Chapter 4

The moment the words left my mouth, I actually felt a little sheepish.

"Mom and Dad are probably still busy and haven't gotten back yet.

"Could you talk it over with them first for me, Graham...?"

Graham didn't even ask why.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley gave instructions a long time ago.

"If you feel anyone at the company isn't a good fit, simply replace them."

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Then could you line up a suitable candidate ahead of time? They can start on Monday."

Monday came in the blink of an eye, the day of the annual board meeting.

The directors had just received hefty dividends, and every one of them was beaming.

"Mr. Frost, this year's numbers are spectacular!"

"If next year's big project lands too, Kingsley Technologies' market cap could go up again!"

"You're young and accomplished, Mr. Frost. The company's going to be counting on you to lead it for years!"

The way they were acting, they'd practically already crowned Leander as the Kingsleys' future heir.

As for me, nobody paid me any attention.

I didn't mind.

I went straight to the conference table to find my seat.

But I looked all around and couldn't find it.

Hadn't the chairwoman's seat always been at the head of the table?

While I was still puzzling over it, Brynn called out to me with a smile.

"Ms. Kingsley, your seat's over there."

I followed her finger.

My nameplate had been set on a flimsy plastic chair beside the conference room door.

My expression went cold.

"You're making the chairwoman sit there?"

Brynn's smile looked perfectly natural.

"Well, there are a lot of people on the board.

"You won't understand any of it anyway, so why not free up some room so everyone can sit comfortably? What's the harm?"

When she finished, the conference room fell silent for a moment.

Leander glanced my way too, but he didn't raise a single objection to what Brynn had done.

Several directors immediately took the hint.

"Ms. Kingsley can listen from anywhere, can't she? Sitting in the middle would only get in the way!"

"Exactly. Mr. Frost knows the company better than anyone. It's more important to talk business with him!"

I listened to all of it without expression, then silently walked over to the door and sat down.

Where I sat didn't make any difference to me.

Mom and Dad had set a rule for the board long ago: I held veto power over every major decision the company made.

Even if I sat outside the door, nothing could pass without my approval.

The meeting started soon after.

It was the usual: performance reports, plans for next year, and a few directors singing Leander's praises, right up until the very end.

"Now, the final item on the agenda.

"Mr. Leander Frost's term as CEO is about to expire.

"Per the company bylaws, the board will now vote on his reappointment!"

As soon as the words were out, murmurs of agreement filled the room.

"Mr. Frost has run the company so well all these years. Of course he should stay on."

"Do we even need a vote?"

"If Mr. Frost doesn't keep the job, who else could possibly replace him?"

Everything was the same as every other year. Even the ballots had been prepared in advance.

The moderator picked up the ballots and began reading the results aloud.

"First vote: in favor."

"Second vote: in favor."

...

Every single one was in favor.

The mood in the room grew more and more relaxed.

A few directors were already chuckling and congratulating Leander.

"Congratulations, Mr. Frost."

"Here's to another year of making us all rich."

Leander smiled too.

"Thank you all for your trust. I'll keep giving it everything I've got."

Then came the final ballot.

The moderator paused, looked down, and checked it again and again. When the next words finally came, they came out strained.

"Final vote, Chairwoman Mabel Kingsley...

"Opposed...?"

I stood up from beside the door, the plastic chair scraping harshly against the floor.

Every eye in the room landed on me.

"That's right. I'm voting no.

"Under the board charter, as chairwoman, I hold veto power over any board decision.

"So..."

I looked at Leander at the center of the conference table and said, enunciating every word, "Leander, you're fired."