Chapter 4 - The Chairman's Entrance
"Mercer, get away from that chair right now!" Blair hissed, stepping forward with her eyes wide with rage.
"That seat is reserved exclusively for the chairman of the board!"
Victoria raised her hand, her expression tense.
"Caleb, you need to understand protocol. You've uncovered discrepancies that legal will handle, but your conduct—"
Before Victoria could finish her sentence, the side door opened with a dull click.
In walked Arthur Harwood, the seventy-eight-year-old board chairman, majority shareholder, and founder of Harwood Sterile Systems.
He walked with a carved wooden cane, but his shoulders were straight and his silver eyes missed nothing in the room.
The entire boardroom stood up instantly out of ingrained corporate deference.
Victoria rose, smoothing her blazer, while Blair immediately adopted a posture of deferential humility.
"Arthur," Victoria said, stepping toward him. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. We have an operational crisis to resolve."
Arthur Harwood ignored his granddaughter’s outstretched hand.
He didn't look at Blair Whitman, and he didn't look at the expensive slide deck glowing on the wall.
Instead, he walked straight past the entire row of senior vice presidents toward the head of the table.
He stopped directly in front of Caleb Mercer.
Arthur set his wooden cane against the edge of the granite and held out both of his weathered hands.
May you like
"Caleb," Arthur said, his deep voice filling the vast room with undeniable warmth.
"I see you found the grease traps faster than I expected."
