┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

Announcement

┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛

Chapter 2: Announcement (Rowan's POV)

I stood beside Nate at the auditorium entrance, waiting for the others. Let me correct that, while he made me wait with him for the others. 

The most useless room in the entire building? This goddamn auditorium. It's used for nothing but meetings that involve the whole company and every single employee we have, which is well over one hundred. Other than that, the employees freely use this room for lunch, especially when they're running away and escaping a deadline or their boss, and it's used even more when two employees that want to hook up can't find a spot in the janitor's closet. 

When ten minutes had gone by and the entire auditorium was full, we had the manager of each department start doing a headcount while checking their department's list of employees to make sure everybody was here. Every team had reported back saying everybody was here. Except Evie. 

"Why don't we start without her?" I asked, looking at Nate. "If she missed it, she missed it. It's her fault." 

"We can't start without her, she's the most important employee in regards to this meeting. She worked directly under grandpa and reported to him first, she was as good as Gilbert," he replied, referring to grandpa's assistant. "Speaking of him, do you want to just keep him as your assistant? It'll make things easier, he already knows a lot about how the company works." 

"No," I answered immediately, scanning the room, looking for my least favorite girl. 

"Why?" Nate asked when I didn't elaborate. 

"The man is almost sixty-five years old, Nate. Give him a break. And sure, he knows everything about the company but he's too old and too slow now. I can't have him working for me. I need someone quicker." 

He paused in thought. "Then hire someone new." 

"No." 

"And why not?" he huffed exasperatedly. 

"Because it will take months, maybe even a whole year for a new employee to get used to me and how things work around here. I need someone old at this company but young and fit enough in all aspects to work for me." 

"Then... take someone who's working at a different position here. Make it seem like a promotion." 

I stared at him, my eyes meeting his. "It is a promotion." 

He snickered, "We both know it's a demotion if anything." He pushed himself off the soundproof wall we were leaning against as the doors opened and Evie came rushing through, looking exhausted. "Thank God she's here. Let's start." Nate rushed down the steps and headed towards the stage while I lingered. 

She stood against the wall, catching her breath as I watched her curiously. She hunched over, hands on her knees before glancing at me. "What?" 

"Where were you?" I questioned. 

"I was working and lost track of time," she replied, looking for an empty seat in the crowded room. 

"You don't have any work pending until tomorrow." 

She avoided my eyes and pretended not to hear me. 

"Ms. Spencer," I said sharply. 

She sighed and turned to me. "All right. I wasn't working." 

"What were you doing?" 

"I was..." she paused, glancing at the ground sheepishly. "I was playing with Leo." 

I stared at her not knowing what to say. 

During work hours she was... playing with my nephew? 

"Rowan," Nate's voice came from the front. 

I pushed myself off the wall, still holding her gaze. "I'll come back for you after this," I warned. 

She rolled her eyes and luckily for her, found a seat within this row and quickly scooted past people to sit down. 

I walked down the steps and climbed onto the stage from the side. Surprisingly enough, instead of Nate or me starting this meeting, Gilbert would. With grandpa recently passing and Gilbert being the closest employee to him, I was almost expecting him to request that he start the meeting for us, so when he did, Nate didn't protest, and neither did I. He spoke for a few minutes about grandpa, what it felt like without him around, and I drowned it all out. 

I still hadn't even accepted it, let alone process it. 

I looked to the front row where all the shareholders of the company had been gathered, then scanned the room a bit more, my eyes shifting to the bright phone screen lit up. The brightness from the screen illuminated her face and it pissed me off beyond belief to see her using her phone when she wasn't supposed to. 

As Nate nudged my arm, I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at him. He nodded for me to walk to the front and I sighed softly, moving to center stage, stopping before the mic. It was up to me to make the announcement of my new job and while I knew it was necessary, I also knew that I hated having everybody's attention. 

I wasn't used to it and now it was nothing more than an inconvenience. I stopped for a couple of seconds again to speak the words I memorized on grandpa. If I had to say them on the spot, I'd come up blank. 

"And as you all already know, our grandfather and Nate shared the two seats of the Volkov empire as co-CEOs. Now, with our grandfather gone, that leaves one chair empty," I paused, getting distracted again by her stupid phone screen and the light from it. "I've been at the company for three years now, working as the COO. And while it's true, I haven't been here from the start of Volkov Enterprises' journey..." I stopped, my jaw clenching as my eyes stayed focused on her. 

Everybody glanced around before turning in their seats. 

I should just keep going. 

"As I was saying," I cleared my throat, gathering everyone's attention again. "I haven't been here from the start of Volkov Enterprises' journey like our grandfather and even Nate has. But in the past three years that I have been here, I've worked just as hard to contribute and bring the company to where it is today. If you consider all areas of the company that I overlook, they don't lack anything and perform just as well as they would under Nate or as well as they did under our grandfather. Keeping that in mind..." 

I am going to kill her. And I'll make it painfully slow. 

"Keeping that in mind," I tried again, "I'm sure most of you understand by now that the next co-CEO will be me." I glanced to the side, my tongue running along the inside of my cheek. 

I'll make her regret even coming here. 

What the hell was she even doing that she couldn't stop staring into her screen and grinning like the idiot she was? 

"With that being said, all employees that previously worked directly under my grandfather, for example, Ms. Evie Rose Spencer," I paused, saying her name louder than the rest of my words. 

Her head snapped up and she tucked her phone away, holding the screen to her chest. Her eyes met mine and I lifted both eyebrows at her, tilting my head to one side while sliding my hands into my pockets. 

"Will now be working directly under me," I finished. "They report directly to me, they take orders directly from me, and all their work should reach me by the set deadlines. All managers previously working under my grandfather's area of Volkov Enterprises, now report to me. As for Mr. Gilbert," I stopped to glance at him, "he will, unfortunately, be retiring. It's been an honor to have you for these past years, sir," I nodded at him. 

He nodded back with a polite smile. 

"And last but not least. My assistant." 

The whole room stiffened. I could almost hear everybody holding their breaths. 

"I will not be hiring someone new. One of the employees now working under my area of the company will be promoted to my assistant. Following that, their whole department will be promoted and a new employee will be hired, only one. The position of my assistant is not only open to managers, but all employees working under me. I will hold official interviews myself in the next few days and you're more than welcome to come and give those with me. 

"Other than that, the decision, of course, falls into my hands. Obviously, Nate will also be present for all interviews and will help me make the ultimate decision. For any more details, you wish to know before the interviews are conducted, drop by my office and I will tell you myself." I scanned the room once, recognizing the approval on people's faces. "That is all for today's announcement. You're all dismissed, you may get back to work." 

Evie was the first one up and rushing. She must have known all the things I was about to do to her. 

"Except for Ms. Evie Spencer. Ms. Spencer, please stay behind. I'd like to have a word with you. Alone." 

She froze, lowering her head. 

"Rowan—" Nate mumbled. 

"I can do whatever I want. She works for me now," I told him, glancing at him as I walked off stage, my hands still tucked into my pockets. I walked down and to the front, shrugging my blazer off and loosening the tie before unbuttoning and rolling up the sleeves as she approached me at a snail's pace. 

"Yes, Mr. Rowan?" she asked softly, the way she only spoke to me when she knew she was in trouble. And wanted to try sweet-talking her way out of it. Normally, she has a silver tongue. But I knew her too well. 

"You're in trouble, Ms. Evelyn." 

Her jaw clenched. I knew how much she hated her whole name. 

"Come with me." I beckoned with two fingers, holding my blazer on one arm before heading to my office with her on my tail.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 2

how did we like his pov???

next chapter: working