Chapter 8 - THE BOARDROOM
The emergency board meeting began at 9:00 a.m.
I arrived at 8:55.
Preston was already there.
So were my parents.
Nobody expected me.
That was obvious.
My mother stared at my navy suit as if she had never seen me dressed for anything except family dinners.
Preston leaned back in his chair.
“You’re really doing this?”
I sat across from him.
“Yes.”
“This is pathetic.”
Samuel Price entered.
Conversation stopped.
Rachel sat beside me.
Preston’s attorney sat beside him.
My father occupied the seat at the head of the table.
Samuel looked around.
“This meeting concerns the immediate leadership of Carter Development.”
Preston interrupted.
“This is a family dispute.”
Samuel looked at him.
“No.”
“It became a corporate matter when evidence suggested you attempted to manipulate another shareholder into surrendering voting control.”
Preston’s face tightened.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Rachel placed copies of the transfer agreement on the table.
Then the forged letter.
Then Grandpa’s letter.
Preston looked at my father.
That glance told me everything.
They had expected these documents to stay buried.
Samuel continued.
“There is also a criminal investigation involving conduct at your wedding.”
Preston laughed.
“My sister is using her daughter to steal my company.”
I felt Rachel’s hand touch my arm.
A reminder not to react.
Samuel didn’t need one.
“It isn’t your company.”
The room went silent.
Preston stared at him.
Samuel continued.
“It never was.”
My father finally spoke.
“Samuel, enough.”
“No, Richard.”
Samuel turned toward him.
“Charles asked us to prevent exactly this.”
My father’s face hardened.
“You don’t understand my son.”
“I understand him better than you think.”
Then Samuel opened another folder.
“I have spent the last forty-eight hours reviewing transactions your father flagged before his death.”
Preston stopped moving.
“There are eleven questionable contracts.”
My mother whispered.
“What?”
Samuel continued.
“Four shell vendors.”
Preston looked toward his attorney.
“And approximately $2.8 million in unexplained consulting payments.”
My father stood.
“This meeting is over.”
“No.”
The word came from me.
Everyone looked at me.
I stood too.
“For thirty years, every time Preston made a mistake, you ended the conversation.”
My father stared at me.
“Sit down.”
“No.”
His expression changed.
I had seen that expression throughout childhood.
It used to work.
Not anymore.
“You lied to me about Grandpa’s trust.”
“Evelyn.”
“You hid his letter.”
“Sit down.”
“You forged or helped conceal documents.”
“Enough.”
“And you watched your granddaughter bleeding on a ballroom floor.”
His face went white.
I lowered my voice.
“You don’t get to tell me to sit down anymore.”
Nobody spoke.
Samuel called the vote.
Preston was temporarily removed from all executive authority.
Eight votes in favor.
Two against.
My father voted against.
So did my mother through her proxy.
Then came the second vote.
Recognition of my full voting rights.
Unanimous.
Even Preston’s allies knew fighting the trust was impossible.
The meeting ended at 11:07.
Preston waited until everyone left.
Then he approached me.
“You think you won?”
“No.”
I gathered my papers.
“This isn’t a game.”
“It has always been a game with you.”
I looked at him.
“No, Preston.”
“It was a game to you because you always knew Mom and Dad would change the rules whenever you started losing.”
He stepped closer.
“You’re going to regret humiliating me.”
Rachel stood.
“Careful.”
Preston smiled.
But it wasn’t his old confident smile.
It was desperate.
As he walked away, his phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He stopped near the elevator.
“What do you mean they have a warrant?”
May you like
Two federal investigators stepped out of the elevator.
And suddenly the $2.8 million mattered even more than the wedding.
