Anyone have a problem with my being here?”

No one says anything.

“Good.” I holster my weapon. “Which of you ladies is Mary?”

Mary tentatively raises her hand a few inches.

“You’re the corporate secretary?”

She nods.

“What have you written down so far?”

“N-nothing.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way. I’ll provide the minutes later, and you can sign them.”

“Th-that’s not normally how it’s d-done,” she says.

“Right. And the way you people run a company isn’t the way it’s normally done, either.”

“What are you insinuating?” William says.

“Ropic Industries is under federal investigation for accounting irregularities.”

“Thanks to her husband!” Tony says, with contempt.

“That’s a rather nasty tone to take, under the circumstances,” I say. “Can’t you see Mrs. Peters is grieving over the loss of her husband?”

Everyone takes a minute to look at Gwen, but no, they can’t detect any sadness in her face. I ask, “Which of you is Stevie, the accountant?”

“Stephen Derrier is no longer with us,” William says.

“He’s dead?”

“He’s been relieved of his duties, awaiting federal investigation for misappropriation of corporate funds.”

“Why’s that a federal offense?”

“He and Lucky Peters conspired to fund a casino wagering scheme.”

I arch an eyebrow.

“That’s right, Mr. Creed,” William says, smugly. “We turned ourselves in to the authorities, pled our case, and they’re giving us an opportunity to stay in business.”

“Only in Vegas,” I say.

“That’s right. And you should know that since Mrs. Peters’s husband was directly involved in the embezzlement of more than $12 million of corporate assets, our attorneys are working to divest her of his shares and redistribute them to the shareholders.”

I look around the table and see they’re all wearing smug smiles. They think I’m losing control of the meeting.

They’re wrong.

I say, “Since Ropic has no in-house attorneys, you must have hired outside counsel.”

“That’s right.”

“How much was their retainer?”

William smiles. “That’s really none of your business.”

“Is it safe to say you paid more than fifty thousand dollars?”

“We’re a public company. You can learn those specifics at the next shareholder meeting, should you care to attend.”

“Assuming you’re a registered stock holder,” Toni Spumoni adds, with a sneer.

I walk to the door, open it, and Jeff Tuck enters, closes the door behind him, and plants himself in front of it. I remove my jacket, then grab the neck of the board member sitting closest to the door, and lift him out of his chair while applying enough pressure to make him wet his pants, violently.

“Now, see here!” William says, rising to his feet.

“I don’t feel like waiting till the next shareholder meeting,” I say. “Who’s this guy with the weak bladder?”

“Mr. Shay.”

“And he’s?”

“Our new accountant.”

I notice Gwen’s face getting flushed, which doesn’t mean she’s embarrassed. Quite the contrary, it means she’s getting turned on by my display of power.

I look at the lady sitting beside Mr. Shay. She’s cowering, trying to avoid eye contact. “And who’s this?” I say.

No one speaks, but I already know she’s Tootie Greene, Ropic’s executive vice president.

I drop the urine-soaked accountant back in his chair and say, “Mrs. Greene? You can either tell me how much the company paid for outside legal counsel, or I can squeeze some piss out of you, too.”

“Too late,” she says.

A quick glance at the crotch of her tan slacks confirms she’s telling the truth. From her place at the head of the table, Gwen exclaims, “Oh! Oh, my!”

Everyone looks at her, and she says, “Sorry.”

But I can see she’s positively smoldering. I wink at her, and she swallows hard. She fixes her gaze on me, waiting to see what I’m going to do next, clearly hoping I’ll put on a show of power.

Tony says, “Fuck this. We paid ’em two hundred fifty grand. What’re you gonna do about it?”

I smile and say, “The payment of funds in excess of fifty thousand dollars to any outside legal counsel requires a majority vote of the stockholders.”

“Who says?”

I point to the stack of corporate documents by the house phone on the table hugging the far wall. “It’s all in there.