AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I need to get what I have off my chest as quickly as possible.
"We all know the reasons why we're either for or against taking a majority-minority stake in their company," I say. "We think they could grow, but they've got a horrible safety record."
"That's not news," a Board Member that I can't identify says from somewhere in the room.
They're already losing patience with me.
They think I'm a petulant little girl.
They're not going to take me seriously.
But no one else is standing up to her.
I need to continue.
"After their last accident off the coast of Bali, I noticed something about their routes," I begin, reaching to the sofa-bench and pulling up my file that I had brought with me. "The number of passengers and routes began to decrease."
"So?" a Board Member—again unidentifiable—asks me.
"So, they began posting higher and higher profits," I say to the room. "Even as independent industry ratings agencies began to note fewer and fewer passengers."
The room is silent at this point.
"In fact, for an entire month at the beginning of this year, they had almost two weeks of planes that were running empty. Yet that was their most profitable month ever," I tell the room. "Don't you see? Something very strange is going on here. Something that probably violates the Anti-Money Laundering Act as well as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as a host of other US laws that could shut us down!"
"Stop being so dramatic, little girl," Mother says dismissively from her seat.
I turn to her.
"You don't care anything for this company," I seethe at her.
"Lorna, it may be something we wish to investigate," another Board Member who I remember being sympathetic to Mason says.
"We will do no such thing based on the lunatic ravings of a little girl," Mother says out loud before looking at me. "Especially the rantings of a girl who has seduced my husband and your CEO and is now acting out like a spoiled and wick
ed little brat."
There are gasps from around the room. Of course people have read the papers, but having to confront what they read with someone standing right in front of them is jarring.
I stiffen my back and look at my Mother.
"You're overthinking what is merely a diversion for Mason, dear," Mother says to me. "You're nothing more than a plaything for him until he gets bored. Only this time, he's gone too far and allowed the company to suffer."
"Mr. Purpus," I beseech the large man as he turns away from me. "You have to do something to delay the vote until Mason can be here to explain himself and tell you about his concerns about this company in person."
Roy looks at me for a long moment. I can see pain and sadness in his eyes.
"I wish I could," he says, shaking his head at me. Then he turns to Mom. "I think we can get started."
I can't believe it!
They're going to remove Mason from his own company.
And there's nothing I can do to stop it.
Tears begin to fall from my eyes as I see the world start to go dark. I wonder if I'm going to faint.
"I would like to say a few words before you guys get started," Mason says.
