Public Execution

Adrian Wolfe- First Person

The business coup attempt lasted eleven minutes.

I observed the emergency board meeting from my position at the head of the table.

Executives whispered among themselves. Legal team members passed out printed motions to the board members.

Someone had prepared the motions beforehand.

That meant the attack on me had been planned well before today.

How interesting.

I placed my hands on the table and perused the document on the table.

Motion to remove Adrian Wolfe as CEO of Wolfe Capital.

One of the board members cleared his throat.

“Adrian, considering the current crisis surrounding the Harrington lawsuit and the accusations leveled against you and your analyst, the board feels new leadership might be necessary.”

I leaned back into my chair. “And by ‘the board’ you mean you.”

He bristled. “Several members are of the same opinion.”

“Name them.”

He was quiet. As expected. He was a coward.

Across the table, Evan sat near the legal team while reviewing a stack of documents. He looked focused, serious, and slightly tense, and it was understandable because half the room had spent the past hour discussing his lawsuit.

My eyes met his, but he looked away.

He wasn’t nervous. He was being careful.

The board member spoke again. “The point is the company needs stability.”

“Of course it does.”

I folded the removal motion and placed it neatly on the table. “So let’s stabilize things.”

The room became an echo center with their gulps rising. Because of the change in my tone.

The man across from me furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

I said calmly, “You should finish reading the documents my legal team sent you ten minutes ago.”

Some of the board members looked down at the files they had ignored earlier.

One of the board members flipped through the pages. His face went white. “What is this?”

“A counterclaim,” I replied.

Some of the lawyers beside me were passing out additional copies across the table. “Harrington Global filed a lawsuit against my employee for corporate sabotage,” I said, “so of course, Wolfe Capital responded.”

The board member looked confused. “How did you respond?”

“With evidence.”

Across the table, Evan sat up straight. His eyes locked on mine this time without blinking.

I held his gaze for a moment, studying his heart shaped cherry lips before continuing.

“The corrected financial model you were given earlier today wasn’t sabotage. It was accurate.”

One of the lawyers stood and plugged a laptop into the screen.

Instantly, the screen filled with financial records.

Harrington Global’s internal projections. All their real numbers, and hidden debt.

Murmurs ran through the room.

“Where did you get those?” someone asked.

“Public filings,” I said. “Combined with documents that the executives at Harrington left unsecured on a partner server.”

A board member stared at the screen in front of him.

“They falsified their growth reports.”

“As you can see.”

Another leaned forward. “Jesus! They inflated their infrastructure capacity.”

“Exactly.”

“And they tried to sell us a company that couldn’t support expansion.”

I nodded. “Correct.”

Their murmurs rose and I knew a fight was brewing.

Then I said the next sentence. “All of this evidence means their lawsuit has no legal foundation.”

Evan let out a long breath.

The tension in his shoulders eased a little.

Across the table from me, the man who started the coup shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “That still doesn’t address the public scandal.”

“It does,” I said.

I moved another document across the table to him. “Because Wolfe Capital has now filed a countersuit against Harrington Global for fraud.”

The room erupted into a cacophony of questions.

“You’re suing them?”

“For damages.”

“How much?”

I tapped the document once. “Two billion.”

The room went with a whistled uproar.

Then someone laughed nervously. “You’re serious.”

“Completely.”

Suddenly the doors to the board room swung open.

Everyone turned to see the cause. Lydia stepped into the room. Her eyes stayed sharp and in control of every move.

“Adrian,” she said. “You didn’t warn me about the countersuit.”

“I didn’t think you needed to be told.”

Her eyes flicked to the screen. The financial evidence was still up. She looked displeased. “You got internal documents.”

“They were unsecured.”

“That’s still rather aggressive.”

I shrugged. “So was the lawsuit.”

She looked at me carefully. “You’re escalating the problem.”

“I know that”

For a moment she looked at Evan, then away. “You’re doing this because of him.”

“Partially.” The answer was immediate. “I’m not going to wait and watch your company destroy one of my employees.”

Lydia’s voice took on an icy tone. “He destroyed our merger.”

“He exposed your fraud.”

Lydia crossed her arms over her chest. “This is going to get ugly.”

“It already is.”

But then another voice interrupted our standoff.

“Actually,” my lawyer said, “it’s about to get worse.”

Several people in the room turned to look at him.

My lawyer held up a phone. “The Securities Commission has reviewed the evidence.”

Lydia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And?”

“They’ve issued an arrest warrant.”

The door to the boardroom opened again. But this time security officers entered the room.

