Page 63 of Lumi

Atlas snorted but gave me an amused smile before shaking his head. “I’m not the kindest husband by a long stretch.”

“You are!” I insisted.

“Thank you for your vote of confidence, sis.” Atlas placed his arm around my back. “Now, let’s get in there and find a way to clean up this mess with John White.”

Charles was on the phone when we entered his office. It gave me time to sit down in one of the two large brown leather chairs in front of his desk and collect myself. Like me, Charles was an introvert, and I suspected that’s why he preferred to work from home when possible. I’d always loved the cozy atmosphere in this room where the large built-in bookshelves, live edge wooden desk, and the precious old oriental rugs in red colors gave a warm and welcoming feeling.

“I’m sorry about that,” Charles said when he ended his call and turned his attention on us. “I’ve involved the legal department in the matter, and they’re calling on the IT people to secure all emails and data on John’s computer today. I’ve asked for a full investigation to get to the bottom of this.” Charles tapped his pen on the pad in front of him. “We’ll wait for the report, of course, but should the accusations against John prove to be true, then he’ll face criminal charges.”

“Let’s hope not. It could grow to become a massive media scandal,” Atlas said and placed his right ankle on top of his left knee. “If that happens, we’ll need our public relations department on top of it.”

“When will you tell John?” I asked.

Charles leaned back in his chair, still playing with his pen in his hands. “Soon. I’ve talked it over with the director of HR. John will have to step down while we’re investigating the claims.”

I nodded. “I expected that much, but who do you have in mind to take over the role of CEO?”

There was a long moment of silence in the room until Atlas’ palms came up. “Charles, please don’t look at me like that. I don’t want that role. I’m fine where I am.”

Charles groaned. “I wouldn’t consider you for the role of CEO if you wanted it. You’re not driven by ambitions but rather a desire to help people, and your ratings from your employees are among the highest in our organization. Your staff loves you.”

“What about Lumi? Her staff loves her too.”

Charles frowned and gave me a sideways glance. “Not according to her yearly evaluation. Her numbers show that her employees take pride in working in her department, but they complain about her expectations being unrealistic and that her style of communication is too harsh.”

“Told you, I’m not a people person,” I said dryly.

“But I have my research institute on the side. Being CEO would take too much of my time.”

Turning in my chair, I argued, “I’m sure Jolene and Diane could run the research institute for you. Having you as the CEO of Solver Industries would boost everyone’s morale. You’re known to be brilliant and result-oriented.”

Atlas shook his head. “I doubt Charles would be able to convince the board that someone our age should run Solver Enterprise, even if it’s as a temporary stand-in for John.”

“Nonsense. My grandfather was younger than you when he founded the company. John White is fifty-three, and if the accusations prove to be accurate, he’s an example of why age should never be confused with integrity.”

Atlas pointed to Charles. “What about you? Can’t you do it for a while?”

“I could, but I don’t want to, and I wouldn’t be half as good at it as you.” Charles picked up his cell phone, which was ringing again. “Will you at least consider it, Atlas? Every ship needs a captain, and if you’re not up for it, we’ll have to look at other candidates.”

“He’ll think about it,” I said with a smile to Atlas before I stood up.

Atlas arched an eyebrow. “I don’t know why I was surprised that your employees find you unreasonable. You’re a bulldozer when you want something.”

“At work, I am.”

We exchanged a look of understanding. Atlas knew very well that when it came to my love life, I wasn’t as confident or direct.

While Charles talked on the phone, Atlas and I moved to the door and spoke with low voices.

“Well, maybe you need to get over your pride and be direct with Damian. At least then you can move to Chicago knowing that you put all your cards on the table. You don’t want to wonderwhat if.”

“I’ll think about it. But then you also have to consider the CEO role.”

Atlas opened the door for me. “Sounds like we both might have to step outside our comfort zone.”

“I hate that place,” I muttered.

Atlas patted my back. “Me too, but if Jolene were here, she’d tell us it’s the only place to grow.”

I groaned. “I’m plenty grown-up.”

“Enough to tell Damian how you feel about him?”

“Hmm… We’ll see.”