CONNOR COBALT
This is a shit waste of an afternoon.
The thought runs on repeat as I listen to another Cobalt Inc. board member drone on about advertising and angel investors. I have the urge to stand up and let everyone know that they have successfully battered the conversation.
But I donโt.
These are the highest ranked employees in the company. If thereโs any hope of taking the reins to Cobalt Inc. without looking like I undeservingly inherited it, I have to bite my tongue. The company owns brands like
MagNetic, Smith & Keller paints, and other profitable subsidiariesโthings that have lined my pockets since birth.
I feign interest as best I can, but Iโm sitting at the head of a long conference table filled with twenty middle-aged men. During these
meetings, Iโm my motherโs interimโa position she granted me two years ago. It means nothing really.
On paper, Iโm still just her son. This is merely a test.
My mother has never been quick to let go of the empire she built from the ground up. In order to be a board member, become the CEO, and
acquire her shares, I have to prove myself. Like these meetings or certain
tasks she gives me at the least opportune moments. My cellphone is always in my pocket, threatening to go off.
I keep waiting for the sudden demand to entertain her business partners or a family friend. And Iโm always grateful when sheโs decided to leave me
alone for the night.
I type โnotesโ onto the small tablet in my lap. Really, Iโm outlining an assignment I have to complete tonight for one of my business courses at Wharton. I may have graduated from Penn last year, but now Iโm in the big leagues. Grad school. I want an MBA. I donโt need it. Not really.
Iโll be CEO of Cobalt Inc. with or without the degree. But the respect I crave wonโt be handed to me so easily.
My phone buzzes in my pants, loud enough for Steve Balm, the COO and my motherโs most respected board member, to pause his discussion on finger paints. Steve has been ranting about primary colors and the hearts of children everywhere. He wants to fuck over Crayola. Not his words, but I read between the lines.
โAre we interrupting you, Connor?โ Steve asks, his gray brows furrowing critically. Steve and I have a long history. I suppose it began at birthโwhen he was dubbed my godfather.
I donโt make a move for my phone. โDid I say anything?โ I refute. I hit the mute button before it can vibrate again.
โArenโt you going to answer that?โ Gary Holmes, a stocky-built board member asks a few chairs down. โCould be Hollywood. Youโre a movie star now, arenโt you?โ
Light chuckling filters across the room. They jest because they knew me when I was seven years old, when my mother carted me through the hallways.
I am a boy in their eyes.
I wonโt win them over by arguing, by pounding my fists against my chest and demanding to be taken seriously. So I turn to Steve. โIf youโd like to drive this company into the ground, by all means choose to spend
millions of our research fund into finding an unpatented health-friendly finger paint.โ
Steve doesnโt reveal whether he agrees or not, his face as blank as mine. โKatarina wants to expand.โ Steve directs the statement to the
boardroom. โSheโs giving us a week to proposeย viableย options to take Colbalt Inc. to the next level.โ
โWe could just get in bed with Fizzle,โ Gary says, โConnorโs already a quarter of the way there.โ
Before the room can erupt in another wave of laughter, I ask, โAnd what would we do with Fizzle? Weโre a paint and magnet company. Should we poison consumers with our magnetic soda cans?โ Everyone remains quiet,
eyes flitting between one another. I keep my gaze pinned on Gary as he reddens and sinks lower into his chair.
I straighten, silently reminding everyone whoโsย notย a child in the room. โIt was a joke,โ Gary says in defense. He looks to Steve for support, but
my godfather never offers him a life vest. If youโre drowning, you fucking drown.
โUnless they involve productive opinions, keep your jokes to yourself,โ I say sharply.ย Nowย I slip my phone out of my pocket. It was a textโฆ
Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, Anne Brontรซ โย Rose
My lips threaten to rise, and it takes all my strength not to smile. I begin typing and speaking at the same time. โKatarina just notified me that sheโs on her way,โ I lie. Though after reading a quick email this morning, I do
know sheโs coming later.
Fuck. Kill. Marry.ย I type back and hit send before pocketing my phone. โAny other fabulous ideas, Gary?โ Steve asks. Andย thereย it is. His
opinion. I meet his eyes and he gives me a small nod, letting me know he
agrees with me. I donโt let out a breath of relief. This is just one meeting of many.
Katarina arrives only five minutes later, and after Steve offers her a brief update, the board members clear out of the conference room. Leaving me
alone with my mother.
Her deep, dyed red hair cascades in waves over her shoulders. She takes a seat in Steveโs open chair at my right-hand side. This wonโt be a quick conversation then, but Iโve already spoken to her about the reality show.
I laid out the pros and cons in a spreadsheet, outlining all the reasons why I should be in the show. Mostly for Cobalt Inc.โs benefit. Exposure. Putting a face to our brand. Itโs something that my mother wants but has never been able to do.
The only risk is bad press. Fizzle and Hale Co. stocks dropped considerably after Lilyโs sex addiction was publicized. I was distanced enough from Roseโs sister that Cobalt Inc. didnโt suffer, but Iโm edging myself closer to the Calloways. My mother has voiced her mild disapproval. She doesnโt like taking risks or getting her hands dirty. But thatโs why she has me.
โWhere are the cameras?โ she asks, diving right in.
โThere are only three cameramen,โ I explain again. โThey wonโt follow me if Iโm not with someone else. So if youโre worried about them coming into this buildingโโ
โIโm not.โ She pulls out her smart phone and simultaneously types an email while she speaks to me. โIโm worried that this girl is going to ruin you.โ
โHer name is Rose, and sheโs not going toย ruinย me.โ Sheโs never met her, but theyโve both been pressuring me about letting them have coffee together or brunch. I just donโt see what good will come of it. And so I
make excuses about my mother never having time to see Rose. And Rose never having time to see my mother. Itโs a shit thing to do, but Iโm certain theyโll hate each other. I also believe Katarina will try to run Rose out of my life, and I want her firmly by my side.
