I paused, the porcelain cup rattling just slightly in its saucer, not from fear, but from the sheer vibrating effort it took not to launch the scalding dark roast directly into his crotch. Let’s get one thing straight before we go any further. Return on investment equals zero. God, this is why you’re still driving a Toyota.
All in favor? The quiet one, the one who took a low-level analyst job because she didn’t have the head for business. He thought the name was in homage to him. Then the door creaked.
Looked at me for the first time in years. Instead, I was staring at raw command lines. I ran a background check on Apex Solutions 2 weeks ago. Their CEO, a man named Tyler Deran.
It was raining because of course it was. He used to tell me, “Monica, there are two kinds of people in this world. You use a scalpel. Real power isn’t written in ink, honey.
” A week before he passed, he called me into his study. Clause 14, emergency governance protocols, was a paragraph of dense legal ease that most lawyers would skim over, but translated into plain English, it said, “In the event of documented fiduciary negligence by the sitting chairman, any shareholder with at least 15% voting power may call a special meeting and vote to remove the chairman and CEO immediately, bypassing the board entirely. ” But clause 14 bypassed the board entirely. The other board members held a combined 20%.
Not because of fingerprints, but because touching anything Clay had touched made me feel like I needed a tetanus shot. The feeling you get right before the roller coaster screams down the first drop. And I needed to do it all while making sure my latte art was up to standard. Transfer complete.
I had to be a termite eating the wood from the inside. Three Kramer and Associates, a nod to Seinfeld, because if you can’t laugh while destroying your enemies, what’s the point? His ego would probably tell him it was because he was such a genius CEO that investors were flocking. Well, tell him again.
Then he laughed. He had scribbled a list of names. No old fool result. It’s brand new, Kevin frowned.
Step two, load the gun transfers. Enjoy it while you can, Clay, I thought. I was there, of course, not as a guest, but as event support, which meant I was wearing a black dress that was invisible enough to be staff, but formal enough not to offend the eyes of the elite, holding a clipboard that gave me the ability to move anywhere without question. If you don’t like the severance package, you can take it up with the bankruptcy court because that’s where we’ll be if we don’t sell.
I stood by a pillar, checking names off a list. He was wearing a suit that was clearly 20 years old, fraying slightly at the cuffs. Name it. All right, he nodded.
They both laughed. Inside were three documents. Motion to terminate employment immediately. Her husband had been one of my dad’s first drivers.
She reached into her oversized handbag and pulled out a proxy form. I parked in the general lot miles away from the reserved executive spaces. If Clay calls you later to escort someone out, make sure you check who he’s pointing at. Because if I was going to watch the world burn, I wanted a caffeine buzz.
I placed Clay’s glossy liquidation plan at every seat, and then underneath each one, I slid a single sheet of paper. The boardroom filled up with the usual cast of characters. He saw the name cards. Same, Miller said, not looking up from his phone.
Then let’s make it formal. I wouldn’t do that, I said, sliding a document down the long mahogany table. Kind of silence you hear right after a car crash before the screaming starts. He squinted at the text.
Honey, you don’t understand these things. Oh, I’m not regretting anything, I said. It was still warm from his body heat. The special session is valid.
Page one, I read, $300,000 in marketing expenses paid to a firm called Blue Wave Media. Page two, I continued. I looked down the table at the other men. I looked at the board motion to remove Clay Bearinger as chairman and CEO effective immediately for cause including embezzlement, fraud, and gross negligence.
All in favor, I asked. Then Greg raised his. I’m the only one who knows how this place works. You’re the only one who forgot.
You’re staying for now because firing the whole board in one day scares the banks. But I’m just getting started. You’re the only one who noticed the fuel hedge, I said. And you’re the only one who hasn’t tried to steal from me.
But then I looked at Arthur. It was a text from Kevin in it. I wanted to tell her that Earl’s company was safe. Item two, driver raises.
The mahogany table is still there, but it’s covered in blueprints and spreadsheets, not glossy brochures. The driver retention is the highest it’s been in a decade. We’re eating ramen noodles in terms of cash flow, but we’re not drowning. Arthur is still here.
I heard you used to do this before you were CEO. I still do this, Josh. Yeah, if anyone treats you like furniture, take notes. Write down everything because the furniture usually outlasts the tenants.
It was still a little too big for me, but I was growing into it. Moral of the story, never underestimate the person who knows where the bodies are buried, especially if they’re the one digging the hole. The system was fixed for now.
And if it broke again, well, I had my toolkit and I knew exactly how to use it.