likes the bastard. He’s essentially the polar opposite of me.
Harvey catches my look, and I see his lips twitch in response. He probably knows I’m envisioning muzzling Pierson and tossing him out of the room.
“Are you listening, Knight?”
My eyes cut over to Pierson.
No, asshole, because all you’re doing is repeating yourself for the third time.
I’ve had enough.
I look at him with a bored expression on my face. “Which part are you questioning that I heard?” I ask. “Was it the part where you implied that you don’t understand enough about the social media aspects to have any real knowledge of our new marketing strategy ideas? Or was it the part where you mentioned Knight Enterprises should stick to what it knows—i.e., what you know. Because if it’s the latter, I’m confused about what you think you do here. So please, enlighten me.”
I know I’m being a dick, but I’m fucking over listening to him.
Pierson sputters. “Capital gains and real estate,” he answers. “I suggest what properties we should be focusing on.”
“Exactly,” I tell him. “You sit on this board as my advisor for our real estate ventures because that’s your expertise.”
Pierson’s lips draw into a thin line, showing off his displeasure, but I don’t give him time to argue again.
“I’ve heard your concerns, but I disagree. This is what we are doing, so I suggest you start backing it or, at the very least, help aid the transition. Because if you don’t, I think it may be time for you to consider retirement.”
Pierson blanches, turning about three shades darker red than he already is. Some of the other board members fidget nervously in their seats. It’s not often that I throw my weight around in the boardroom. After all, I’ve been trying to build up a solid foundation of trust so that they can respectfully tell me their real opinions and feel comfortable enough to give me their ideas. But Pierson has been getting way too negative and overbearing lately, and it’s time I shut it down. If he walks because of this, well...that would just be an extra perk.
“If I may…”
My eyes flick over to Tonya West, my leading marketing strategist. I respect the hell out of her and her knowledge, and she holds a lot of weight with the other board members. Brunette, nearly as tall as me even without heels, she’s wearing one of her signature “power suits” as she likes to call them.
I nod for her to go on.
She holds up one of the spreadsheets from the presentations. “I’m very interested in these ideas, Knight. You know I’ve been telling you for months that I think we should be more publicly accessible and put our name and image out there, so I’m behind these sorts of changes.”
I nod, thankful as fuck that she said that. If I can get her support, maybe it’ll even out all the negativity from Pierson.
“I particularly like the boutique restaurant idea. Foodies will eat it up. Pun intended,” she says, earning some chuckles around the room as the tension dissipates. Tonya is thirty-something, takes no shit, and won’t hesitate to hand someone their balls. But unlike me, she also has a softer, more charismatic side.
“But what I’m really interested in is the dating app,” she goes on. “I think this is the perfect direction to go with the least amount of risk involved. I also think it could be extremely successful. I just have one issue.”
“And what’s that?”
“Well, you.”
My shoulders tense. “Excuse me?”
She tosses down the report and smooths back a strand of hair. “Let’s be honest here, Knight. You’re one of the best faces of corporate America. Young, successful, easy on the eyes,” she adds matter-of-factly with a wave in my direction. “And for these new ventures, the best way to play this would be to use your face to make Knight Enterprises more personable. The public wants to like you. But for the last several months, you’ve been viewed as nothing more than an asshole playboy who broke a Hollywood starlet’s heart.”
My hand tightens around my pen.
“Harsh,” Harvey says under his breath.
“It’s the truth,” she says unapologetically. “We need to get you past the Marla May stage.”
Marla fucking May. The bane of my existence.
Tonya isn’t wrong, which is what makes the whole thing worse. The recent media attention I got wasn’t the most flattering.
Since I became one of the youngest and most successful CEOs in the country, I’ve had my fair share of press to deal with. But that