when she had her mind set on something, her
thoughts were set to go, go, go. She walked back around to Mr.
Janus’ seat as he stood and offered his hand.
“Call me when you have gotten
your publicity train started and I will tip off the media,” she
said as Mr. Janus and Marie made their way out of the door. It was
her job to soothe wealthy clients into believing that all would be
well with one call and a visit to her upscale office at Briggs
& Trice.
She’d quelled fears of
commercial real estate company heads and settled expensive legal
issues in the past. She was known at the firm for being a viper and
no one in her professional life had ever heard a whisper about her
personal life. Many were convinced that once she was in attack
mode, anyone who got in her way just became collateral damage.
In her past, Victoria had only
used men for her own pleasure and then promptly kicked them out of
her high-rise apartment in the city. She didn’t allow them the
privilege of getting close and none of them had ever understood
what kind of work ethic it took in order to succeed at what she
does.
She hired Matthew as her legal
assistant because he was sex on a stick in a suit and he smelled
delicious. Many of her colleagues had female secretaries, but
Victoria always felt some power in telling a sexy man what to
do.
She began research on the
insider trading kerfuffle and learned that the insider trading at
Fassett & Lews went all the way to the top of the company.
Frank Lews was in on the whole thing. Frank Lews was stuffy, older
and super rich. Upon further research, she learned that Frank was
the person solely responsible for the insider trading and was
involved in embezzlement of millions.
Victoria couldn’t wrap her head
around why someone who was so wealthy would want to steal money and
funnel it to their own accounts. Her thought process was
interrupted by Michelle Mayor, her colleague.
Michelle knocked and entered,
per usual. “Want some lunch? I’m walking down to Vince’s for a
bite.”
“No thank you, I’ve got a full
plate, so to speak.”
Michelle walked out with her
long, brunette locks flowing past her shoulders. She was perplexed
by whatever it was that had Victoria working through lunch. They
weren’t exactly friends, but they did eat together every Wednesday.
Victoria always viewed Michelle as competition in the partnership
game and never wanted to let her get close.
Michelle, on the other hand,
always reached out to others, no matter their position in the firm.
She prided herself on being someone that anyone and everyone could
approach, no matter what, and receive a listening ear.
She wanted to offer her help to
Victoria, but her legal expertise resided with domestic accounts.
She was considered the go-to expert for all things divorce and
family related, but there was no mistaking that she was in
competition to become a partner at the firm. Despite her
aspirations to be made partner, her curvy body and conservative
dress always made her appear welcoming to others in her
presence.
Victoria had gone through
paperwork at lightning speed and wanted Matthew in there at a
moment’s notice. Hitting her call button, she said, “Matthew, I
need you in here.”
He rushed on in without a
moment’s notice and was quickly taking notes about everything she
said. “Get this to Janus immediately,” she said, handing him a
letter. “Do not open it under any circumstances and make sure you
and only you deliver it to him personally. We wage war on Fassett
& Lews today.”
She’d located an article on a
business website suggesting that Frank Lews was going to turn on
another company as rumors of his indictment heated up. She had to
warn Mr. Janus quickly, but didn’t want to do it on the phone and
didn’t want to be implicated in the legalities of the matter.
She found through even more
research that the media was buzzing around Janus Incorporated over
reports of insider trading and embezzlement. She
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