All Is Fair In Love And War

The Meeting

“Sitting with friends, talking about something important is one of the most powerful and necessary forces in the world. It is the way so many noble organizations begin, with a conversation between associates or even brothers.”

~ Lemony Snicket

"Hey!" A woman said, walking up to Beatrice. "I'm Poppy Li, this is Ian Grimm. We're here for the meeting".

Beatrice nodded and sat down in her chair, "well then, Shall we get started?".

♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

"You'll have your game in the other building, is that alright with you?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes!" Poppy replied, "yes, we would love that, thank you" Poppy stood up, shook Beatrice's hand before dragging Ian out of the door.

She sat back down, determined to continue with her work, but a knock on the door extracted her from her duties. It was Zack.

"Howdy Neighbor!" A slight laugh coming out, "just wanted to check up on you. How have you been?" He asked.

Beatrice looked up for a moment, she was skeptical of Zack's motives from the start, but these constant check ups were further proving her suspicions.

"Close your door on the way out." She replied, flatly, ignoring the way Zack's smile dropped into a frown before picking back up again".

"Well, Sure!" He said, walking towards the door. "Just let me know if you need anything!" And shutting the door behind him.

It was faint, but you could definitely hear the slight stomps of Zack going towards the elevator.

"Shit" She said, stepping out of her office and heading for the elevator aswell. The doors were about to close, but luckily she was able to stop them.

"Oh. Its you!" Zack said, letting out yet another laugh.

"Jesus, is that all you do? Laugh at the end of every sentence?" Zack frowned at this, "anyways, what did you mean before, talk about your brother?".

"Oh" Zack said, a smirk forming, "my brother used to work here. He got put in jail because of embezzlement" he feigned a frown. "But, I heard he could get re-hired. I just don't think that'll help him, that's all". The elevator doors finally shut.

"What the fuck?" She muttered to herself as the elevator dinged and went down. She never did trust Zack, she always found him suspicious and off-putting, right from the day she met him. Now, this.

One thing to note, the situation behind the arrest of Brad Bakshi was hidden, buried deep in company files, she made sure of that. Meaning, either someone told him, or he had something to do with it.

It's not surprising, there was a pattern with this man. In which everytime a company gains enough money, Zack always seems to be there.

Beatrice wasn't normally the type to investigate on boring people's affairs, she preffered to get involved with more exciting things. Alas, Beatrice could not leave this to anyone else, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

And that she did, she pulled all the files she could find on Zack, and started at the very start, right until the end. And by the time she realised how long this had taken her, It was pitch black outside.

His record was clean, nothing to be seen at all. Although, something still wasn't right. So, she decided to rock the boat.

She stood up, walking up to her desk and called a certain number. "Hello Mr Bakshi".

♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

"Who are you?" He asked. "Well, Mr Bakshi. I'm Beatrice Eyde. I am the owner of both Mythic Quest and Hera" she replied.

"So? What does that have to do with me? Because I don't know if you noticed, I'm in prison".

"Well, Mr Bakshi. I can be outside the gates in a hour, and so can you".

"A prison break? Well Miss Eyde, we haven't even met and you're forming a plan to break me out of jail?".

"A prison break?" She said, "I really hope you aren't that stupid, I'm going to bail you out. Hold tight, ill be there soon".

He went to speak, but the shrill ringing of the phone line pained his ears. He slowly put the phone back, smiling. "Well, looks like I'm getting out of here after all".

♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

"Here's your stuff" said the police officer, whilst slamming Brad's belongings into his arms.

He stepped outside, and watched as the gates slowly opened, making a loud screechy noise whilst doing so.

A black car was parked right outside of them, a hearse. He opened the car door and stepped in. "Well, this seems more like an escape to another hell" Brad said.

Beatrice let out a slight laugh. He couldn't see her yet, her face was darkened over, a shadow casting that limited the ability to see her full face.

"Well, I do hope not. I've invested a lot of time in these companies".

"Let's cut the crap. Why did you bail me out?" Brad asked.

She turned around to face him, "I want you working for the company again" she said plainly, turning back around and starting the car.

Brad went to speak, but he got cut off, again. "What do I get out of it?" Beatrice said, acting as if it was Brad himself who said it.

"Well, Mr Bakshi. You will get a pay rise, plus you'll be head of monetization for everyone, both games and the smaller games on the ground floors".

"What do you get out of it?" Brad asked.

"You bringing in more money, will not only give everyone else a bigger paycheck. But, it will also give me more money, and I can assure you Mr Bakshi. I do love money, as I know you do too. So, will you accept?" She asked.

"I accept" Brad replied.

The deal was done, there was an accomplished fact, there was a certainty here. Although, there was a single uncertainty, some ambivalence on the horizon. For you, dear Reader, there is a sickening story forming. I do only hope you'll enjoy it.