Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Execution
The glass-and-steel lobby of Mercer Development was a monument to Daniel’s ego,
with a giant bronze bust of his father in the center and photos of Daniel shaking hands with mayors on the walls.
I walked through the turnstiles,
the security guards nodding to me out of habit,
unaware that the woman they were letting in was about to fire their boss.
I took the private elevator to the 40th floor,
the executive level where the air always felt thin and expensive.
When the doors opened,
Daniel’s secretary,
a woman who had treated me like a nuisance for years,
tried to block my path.
"He’s in a very important meeting,
Sarah,"
she said,
not even looking up from her computer.
"You can’t just barge in here looking for an allowance."
I didn't say a word;
I simply walked past her,
my heels clicking with a lethal rhythm on the marble floor.
I pushed open the double oak doors of the boardroom,
and the room fell silent.
Daniel was at the head of the table,
surrounded by twelve men who looked like clones of each other,
all of them laughing at a joke Daniel had just finished telling.
"Sarah?"
Daniel said,
standing up with a look of pure irritation.
"What the hell are you doing here?
I told you I’d be home late."
I walked to the empty chair at the opposite end of the table and sat down,
crossing my legs with deliberate slowness.
"I’m not here as your wife,
Daniel,"
I said,
my voice projecting to the corners of the room.
"I’m here as the representative of Aegis Holdings."
The laughter stopped instantly,
the air in the room suddenly becoming cold enough to see your breath.
One of the board members,
an older man named Arthur who had always been kind to me,
looked at me with shock.
"Sarah?
You’re the Aegis representative?"
"Aegis is a trust,
Arthur,"
I explained,
"and I am the sole trustee and beneficiary."
Daniel began to laugh,
a desperate,
manic sound that echoed off the glass walls.
"This is a joke,
right?"
he asked,
looking at his colleagues for support.
"She’s had a breakdown,
gentlemen,
the barbecue was too much for her."
"The barbecue,"
I said,
pulling a remote from my pocket and pointing it at the large presentation screen,
"was a very revealing event."
The video of the previous night began to play,
the high-definition footage of Daniel slamming my hand onto the grill.
The board members watched in horrific silence as the scream echoed through the room.
"That is your CEO,"
I told them,
as the video froze on Daniel’s 'pleased' expression.
"And that,"
I added,
clicking to the next slide,
"is the documentation of the twelve million dollars he has embezzled from this company in the last fiscal year."
Daniel’s face went from red to a sickly,
ashen grey as spreadsheets and bank records filled the screen.
"This is a coup!"
he shouted,
trying to reach for the laptop on the table.
"You’re trying to ruin me because of a little burn?"
"I’m ruining you because you are a liability,
a criminal,
and a coward,"
I said,
standing up.
"As the holder of fifty-eight percent of the voting shares,"
"I am calling for an immediate vote to remove Daniel Mercer as CEO."
Arthur was the first to raise his hand,
his face set in a grim line of disgust.
One by one,
the other men followed suit,
their loyalty to Daniel vanishing the moment they realized he was no longer the one with the money.
"You can’t do this,"
Daniel whimpered,
collapsing back into his leather chair.
"This is my name!
This is my father’s legacy!"
"Your father’s legacy was built on integrity,"
I told him,
walking toward him until I was standing right over him.
"Yours is built on smoke and mirrors,
and the smoke is finally clearing."
I leaned down,
my face inches from his.
"The police are waiting in the lobby,
Daniel."
"They have the video,"
"they have the bank records,"
"and they have a statement from your mother about the pension fund."
The sound of the office door opening was the final blow.
Two officers walked in,
their handcuffs gleaming in the fluorescent light.
"Daniel Mercer,
you’re under arrest for felony domestic assault and financial fraud,"
they announced.
As they led him away,
his heels dragging on the carpet,
I felt a sense of relief that was almost overwhelming.
I turned back to the board members,
who were all staring at me as if they were seeing me for the first time.
"Now,"
I said,
May you like
taking the seat at the head of the table,
"let’s talk about how we’re going to save this company."
