Chapter 11 Saving Poetry and Board Meeting Intrigue

"You are going home; to Zimbabwe. I am escorting you to the airport. Your bags are in the boot. Take my advice. You owe the corporation a million rand. When you are needed The Corporation will call for you. Remember you owe allegiance to The Corporation now. Don't try to run. I will find you." Dimitri said as he drove down the highway towards the airport.

When they reached the airport Dimitri helped Ronnie with his luggage and made sure that he was checked in. Then as quickly and quietly as he had materialized; Dimitri disappeared. Ronnie sighed with relief.

He walked through airport security and went to the terminal where he would board his plane. He plopped himself into one of the chairs and sighed. What the hell was he going to do now?

"You can get out, you know." A voice said to his right. Ron sat up straight. He turned to his right. There was a girl on the phone. "Take this card and call it when you get home." She held out a card to him. He frowned. Was this a test? Was she one of them? She blew him a kiss as she continued speaking on the phone and walked away.

A hand snatched the card from him. It was Zenzo. He scowled. "I hope you're not trying to change teams last minute, little nigga."

He looked at the card. It was a student card from the national university of South Africa. Her student ID and signature were on the matte side and a heart with her number on the other side on a post-it. Zenzo laughed and gave him back the card.

"The girls really like you don't they?" Zenzo chuckled. Ronnie shrugged almost apologetically. He was afraid that Zenzo would get on the plane with him. That would be messed up.

Fortunately, as soon as Ron's boarding pass was accepted Zenzo blended in with the crowd and disappeared. On the plane, Ron sighed with relief. He had the window seat and he rested his head against the cool glass. 'What on earth had he gotten himself into?'

The girl who had hit on him earlier sat next to him. She flashed him a smile. She began to flirt with him.

When their flight was now in mid-air she asked him if he'd like to read some of her poetry. What the hell, it's not like he was going anywhere he thought. She pulled out a tablet and turned it on.

To all those who were observing the very forward young woman was chatting up the quiet shy young man. It seemed like the two were hitting it off. As soon as he read the first poem Ronald knew that something was up.

Her poems were asking if he needed help and if he was being blackmailed. He looked at her. She looked back at him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Help. If you want it."

"What do you want?"

"Information, on The Corporation." She held his gaze and stroked his face.

"I don't know anything. I just owe them a lot of money." He found himself feeling comfortable with her.

"When the time is right, they will want more. We can protect you if you just say yes."

"Yes."

She sighed contentedly and gestured for him to read some more poetry. As he read he realized it was a document asking him to swear to assist in the investigation as required in return they would keep him and his family safe. At the end, there was an 'accept' button and a 'decline' button.

He pressed on accept. The tablet turned off. The screen went black and wouldn't turn on again.

The girl giggled. "Oops! Flat battery! Thank you for reading my poetry. Is it lame?"

"You're welcome. No, it's actually quite gripping. I don't know if I have ever come across poetry like that." Ronnie found himself smiling at her. Maybe things would work out okay after all.

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A few weeks after the staff meeting a Board Meeting of Titania Enterprises was called. It had been expected to be the other way around but nothing at Titania was conventional least of all how Woodcombe ran things. Surprisingly Woodcombe himself was not present his choice of replacement was interesting.

Nathaniel Woodcombe had surpassed the board's expectations and placed Titania at the cutting edge of technology. In addition to using Titania-made technology, Titania was known for improving on existing technology with great success. Most board members were worried about the effect that Nathaniel Woodcombe's absence would have on stock performance and staff performance. He was synonymous with Titania's undisputed superiority and if he disappeared public confidence would drop.

"I hope you understand this makes things very difficult for us. For Mr. Woodcombe to leave you in control of his entire portfolio and the company makes us very nervous." Michael Ainsley, one of the board members of Titania Enterprises spoke apologetically to a fellow board member, Miles Woodcombe-Cartwright.

Both men sat at the large glass and titanium table in Titania's smaller boardroom. Both men were flanked by other men and women who were also members of the same board. The tension in the board room was thick as the six women and four men watched Miles walk to the head of the table.

While much smaller than the primary board room, the room exuded opulence and power which seemed to flow within Miles as he made his way to the head of the table. Miles Woodcombe-Cartwright, who was also Nathaniel's uncle, was named as Head of Titania Enterprises, indefinitely. It was rumored that the two had a falling out after Gregory Woodcombe's death but both men spoke civilly of each other whenever the question came up before press.

At 58, Miles was an incredibly good-looking man to who time had been kind. His tall frame that had him barely under six feet and a shockingly toned physique were a rarity for most men his age. His skin seemed wrinkle-free as he placed his hands on top of the leather chair at the head of the table.

As he smiled the only telltale of his true age were the laughter lines at the corner of his eyes and mouth. "As you all know, I was one of the founding board members of Titania and I've had the pleasure of watching Nathan take this company to heights we'd never imagined. I am merely here as a figurehead and stable terminal until Nathan returns to the helm of Titania. He will continue to monitor the progress and make decisions when necessary. With our competitors champing at the bit my role is primarily public relations functions. How operations will continue is stated clearly in the following folders."

Miles held his hand out to one of the personal assistants waiting along the only wall in the room that was not glass. The male PA promptly moved forward carrying leather folders with the corporate logo embossed in the center. As the folders were distributed scan screens appeared in front of each board member.

"Due to the confidentiality of the materials in the folders you are about to open and read each of you must agree to a biometric scan. For those of you who have never had to take one, nod your head in agreement. The screen before you will then record your biometric data and compare it with what we have in our database. Once the words, "thank you" appear on the screen before you, place both hands in front of the screen."

During the meeting, sensors monitored the heart rates and reactions of the board members. They were aware of this as Titania's policy was to ensure that everyone who worked for or with Titania upheld the highest moral standards. If one wasn't willing to subject to this one didn't become a board or staff member.

Miles smiled, "Fortunately, due to modern technology this is a painless and side-effect-free procedure." As he spoke he observed the colors of the screens before him. All screens before him were green except for one. Miles smiled assuringly at Jim Nick, an Asian in his late forties.

"Jim, I'm afraid as your wife's proxy you will be unable to view the data in her absence. Please do not be alarmed."

Mr. Nick nodded and sat nodded and sat back, relaxed. "You know Miles if you didn't want me here you could've said so and told Deidre to come."

The other board members laughed breaking the tension further. Miles grinned at Jim, "I still owe you for hiding your new handicap from me before betting on our last round of golf."

Everyone had heard how Jim had handed Miles an astounding defeat and won an all-expenses-paid trip on Miles' yacht, Francesca, to the Cayman Islands. Jokes were made at Jim & Miles' expense before they returned to business.

As soon as everyone had completed the scan, data pages came up in front of each board member simulating the pages of a document. Miles scanned the faces of the board members as they virtually flipped through the documents before them. Jim played a game of scrabble knowing he'd see nothing on anyone's screen.