Chapter 9 - The Reveal
"A remote vote?" I asked, my voice calm, projecting effortlessly across the long room. I looked at the three sweating board members. "Is this true, gentlemen? Did you illegally attempt to oust the majority shareholder on a Sunday evening without formal notice?"
"Beatrice, listen," stammered Richard, a board member I had personally bailed out of bankruptcy ten years ago. "The digital transition... Natalie has a vision. The market is shifting. We have to adapt or die."
"You cowardly, pathetic little man," I said softly, the disappointment heavy in my voice.
Natalie slammed her hand on the table. "Don't you dare speak to my board like that! I am the CEO now! Security!"
She pressed the intercom button on the conference phone. Nothing happened.
"They aren't coming, Natalie," I informed her smoothly, opening my leather briefcase. "I fired the head of security twenty minutes ago for allowing unauthorized personnel into the executive suite."
Natalie frowned, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her features. "Unauthorized? I am the Vice President!"
"Were," I corrected her gently, pulling the thick stack of legal documents from my briefcase and tossing them onto the polished wood table. They landed with a heavy, satisfying slap. "You were the Vice President."
I looked directly at Graham, who was suddenly sitting very still.
"I spent forty years building this company from a tiny, rented room," I said, my voice cold and unwavering. "I dealt with cutthroat distributors, hostile takeovers, and economic recessions. Did you honestly, truly believe I would leave the keys to the kingdom unprotected against a spoiled, entitled child throwing a temper tantrum?"
I slid the first document down the long table. It stopped perfectly in front of Richard.
"Read it, Richard," I commanded. "Read the Founder’s Veto provision. Read the exact classification of Natalie’s shares."
Richard picked up the document with trembling hands. His eyes rapidly scanned the dense legalese, his face draining of color with every passing second.
"Oh my god," Richard whispered, dropping the paper as if it burned him.
"What does it say?" Natalie demanded, snatching the document from him.
May you like
"It says," Richard croaked, looking at me with sheer terror, "that she still owns everything. Your shares are non-voting proxies. You have absolutely no executive power, Natalie. The board vote yesterday was completely illegal."
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