My mother pockets her phone and her eyes darken with displeasure. โSheโs a powerful girl who started her own business as a teenager. Sheโs driven, independent, and passionate.โ
All the things I admire, and yet, I know sheโs about to turn every quality into something sinister and wrong.
โWorking women donโt have men. We canโt keep relationships. We are married to our careers.โ She announces each sentence like a nail in a coffin, pounding down the reality around me. โThe children we do have are sent to boarding schools or are raised by nannies. Itโs the life I wanted, even at the sacrifice of my husband and my child. You donโt want to walk into that, Connor. Youโre smarter than that.โ
I refuse to stare at the table, to look away from her dark blue eyes. I meet her powerful gaze with one of my own. Her words may affect me to some degree, but I wonโt ever show it.
I donโt talk to my mother about my relationships very often, and any mention of Rose usually accompanies some sort of disparaging snort and blasรฉ brush off. When I told her that I was moving in with Rose, she wouldnโt speak to me for weeks. Sheโd prefer that my girlfriend moved in withย me. Not the other way around. I was willing to uproot my life for Rose, and according to Katarina Cobalt, other girls would have gladly walked into my home. In her eyes, I chose a path that doesnโt benefit me.
I had to use Steve Balm as an intermediary just to talk to her during that time.
Our communication reopened only after I explained the reality show and how it can help Cobalt Inc. if I take the right steps.
โYou need to set your sights on a girl like Caroline Haverford,โ she tells me. I internally grimace, but I donโt let on that her name sends knives into my spine. I dated Caroline. I fucked Caroline. But it was business. Like my relationship with my mother. Like my life.
Is it so bad to want something real?
โIโm with Rose,โ I say sternly. โThatโs not going to change.โ
Her nails rap on the table, frustrated. Katarina Cobalt always gets what she wants, and this is the first time Iโve put on the brakes, unwilling to give in to her requests.
โCaroline will be there for you. Sheโll have time for you. Rose wonโt.
Youโll grow resentful and bitter of each other. And as years pass, youโll realize youโre sleeping next to a stranger.โ
โAre we still talking aboutย myย relationship?โ I ask her with an arched brow.
Her lips press in a tight line. โDo you love her?โ
โLove is an irrational feeling,โ I say. I hate that I actually believe these words. โIt makes smart people do stupid things. My relationship with Rose isโฆstimulating.โ I think Iโm a sociopath.ย Fuck.ย I need to see Frederick.
โGood,โ my mother says with a nod. โNo need to make this into some tragic Shakespearean tale. At least she hasnโt corrupted your mind yet.โ
My mother rises from her chair and straightens her pencil skirt.
โIโd like to meet her,โ she tells me for the thousandth time. โSchedule an appointment with Marci, and if you donโt, Iโll call Rose myself. We donโt need you to lie for us anymore.โ
Her heels click away, leaving me to picture the impending meeting of Katarina Cobalt and Rose Calloway.
There will be screaming. Yelling. Possible bloodshed.
Though sheโs resilient, Iโm not so sure Rose will come out victorious this time.
My cellphone chimes and I see the name flash across the screen.ย Scott Van Wright.ย Wonderful.
When I answer the phone, I make sure I have the first words. โScott,
how sweet of you to call, I was beginning to suspect you didnโt like me very much.โ
โWhy would you get that idea?โย You want to fuck my girlfriend.
โYou like Rose better.โ I throw out the bait, testing his response.
โI do like her better,โ he tells me. โSheโs prettier.โ I wait for him to add something crude like โand she has a pussyโ but he doesnโt. Either Iโve been hanging around vulgar people for too long or heโs censoring himself.
โMany men would disagree,โ I say casually. โSo why the sudden call?โ โIโm picking up food from the grocery store. I thought Iโd get some of
Roseโs favorite things. What does she like?โ โMe.โ
He lets out a laugh. โThis phone call is being filmed, you know. I have you on speaker.โ He says it like he caught me in a spiderโs web.
โShe also loves my cock, my hair, my brain, my bodyโโ
โYeah, she loves you so much that sheโsย stillย a virgin.โ He must have discovered that from an interview. Or maybe footage of someone mentioning it. Rose isnโt ashamed of being a virgin at all, so I could see her admitting it to the cameras.
โAnd youโre her ex-boyfriend,โ I say blankly. โShe has intimacy issues, and itโs not a far reach to conclude itโs from your impotence.โ None of it is true, but I hope he airs this.
Doubtful.
He snorts.
โOh, and she loves dark chocolate,โ I say. โIโll just grab the condoms. Howโs that?โ
I clutch the phone tighter. โYouโre asking for my permission to have sex? Thatโs kind. And the answer is no. Iโm already taken.โ
He laughs dryly. โYouโre a fucking prick.โ
โIโve been called worse,โ I say, my voice casual still. โBut Iโm the prick with the girl. And sheโs not inflatable.โ
โIโll see you at the townhouse,โ he says, ignoring my comment. โYouโll be back really late, right? Youโve got work, college. All that shit. Donโt worry, buddy. Iโll keep the girls company.โ
He hangs up, and I replay the conversation in my head. He unnerves me more than any other human being, and the fact that I donโt have to impress him makes my lips unnaturally loose.
He called me. To fuck with me.
Itโs working.