Chapter 11: The One Percent That Makes All The Difference
983 Words
Robin was so angry that he could spit. He held his phone in front of his face and growled into the receiver: "Joanna, even though I'm very ill, do you think I would let you take over Devine's? Do you think I would let a vicious person like you ruin the company?"
Joanna: "I know that you don't want me to have Devine's, but there is an election coming up, and you don't have enough stocks to get Mike elected."
Robin was speechless. As much as he hated to admit it, Joanna was right. He only had 15% of the shares. Mike had 8%. And Joanna's grandfather, Mr. Devine, had 25%. Furthermore, even though Mr. Devine was sick, and he hadn't dealt with the business side of things for many years, he had never liked Mike.
"What the hell do you want to say?" Robin asked.
Joanna smiled and said, "You should know that when my mom died, I inherited 5% of the shares. I would exchange 1% of the shares for the position of vice general manager. What do you say? It is a good deal!"
Joanna's mother was Cora Harris. She had been Robin's childhood sweetheart.
Cora's parents had died when she was young, so Cora had been sent to an orphanage. One day, Joanna's grandparents visited the orphanage, and they met Cora there, and they liked her right away. They saw that she was being bullied, so they took her home with them, and she and Robin fell in love, and they got married.
Joanna's grandparents always treated Cora as their own daughter, so when she married Robin, Mr. Devine transferred five percent of the Devine shares to Cora. And before her death, Cora had transferred them to Joanna.
Robin thought about it for a moment. If he acquired the one percent, he and Mike would have twenty-four percent of the shares, which would only be one less than Mr. Devine had, and it would be enough to get Mike voted in as president.
Of course, Robin didn't know that Mr. Devine secretly wanted to support Joanna as president. This was because the old man had never shown any sign that he valued Joanna. Joanna had never been a good girl. She didn't do well in her studies. She fought with people at school. And to the best of his knowledge, she had no business experience or skills. How could Mr. Devine let her take over Devine's? – Robin wondered.
"Do you really want to be a part of Devine's legacy?" Robin asked.
Joanna chuckled and said, "Dad, it's not about whether I want to be a part of Devine. It's about you. Do you honestly want Mike to be the next president?"
Robin still couldn't believe his ears. The money she got each year from her one percent was much more than the annual salary of a vice general manager.
Robin: "Are you sure you want to buy the position of vice general manager?"
Joanna: "I'm sure."
Robin: "Okay. You don't have the education or the skills, but let's see what you can do. You can start in your new role on Monday!"
Joanna: "Okay, dad. Just wait and see."
***
Once Joanna was done talking to her Father, she called Olivia and invited her to go for dinner with her. They both arrived at almost the same time, and the hostess showed them to their table. Then, as soon as they were seated, the waiter provided them with a menu.
Joanna smiled and said, "Order whatever you want. It's my treat. For all of your help."
Olivia laughed and said, "That's nice. Thank you."
After ordering, Olivia asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to give up on Ken?"
Joanna shook the red wine in her hand and sighed. "When two people are not in love but are together, it is unbearable."
Olivia was very happy about what Joanna had finally decided, and she said, "If you had done this sooner, it would have saved you a lot of heartaches."
It was true, and the realization made Joanna feel a little bit bitter. At least she was out now, though. She could tolerate a lot, but she could never allow him to cheat on her. She remembered what Ken and Jane had been doing in the lounge of Ken's office very clearly. It was then that she'd decided to leave him - that enough was enough.
Olivia had never understood what Joanna saw in Ken. After all, he was blind to Joanna's kindness and devotion. Jane Wilson was nothing compared to Joanna, and she was a chronic adulterer. She fooled around with many different young men and spent Ken's money as if it were her own. "From now on," Olivia said, "you shouldn't admit to ever having been married to that Jack-ass!"
Joanna took a deep breath, picked up the goblet, took a sip of the red wine, and said, "Olivia, thank you for always be there for me. You are a good friend."
Olivia smiled shyly. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Of course, I am here for you whenever you need me. Anyway, we have a job to do." Before Joanna could reply, Olivia noticed the gauze on Joanna's wrist, and she began to fret. "What's going on?" she worried. "Were you hurt last night?"
Joanna hid her hand under the table and said, "It's no big deal. I'm okay."
Olivia knew that Joanna was lying, and it made her angry. She accused her friend, saying, "You refused to escape while you could, didn't you!?!?!"
Joanna shook her head, and her eyes filled with rage. She said, "Olivia, I've wanted to get my revenge very badly, and for so long. For the last five years, I never stopped thinking about it for a moment, and I would risk everything to get it!"
Olivia was stunned. Of course, she shared Joanna's feelings, so she was at a loss for words.
After a moment of silence, Joanna grinned wickedly and said, "What's the matter? Cat's got your tongue?"
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