Just as Suzy Loggins lifted her hand, the boardroom door burst open.
Lisa stood there breathless, a single piece of paper clutched in her hand.
“We’re in a meeting!” Arthur snapped.
Lisa ignored him, rushing to my side. “I’m so sorry to interrupt,” she whispered urgently, “but this just came through the fax. It’s from Leonard Ashley.”
My heart stopped.
I took the paper, the room fading as I read the crisp text. Formal offer... thirty million... twenty-five percent stake... contingent on the immediate instatement of Theresa Carideo as permanent CEO.
A laugh burst out of me, half-shock, half-relief. The man who had flat-out refused earlier had now agreed.
I looked up. “Leonard Ashley has just submitted a formal offer. Thirty million dollars for a twenty-five percent stake.” I paused, letting the number land. “Contingent on my immediate appointment as permanent CEO.”
The room erupted.
“Let me see that,” Foster demanded. I handed it over.
Arthur’s face went white. “This is highly irregular. A last-minute offer with no due diligence?—”
“Ashley performed due diligence in Aspen,” I cut in smoothly. “Before Marco died. He knows the tech. He knows the regulations. And he knows the leadership.”
“It’s thirty million for twenty-five percent versus twenty for fifty-one,” Morton interrupted, doing the math aloud. “That’s a dramatically better valuation.”
Arthur looked desperately at Johnson and Haskins, but even they were silenced by the numbers. Greed was the only thing stronger than their loyalty to Arthur.
“I move that we vote on Ashley’s offer instead,” Foster said, his voice strong again. “All in favor?”
Every hand except Arthur’s, Johnson’s, and Haskins’ shot up.
“The motion carries,” Foster announced. “Congratulations, Theresa. You are officially the CEO of CarideoTech.”
The victory was so sudden, so complete, that for a moment I couldn’t move. I’d done it.
As the meeting adjourned in a buzz of excited conversation, I found myself face to face with Arthur. His mask had cracked completely, revealing the rage beneath.
“This isn’t over,” he hissed, too low for the others to hear.
I gave him a small, cold smile. “Don’t be so sure of that.”
Back in my office, I took a moment to stand behind the desk and breathe. The air felt cleaner somehow.
I sat down and pressed the intercom button. “Lisa?”
“Yes, Theresa? Or should I say, Madam CEO?”
I smiled. “Theresa is fine. Lisa, could you do me a favor? I need you to go to the supply room and find me a standard cardboard box. Empty.”
A pause. “A box?”
“Yes. Just one. Bring it in when you have it.”
“Consider it done.”
I leaned back in the leather chair, waiting. I arranged the desk with deliberate precision: a single pen, a fresh legal pad, and the thick file Patrick had given me, placed face-down on the corner so it looked like just another stack of paperwork.
Lisa knocked and entered a moment later, carrying the folded white cardboard box. She looked curious but asked no questions as she assembled it in front of me, snapping the bottom into place with a satisfying thwack.
