Chapter 9 - The Meeting in the Hallway
The board meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM with a unanimous vote confirming Caleb Mercer as Chief Operating Officer.
As the executives filed out of the room in hurried, respectful silence, Victoria Harwood remained behind near the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Caleb packed his yellow pad back into his scuffed briefcase, clicked the brass latches shut, and turned toward the exit.
Victoria stepped into his path, her posture subdued and her eyes red-rimmed with unshed tears.
"Mr. Mercer... Caleb," she began softly, holding her hands tightly in front of her.
"I owe you a sincere personal apology. What I said downstairs was unacceptable, unprofessional, and profoundly wrong."
Caleb looked at her for a long moment, seeing the genuine remorse breaking through decades of corporate insulation.
"You don't owe me an apology, Ms. Harwood," Caleb answered gently.
"You owe one to Marlene Foster."
Victoria blinked, caught completely off guard by his answer.
"Marlene?"
"She has worked twenty-two years in that basement cafeteria," Caleb said, his voice quiet but unyielding.
"She has served your family's company through three economic recessions and two plant expansions."
"And when she told management her cart was broken fourteen months ago, nobody listened because her badge didn't have an executive title."
Victoria nodded slowly, lower lip trembling as she absorbed the weight of his words.
May you like
"I'll go downstairs right now," she whispered.
"Take a clean cloth with you," Caleb said with a slight, knowing smile. "There are four tables near the window that need wiping."
