Fated Series. Book #2
"Be possessive of me, own me, keep me, because if you do then nothing and no one else can." - Maddox.
My name is Maddox Vallero, and I'm dead.
Well, that's not quite true. I'm alive in the breathing, walking, talking sense-but...
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Chapter 18 The Fox Unleashed Sophia
How many warnings does it take for someone to get the hint that they're on thin ice? So thin I can practically see the ocean depths beneath it, dark and ready to swallow them whole if they don't step back and save themselves. Apparently, Steven—our operating department's manager—hasn't caught on yet.
Which is why I was mildly frustrated with him right now.
In some small way, I understand why Steven's pissed. The new restructuring plan means his department is losing its hierarchy—the hierarchy he's currently sitting at the top of. It's a big step down for him, a loss of the power that men with fragile egos like his tend to crave. But whatever his personal feelings, that department is draining our resources, and Maddox sees it too. That's why we're restructuring.
The new layout will streamline things, cutting out redundancies and reducing the need for constant oversight. In theory, the department will run itself—efficiently, without supervision that currently takes half a team to manage. I get why Steven's not thrilled; he's essentially being downgraded from head of the department to a standard manager, and we're eliminating the head position altogether. We're taking a sprawling, bloated department and breaking it into smaller, more agile units. There's a lot more to the technical side of it, but I don't have the time or energy to explain it to someone who clearly won't listen.
And just from the way he's glaring at me, I know he's not done arguing.
Sure enough, he claps his hands together, slamming them down on the table with enough force to make the papers jump. "Sophia, I have repeatedly told you, you can't run this department without someone to oversee it!"
His face is practically red, and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.
He's not entirely wrong, but he's also not listening to the full plan—if he did, he'd realize there is supervision in place, just on a smaller scale. I summon my calmest tone and start explaining the structure again, step by step.
Originally, Maddox was supposed to be running this meeting, but he asked me to take over. He's present, technically, but he's seated at the far end of the long conference table, buried in his laptop, likely working with IT to sort out today's tech issues. I don't mind stepping in; I've led plenty of meetings at this point. When I took on this role, I essentially became Maddox's stand-in.
Channeling that inner calm, I finish my explanation with, "We understand your perspective, Steven, and we respect it. We'll take it into consideration. However, Mr. Vallero has decided that this is the best course of action, and we're committed to trying it out to see how it benefits the company."
"It won't," Steven snaps, his voice rising, his cheeks flushed with anger. "It won't bring any benefit whatsoever. I don't know who came up with this plan, but they're clearly unqualified to shut down an entire department based on an unthought-out idea."
