Chapter 6 - The Folder
Daniel Ross stepped inside first. He had served on the Mercer Dynamics board for twelve years and had never wasted a word in my presence.
“Mrs. Hayes,” he said. “We came as requested.”
Grant turned on me. “You requested my board?”
“My board,” I corrected. “At least where voting control is concerned.”
He stared.
Evelyn grabbed the back of a chair. “What is she talking about?”
Daniel opened the sealed folder. “The Hayes Family Trust controls thirty-eight percent of voting shares in Mercer Dynamics. Under the governance agreement, trustee objection is sufficient to suspend executive appointment review pending misconduct evaluation.”
Grant looked from Daniel to me.
For the first time all evening, he understood I was not a guest in his dining room.
I was the woman with a key under his company’s floor.
“That’s impossible,” he said.
“No,” I replied. “It is inconvenient.”
The police commissioner stepped forward. “Mrs. Mercer, do you need medical assistance?”
Claire glanced at Grant.
I squeezed her hand.
She looked back at the commissioner. “Yes.”
Grant snapped, “Claire.”
The board members saw it. The officers saw it. The commissioner saw it.
Daniel’s expression hardened.
I turned to Grant. “You were never becoming COO.”
His face flushed. “You can’t decide that because of a family argument.”
“No,” I said. “The board will decide after reviewing allegations of domestic violence, witness intimidation, and executive conduct incompatible with leadership.”
Evelyn whispered, “Grant, say something.”
Grant said nothing.
May you like
Men like him always have speeches for the powerless.
They rarely have one for consequences.
