger turned cold and sharp.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I seem to have stumbled upon a secret gathering. Did I just ruin my own surprise birthday party?" He smiled, making sure to bare his teeth. At the head of the table, his uncle looked furious, his face turning an unflattering shade of red. The older man was so angry he was not even speaking, simply vibrating in place, his hands balled into fists.
All it took was a bit more staring from Derek and every one in the room was turning on his uncle like there was no tomorrow.
The whole thing turned out to be rather juvenile. His uncle wanted to scratch out Derek's plan to increase the salaries of the lower level employees. Instead he would turn it around and use the money to line the pockets of the higher ups.
Foolish, and reeking of poor foresight.
Haven Group relied more on the efforts of the low level employees than it did on the smooth tongues of the higher ups. Keep the people on the lower range happy, and the machine as a whole ran smoothly.
With a few more sharp smiles, and pointed words, the people in the room saw the error of their ways and made a hasty exit. All of them leaving until it was just Derek, Emily, his uncle, and his uncle's PA Lucas, left in the room.
"When will this end, uncle?" Derek asked, staring into familiar, yet very different green eyes.
"The day you stop playing pretend on a seat too big for you, I will gladly stop trying to show you how incompetent you are," His uncle hissed, walking past Derek without another word, his PA following close behind.
Derek let him go, pretending to be unbothered. Only once he heard the door shut did he exhale a shaky breath.
Sebastian Haven was not only Derek's uncle, but his father's identical twin. His father had been dead for many years, but being glared at by a man wearing his father's face still hurt.
"I will make sure no one bothers you for the next hour," Came the soft voice, and Derek nodded, grateful.
Perhaps if he tried hard enough, he would be able to get in the little sleep that he had missed. Without a word, Derek turned and walked out of the room.
The day had barely begun and he was already putting out fires. If only he were doing such after a full night's sleep. Closing his eyes, Derek rubbed the closed lids as he walked, unaware that right next to him, his PA, who'd had an equally unfulfilling night, was also doing the same.
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