Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Guillotine
The emergency board meeting of Patterson Technologies was called for 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
Zachary walked into the executive boardroom on the fiftieth floor sweating through his custom suit. Twelve of the most powerful venture capitalists in New York sat around the immense glass table, their faces grim and unreadable.
"Let's get this over with," Zachary said, attempting to project his usual arrogant confidence. "I know there are some rumors circulating about an SEC inquiry regarding Apex Consulting. It's a misunderstanding. A minor accounting error."
"It's not an error, Zachary. It's a felony."
The heavy oak doors at the back of the boardroom swung open. Rachel walked in.
Zachary froze. "Rachel? What are you doing here? You don't have board clearance."
"I am a twenty-percent shareholder, the original architect of your core algorithm, and as of this morning, the proxy holder for Sterling Capital," Rachel said, walking straight to the head of the table. "I have every right to be here."
The board members murmured in agreement. Rachel connected her tablet to the room's main projector. A massive spreadsheet illuminated the wall.
"Gentlemen," Rachel addressed the board, ignoring her husband entirely. "Over the past eight months, our CEO has siphoned four point eight million dollars of corporate capital into a shell company called Apex Consulting. The listed owner of Apex is a woman named Alice Carter."
Zachary lunged forward. "This is a lie! She's a disgruntled, jealous wife trying to tank the IPO!"
Rachel tapped a button. The projector displayed a signed deed for a Tribeca penthouse, a receipt for a Mercedes G-Wagon, and a Cartier diamond necklace. All billed directly to Apex Consulting. All signed by Zachary Patterson.
"He didn't just cheat on his pregnant wife," Rachel said, her voice echoing with absolute authority. "He stole from this board to finance it. He has compromised the integrity of the upcoming IPO and exposed this entire firm to federal indictment."
The lead investor, an older billionaire named Richard Vance, stood up. His face was a mask of pure fury. "Is this true, Zachary?"
Zachary backed away from the table, his mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish. "Richard, I can pay it back. I can liquidate my personal stock—"
"You have no personal stock," Rachel interrupted smoothly. "Under the morals clause of your founder's agreement—the one I insisted you sign seven years ago—any executive caught engaging in financial misconduct forfeits their voting shares to the board treasury to cover the damages."
Zachary looked at her, his entire world crumbling into dust. "Rachel... you can't do this. I built this company."
"No, Zachary," Rachel said quietly, packing up her tablet. "I built the engine. You were just the salesman. And you just got fired."
May you like
Richard Vance slammed his hand on the table. "Security. Escort Mr. Patterson out of the building. His employment is terminated immediately."
Two massive security guards grabbed Zachary by the arms. He screamed and thrashed, begging Rachel for mercy, but she didn't even blink. She watched her cheating husband get dragged out of his own empire, knowing the worst was yet to come for him.
