After the exclamation, Alex lowered his hand holding the phone and looked at the assembly with a slight grin:
"Everyone, meet Sharon Kenner, my assistant. If there is anything you need from me later, you can go through her."
All the eyes inside the conference room shifted to the blonde. Neutrality, venomous hostility, and barely some goodwill fell on her like an intangible tide. She froze for a second, before she regained her calm. With a light breath, she swept her momentary lapse to the side, and walked in with composed demeanor.
Her heels clacked against the smooth, hard floor, as she kept her gaze forward, with her back straight. From the corner of her eyes, after a look at the occupied seats by the walls, she observed the directors at the table, at least those she was able to see the faces of. She imperceptibly slowed her steps as her sapphire of her eyes met the modest blue of the eyes of Alex's third uncle, and beheld the smile within.
The smile, faint and good-natured, actually made Sharon's heart skip a beat. The foot that had almost paused in the air fell down, and along with the other one, brought her to Alex's side.
He glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the board of directors with a slight smile:
"Now we can begin the meeting."
He panned his gaze across the faces looking at him. The attention focused on him made him give a slight, satisfied nod. He was about to speak again when the same director beside his Marten Lenner who had spoken up to question Grace in the last board meeting opened his mouth and spoke before him:
"Then, dear chairman, why have you gathered the whole top management of the Group and made us waste the rest of the morning after having made us wait for you in vain all day? Please, do tell."
The sarcasm in the calm voice could not have been clearer, especially when he addressed Alex, putting emphasis on his title, on the seat he was the new of.
Alex looked at the director the same age as his elders, his smile deepening without any sign of having taken offense at his words. If anything, he looked happy as he looked from the director who had gotten a jump on him to the rest:
"Actually, for a moment, I thought many would be dissatisfied, against me coming out of nowhere and taking over the highest seat of the family Group, but I am happy to see how much has been sacrificed to welcome me. So, thank you for your love, everyone."
His smile was wide and sincere at the end. It left the room frozen for a moment before the spell was shattered by the reaction behind him.
"Pfft!"
Lance stifled the laugh that tried to escape him, while the blonde's eyebrows twitched beside him.
The shamelessness of Alex had a few composures cracking apart in the crowd. Not only had he twisted the situation into a show of love and support for him, he took the opportunity to remind the irrelevant people of who the Group truly belonged to.
His words left so many feeling so stifled and suffocated that had it not been for the thick skin mandatory for climbing up to their high positions, some would have snapped.
A few sent a glare Lance's way, before looking at Sharon who was seriously recording the minutes. Finally, all gazes returned to Alex, neutral, waiting for him to continue the show, and he did so, with a smile, after an exhale, after leaning back in his chair, and after meeting the smiling eyes of his third uncle, Sigurd Lenner:
"I called for this meeting to get to know the top management of the Group. It is thanks to everyone here that the group is what it is now, a giant on the global market, advancing instead of stagnating and being overtaken by old and new competitors. As the first order of business for my tenure, I want to show my appreciation for the work of everyone with a party for all the top level executives to participate in. You will get the details in your mail boxes later. That will be all."
As he spoke, Alex panned his gaze across the ones present. By the end of his words, his smile turned into a professional one, sincere but distant. With one last look around, he stood up, snapped his suit and buttoned it, before walking out, his gait casual but firm.
The sounds of his heels striking the floor as he went away were like drums of war, not in how deep they were, but in their sharpness. It was when Lance carefully closed the door behind their group of three that the crowd snapped out of the tension that had unknowingly taken hold of the scene.
Gazes crossed, carrying none of the disdainful assurance that had been prevalent, only solemnity, and somewhere deep inside, for a few, worry and apprehension wrapped under facades of indifference.
The meeting, though short, with the wasted time not included, felt worse for the heart than if it had been long-winded. Marten's calm gaze, heavy with the authority it was beset with, met the lightly smiling eyes of Sigurd which had shifted back from the door that just closed.
The two Lenner looked at each other for a moment, before Marten stood up, snapped and buttoned his suit, then turned to leave, and Sigurd followed soon after, his smile more meaningful than usual, even though just as light.
Like a signal, the other directors started standing up one after another and leaving the conference room. The executives seated along the wall watched, mute and attentive to the expression of each director even as they pretended to be harmless, like actors rehearsing their scenes.
Alex was the domino that fell at the end of the line, provoking the undercurrents into shifting toward a different kind of equation, one just as complex as before, if not more, but just as balanced, because everything must be balanced. Only, which variable would have to be shed, sacrificed, and which one would have to be added? There was the problem, there was the equation, and only the answer was missing.
*Ding*
"Right?"
Alex glanced back at the two behind him, the smile on his lips meaningful, and with a hint of interest, before he stepped into the elevator.