Chapter 7 - The Emergency Board Meeting
At 7:45 AM, the boardroom on the thirty-fifth floor smelled of expensive dark-roast coffee and rising panic.
Nine members of the board sat around the forty-foot glass table. Paul Drummond, the head of the audit committee and Evan’s closest ally in the firm, was sweating through his linen shirt. He kept checking his Rolex, tapping his manicured fingers on his leather portfolio.
"It’s twenty to eight, Margaret," Drummond blustered, leaning back and trying to project an authority he clearly didn't feel. "Where is the CEO? We have a critical vote on the riverfront mezzanine financing. If Evan isn't here to present the revised debt covenants, we shouldn't even be in session."
"Evan won't be joining us this morning, Paul," I said from the head of the table.
I was dressed in a charcoal-tailored suit that Thomas had bought me for our thirty-fifth anniversary. My hair was pulled back into a severe, elegant bun. Beside me sat Julia, looking rested, sharp, and holding a stack of blue folders.
Drummond frowned, glancing across the table at Greg Keller. "What do you mean he won't be joining us? He called me at midnight and said—"
"—and said he had everything under control?" Julia interrupted, sliding a blue folder directly across the glass into Drummond’s chest. "Open it, Paul."
Drummond hesitated, his eyes darting to the other board members. Reluctantly, he flipped open the cover.
Inside were high-resolution copies of the wire authorizations Evan had attempted at 9:45 PM the previous evening, followed by the Delaware incorporation records for *KV Design*, and—most damning of all—a series of wire transfers totaling six hundred and eighty thousand dollars sent directly from the firm’s contingency accounts into a private investment fund owned jointly by Evan Hayes and Paul Drummond.
The color instantly vanished from Drummond’s face. He gagged on his breath, slamming the folder shut as if it were infested with hornets.
"This... this is an internal accounting misunderstanding," Drummond stammered, looking around the room for support. But every other board member was already reading their own copies, their expressions hardening with cold fury. "Margaret, you can’t make accusations like this without a formal independent review!"
"The formal independent review is currently taking place in the Central Booking facility on 6th Street," Arthur Chen’s voice boomed from the back of the room.
Arthur walked in, flanked by two forensic accountants from the state attorney general’s office.
"Evan Hayes was arraigned thirty minutes ago," Arthur stated, his voice ringing through the boardroom. "Bail was denied due to flight risk. He is currently facing eleven counts of felony wire fraud, grand larceny, and conspiracy. And Detective Martinez is very interested in asking Mr. Drummond why his offshore trust in Belize received seventy-five thousand dollars forty-eight hours before the riverfront concrete contracts were awarded."
Drummond stood up so fast his leather chair toppled backward, crashing against the floorboards. "This is an outrage! I demand my attorney!"
"Your attorney is already waiting downstairs in the lobby, Paul," I said calmly, taking a slow sip of my black coffee. "Along with two state marshals. You have five minutes to gather your personal effects from your office before building security escorts you to the curb."
Drummond looked at Keller, but Keller was staring down at his hands, completely unwilling to make eye contact. Seeing that he had been completely isolated, Drummond grabbed his briefcase and bolted from the room without another word.
I set my coffee cup down. The ceramic clink echoed through the dead silence of the boardroom.
"Now then," I said, looking around the table at the remaining seven directors. "There is a motion before the board to remove Evan Hayes permanently from the office of Chief Executive Officer, to cancel all vested stock options, and to appoint Julia Sterling as interim CEO effective immediately. Do I have a second?"
Marcus Vance raised his hand instantly. "Second."
"All in favor?"
Every single hand at the table went up into the air.
May you like
"The motion carries unanimously," I said. "Julia, take your father’s seat."
***
