Chapter 6 - The Falling of the Crown
The vote took less than five minutes.
It was unanimous.
Ethan Whitmore,
the face of the company,
the "visionary" of logistics,
was out.
He was ordered to clear his desk and leave the building immediately.
His corporate cards were deactivated while he was still sitting in the room.
His security clearance was revoked before he could reach the door.
I watched him stand up,
his movements slow and heavy.
He looked at the directors,
searching for one friendly face,
one person who would stand by him.
But they were all looking at their tablets,
already calculating how to spin the news to the press.
Loyalty in business is a commodity,
and Ethan’s value had just hit zero.
He walked toward the door,
but stopped behind my chair.
"You'll regret this,
Claire,"
he whispered,
his voice thick with spite.
"Without me,
this company is just a bunch of trucks and warehouses."
"I'm the one who made people believe in it."
I didn't turn around.
"People believed in the efficiency,
Ethan."
"They believed in the delivery times."
"They believed in the system I built."
"You were just the man who stood in front of the camera and took the credit."
"Go find Vanessa."
"Maybe she can help you build something else."
"I hear she's very good with room-service cards."
He let out a sharp,
hateful breath and marched out of the room.
The doors closed with a final,
heavy thud.
The Chairman looked at me.
"The stock is going to take a hit when we announce this."
"We need a steady hand on the wheel,
Claire."
"Are you in?"
I looked at the mahogany table,
the seat of power I had helped create.
"I'm in,"
I said.
"But I want the title of CEO."
"Not 'Interim'."
"Not 'Acting'."
"I'm the one who built it,
and I'm the one who's going to save it."
The Chairman smiled for the first time that day.
"Welcome back to the world,
Claire."
"Long live the Queen."
I stepped out of the boardroom and walked to the window.
Below,
I saw Ethan walking toward a taxi.
No limousine.
No private driver.
Just a man in a suit,
trying to find a way out of the rain.
May you like
The crown had fallen,
and the ghost was finally real.
