Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Massacre
At 9:00 AM,
I walked into the headquarters of Sterling Construction.
The lobby was decorated with photos of Spencer shaking hands with mayors.
I ignored them and headed straight for the private elevator.
The receptionist tried to stop me,
her voice high and panicked.
"Ma'am,
you can't go up there,
there's an emergency meeting!"
"I know,"
I said,
showing her my black titanium ID card.
"I'm the one who called it."
The doors opened to the top floor.
The air in the boardroom was thick with tension and the smell of cheap coffee.
Spencer was there,
looking disheveled in the same ivory suit from the day before.
He hadn't slept,
and his eyes were bloodshot.
Evelyn was sitting in the corner,
looking like a trapped bird.
"Laura?"
Spencer gasped,
standing up so fast his chair hit the wall.
"What are you doing here?"
"This is a private board meeting!"
I walked to the head of the table and sat down.
The other board members,
men I had hand-picked years ago,
remained silent.
"Sit down,
Spencer,"
I said.
"And Evelyn,
this isn't a family brunch."
"Leave."
"You can't talk to her like that!"
Spencer shouted.
"This is my company!"
One of the board members,
an older man named Arthur,
cleared his throat.
"Actually,
Spencer,"
he said,
sliding a document across the table.
"It appears the majority of the voting shares are held by Apex Holdings."
"And the Chairwoman of Apex Holdings is..."
"Laura,"
Spencer whispered,
the realization finally hitting him like a physical blow.
He looked at me as if he were seeing a stranger.
"You...
you were the one behind the merger?"
"I was the one who kept you from going bankrupt five years ago,"
I corrected him.
"I was the one who funded the high-rise project in Brickell."
"I did it because I believed in you."
"But you didn't believe in me."
"You thought I was just a paycheck and a place to sleep."
Evelyn tried to intervene,
her voice trembling with fake sweetness.
"Laura,
dear,
let's be reasonable."
"Spencer made a mistake,
yes,"
"but he's the face of this company!"
"If you ruin him,
you ruin the investment!"
I turned to her,
my eyes narrowing.
"I am the investment,
Evelyn."
"And as of ten minutes ago,
I've started the divestment process."
I looked at the board.
"I am moving to remove Spencer Sterling as CEO effective immediately."
"Due to the misappropriation of company funds for personal use,"
"specifically for a wedding held on property he does not own."
Spencer fell back into his chair.
"Penelope's father...
he's going to sue me,"
he moaned.
"He gave me a five-million-dollar dowry for the business."
"I already spoke to Mr. Rossi,"
I said,
opening my laptop.
"He was quite surprised to learn that his son-in-law was a fraud."
"He’s currently at the house with the moving trucks."
"He’s taking back everything he bought for Penelope."
"And he’s taking her with him."
Spencer’s phone rang.
He didn't answer it.
"You're a monster,"
he whispered.
"No,"
I replied,
standing up to leave.
"I'm just a woman who finally learned her worth."
"The security guards will escort you out."
"You have five minutes to clear your desk."
"Don't bother taking the coffee mug."
"I bought that,
too."
I walked out of the room as the board members began to discuss the transition.
The sounds of Spencer’s sobbing followed me down the hall.
It wasn't the sound of a broken heart.
It was the sound of a man who had lost his wallet.
May you like
And in his world,
that was the same thing.
