At 8:12 the next morning, Daniel\u2019s executive assistant, Melissa Grant, entered his office carrying a sealed legal notice.<\/p>\n
Daniel barely looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa did not move.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, you need to read this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
Divorce petition.<\/p>\n
Temporary financial protections.<\/p>\n
Formal notice to the board.<\/p>\n
Then he reached the ownership section.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
Melissa spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe board confirmed Claire still owns forty-eight percent of Mercer Technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original shareholder agreement was never amended.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour voting rights have been temporarily suspended pending an internal fraud investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat fraud investigation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa placed a second folder on his desk.<\/p>\n
Unauthorized transfers.<\/p>\n
Corporate expenses.<\/p>\n
Vendor payments.<\/p>\n
Personal purchases charged through company accounts.<\/p>\n
Ashley\u2019s handbag.<\/p>\n
Hotel bills.<\/p>\n
Travel.<\/p>\n
Consulting fees paid to shell companies.<\/p>\n
Daniel collapsed into his chair.<\/p>\n
Then Melissa delivered the final blow.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire requested an emergency board meeting for noon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can\u2019t call a board meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith forty-eight percent ownership and support from two independent directors, she can.\u201d<\/p>\n
For years, Daniel thought power came from the title printed beneath his name.<\/p>\n
CEO.<\/p>\n
Founder.<\/p>\n
Public face of Mercer Technologies.<\/p>\n
At noon, he learned the difference between being the man everyone sees and the person who actually owns the company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At 8:12 the next morning, Daniel\u2019s executive assistant, Melissa Grant, entered his office carrying a sealed legal notice. Daniel barely looked up. \u201cLeave it.\u201d Melissa did not move. \u201cSir, you need to read this.\u201d He opened the envelope. Divorce petition. Temporary financial protections. Formal notice to the board. Then he reached the ownership section. His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-561","sr_chapter","type-sr_chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter\/561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/sr_chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter\/561\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}