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I blew out a shaky breath and paced around my office, waiting for the call from my board. They were upstairs, voting on whether to proceed with seeking the final FDA approval and beginning the launch.
I’d met with them earlier. We’d discussed the facts surrounding Clive Warren’s arrest. We discussed the fact that I’d reverse-hacked Warren Technologies. I explained why I did that, as well as why I withheld the information from them: because I was trying to shield them from criminal liability. We talked about why Gabe had turned himself in to the authorities. I’d finally told them about Jiàn Innovations. And that the FBI was about to become more involved.
It was, by far, the most swearing we’d ever had in a board meeting.
“Jesus, Lauren,” Angela Blakely, one of my long-term board members, had said. “Li Na Zhao is behind this hack? And Clive turned himself in because he’s afraid of them? What the hell?”
I swallowed hard. I’d never heard Angela curse before. “I know. It’s unbelievable, but it’s also true.”
“And Gabriel Betts—” she started.
“He had himself arrested to protect me. Because we’re personally involved now. I should have disclosed that to the board when it started, but I didn’t. I’m sorry. But I’m telling you now. I’m telling you everything now.” I inwardly prayed that they wouldn’t decide to fire me. If that happened, my patch might never launch. “If you think that our personal relationship means that Paragon should no longer partner with Dynamica for international distribution, I understand.”
Angela snorted. “If this thing doesn’t launch, we’re not going to have to worry about distribution. International or otherwise.”
“That’s true—so let’s try to stay on topic,” said Allen Trade, another one of my long-term board members. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling us that Paragon not only reverse-hacked Warren Technologies, but that you wore a wire and illegally taped the conversation when you met with Clive?”
“That’s correct.” I tried to keep my voice steady. I knew I’d done bad things, but having them recited back to me by my peers was making them seem much worse.
Allen sat back and regarded me. “Well, you said you wanted to gut Clive Warren. I guess we should have asked you to be more specific.”
I blew out a deep breath. “I didn’t disclose these things to you because I didn’t want the ultimate blame to fall on the board.”
“But we could still be held responsible, collectively, for your actions,” Angela said. “I’m sure you’re aware of that.”
I shook my head. “Not in this case. The board can’t be held criminally liable for what I’ve done. I didn’t disclose my plans to you, and there was no actual or implied consent on your part.” I took a deep breath. “So what would you like to do? How would you like to proceed?”
“We’re going to discuss it,” Allen said.
That was how I’d left them. They’d sent me to my office like a convicted criminal about to be sentenced, while they decided the fate of my company.
My phone buzzed, and I lunged for it.
Is Gabe out of jail? Why haven’t u called me? I could hear the anxiety plain and clear through Hannah’s text.
He’s going home today. Cleared of all charges. I’m at the office, meeting with board. Call you later.
After hitting Send, I had another thought. It was almost Saturday evening, and my sister usually had plans. Do you still have your guard with you? Are you going out tonight?
Wes is here, she typed back instantly. Staying home and watching a movie.
I furrowed my brow as I stared at her text. What did she mean? That she and her guard, this Wes, were watching a movie together? Or that he was watching her watch a movie? I was about to call her so I could interrogate her when my phone buzzed again.
It was a text from Allen Trade. We’re ready for you.
I grabbed my laptop and walked upstairs with a heavy heart. I went into the boardroom and sat down with the eleven people I’d selected to help oversee my company. I’d chosen them to protect and care for Paragon and the amazing technology that we’d been able to build here.
Now, my life was in their hands. And they might choose to protect Paragon and its technology by asking me to step down.
“Lauren, please sit,” Allen said. I peered around the table at their faces, my stomach in absolute knots. “We have a few questions for you. First of all, do you know for sure that Jiàn Innovations was involved in hacking Paragon?”
I shook
my head. “Not conclusively. But Clive admitted that he was working with someone, and I believe he sold Jiàn the specs he stole from us.”
I watched as some of the board members shook their heads in apparent disgust. Clive Warren had been a trusted board member at Paragon for over a year. It was hard to believe he was this much of a traitor.
“To me, the evidence you’ve uncovered, along with Clive’s statements, clearly indicate that Jiàn intends to reverse-engineer a patch,” Angela said.
