I'll try not to be late

While Koty was getting chewed out by his sister, Chance was reviewing the materials for the shareholders meeting.

Even though it was late, the throbbing in his leg was keeping him awake and he needed something to make him sleepy.

Reviewing the meeting agenda and his welcome speech should do the trick.

He was relieved to find that he only had to make an appearance and give a brief welcome speech. All other proceedings would be handled by the chairman.

Perhaps that should have made him more nervous. Especially since the chairman still seemed to be harboring a bit of hostility and distrust towards him.

Contrary to common sense, Chance's gut feeling was telling him that Chairman Fischer wouldn't stir up unnecessary strife at the meeting. Shareholders were not the same as the board of directors.

There was far less loyalty and far more self-interest.

Both Chance and the chairman knew that planting seeds of doubt in the mind of the shareholders could cause serious damage to the company.

Seeing a company succeed meant profit and the investors would be satisfied. But if that profit lessened they would easily jump ship. If they didn't feel their investments were in a stable company, they would simply withdraw their money and put it elsewhere, not caring about the harm done to anyone else.

Chance just had to show up, introduce himself, and welcome the attendees. Then he would turn it over to Chairman Fischer and be bored out of his mind for a couple hours.

After reading the speech for the fourth time, his eyelids felt heavy so he set the materials on the bedside table and turned out the light.

...

The next morning, Koty went with Lola to pick up Chance as usual.

He knocked on the door and waited. There was no response so he tried again. Still not getting a response, he let himself into the apartment only to be greeted by silence.

"Hello?... Chance?"

Koty walked further inside and saw none of the lights had been turned on.

'Did he go out somewhere?'

He went over to the bedroom door and knocked. Almost immediately he heard a gasp and a thud.

Koty opened the door to the sorry sight of Chance tangled in sheets, trying to pick himself off the floor.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Morning." Chance groaned in frustration before asking, "What time is it?"

"Just past eight thirty."

Chance released a string of curses under his breath as he stood up. He checked his phone and saw that he had never set the alarm.

"I'll be ready to go in ten minutes. Can you let Lola know and put on some coffee?"

"Aye, aye sir." Koty gave a mock salute and went back to the kitchen to make the coffee.

Chance rushed into the bathroom and got cleaned up.

The coffee was ready just as Chance stepped out of the bedroom, meeting documents in hand. He speedily prepped his coffee in a travel mug and then made his way down to the car.

Lola opened the door for him like he did everyday and then closed it behind him, clearly unaffected by his tardiness.

"Sorry Lola, I overslept."

"No worries, Mr. Addison. I'll see to it that you are not late." Lola replied with a strange glint in his eye.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you buckled your seatbelt?"

"Yes." Chance answered a little uneasily. As soon as the word left his mouth, he regretted it.

Lola slammed his foot down on the accelerator and sped off like a mad man. His face remained completely calm as he wove in and out of traffic. He completely disregarded the traffic signals and adeptly dodged other cars.

Chance glanced up front. He couldn't see Koty's face but he could see his white knuckles that were tightly gripping the seat.

In record time, Lola made it to the company and dropped the other two men off.

"Thank you, Lola." Chance tried to keep his voice steady but he was a little disoriented.

"You are welcome, Mr. Addison. I'll be back in a couple of hours to take you to the meeting."

"Yes, I'll try not to be late."

Lola nodded and then slowly drove off as if nothing unusual had happened.

Chance took a deep breath and then turned to look at Koty. The young man looked a little green.

"Ready to head up?" Chance asked cautiously.

"I... need a minute." Koty felt like his stomach had gotten lost somewhere ten blocks back and was trying to catch up. He did not want to get into the elevator just yet.

After the late night thrashing he'd gotten from Nevada last night and the rough ride just now, Koty truly wasn't feeling quite right.

Chance let him recover before calling the elevator and taking it up to their floor. He settled in at his desk and Koty went to his usual place as well.