Behind them walked two federal investigators.

One of the men stepped forward. “Mr. Daniel Mercer?”

A man halfway down the table stood up.

The same board member who had tried to throw me out of the room. His face was pale. “How may I help you?”

“You’re under arrest for insider trading and corporate conspiracy.”

Instantly the room exploded into chaos.

“What?”

“That’s impossible—”

Mercer stood up quickly.

“This is ridiculous!”

My lawyer held up a document. “You leaked internal Wolfe Capital documents to Harrington Global.”

Mercer turned to Lydia. “You told me it was safe!”

Every head turned to Lydia. Most in shock, gasping.

He broke faster than I expected.

Mercer’s eyes were fixed on her accusingly. “You ordered it!”

But Lydia did not react to the accusation.

“You told me Adrian had to go and that the merger would happen as soon as he was forced out because of the scandal!”

Lydia’s expression did not change at all, and she spoke calmly “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Mercer’s eyes were fixed on her as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “You promised me protection!”

One of the officers grabbed his shoulder. “You can explain that at the station.”

Mercer struggled briefly. “Lydia!”

She ignored Mercer.

The officers dragged him toward the door while he kept shouting. “You told me to do it!”

The doors closed behind them, and peace returned to the room.

Several board members looked shocked. Others looked relieved.

I leaned back in my chair.

“Now,” I said calmly, “about that vote to remove me.”

No one spoke.

The motion had died without another word.

Lydia studied me carefully. “You planned this.”

“I guess I did.”

“You let the attack happen.”

I shook my head slowly with delight. It was refreshing watching her eyes register the shock.

“So you could expose the leak.”

I was bored of her question.

Her lips pressed together slightly. “You always were ruthless.”

I shrugged. “You knew that before the engagement.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Speaking of which.”

The room’s atmosphere shifted again.

Because everyone understood what was coming next.

I stood. “Given the fraudulent actions taken by Harrington Global, Wolfe Capital will no longer pursue any merger or strategic partnership with your company.”

My eyes went to Lydia's. “That includes the engagement. It's off.”

Several people inhaled sharply.

I had announced my termination with the company in front of everyone in the room.

Lydia swallowed, her hands shaking. She tilted her head slightly. “No. You can't. This will cause serious damage to Harrington Global’s reputation.”

I nodded once. “That’s the idea.”

Lydia glared angrily. “You won’t win against me.”

“Actually,” my lawyer interrupted, “we will.”

Lydia turned. “What?”

The lawyer placed another document on the table. “Harrington Global used debt financing to prepare for the merger.”

Her expression changed slightly. “Wait a minute.”

The lawyer continued and her face dropped. “If the merger collapses and the fraud case proceeds, your lenders can demand immediate repayment.”

The realization spread across the room.

One of the board members spoke softly. “That could bankrupt them.”

I looked at Lydia. She looked unsettled for the first time today. “You’re trying to bury us in debt. Fine. Well played.”

She walked towards the door.

Before she left, she stopped next to the chair where Evan sat. Her voice dropped slightly. “You caused quite a mess today.”

Evan looked up at her saying nothing.

And she was out, closing the door behind her.

The room slowly relaxed again.

People spoke softly to each other. Their phones buzzed again.

But the crisis had passed. The attack had failed. The lawsuit was disintegrating.

And the financial blow just landed would destroy the corporation.

I looked at Evan. He sat at the table, still staring at the documents before him. “You can breathe now.”

He looked up at me slowly. “That was…intense.”

He stood up. And for a moment, the noise level dropped slightly.

Because he was standing very close again.

Too close.

His voice lowered. “You didn’t have to go that far.”

I had to and I would do it again if I had to.

I watched him withdraw back.

Evan cleared his throat. “So… what happens now?”

I picked up my jacket. “Now we prepare for the next move.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Next move?”

I walked toward the door. Then paused beside him. “Because Harrington Global isn’t finished.”

He frowned slightly. “You think they’ll retaliate again?”

“They already have.”

A quick buzz from everyone's phone got everyone looking down.

“Sir, we have a problem,” One of the workers spoke.

I rushed over to his desk and checked his computer. On the screen was the news.

UNKNOWN INVESTORS BEGIN MASSIVE BUYOUT OF WOLFE CAPITAL SHARES

The numbers updated in real time, aggressively.

Someone was trying to seize control of my company.

And they were spending billions to do it.

Evan muttered. “Please tell me this isn’t another war.”

I slipped my phone from my pocket. And smiled slightly. “Oh, it definitely is.”