Chapter 9
Part 3
Winning did not feel the way I expected.
There was no music.
No champagne.
No moment when everyone admitted I had been right.
The company was bleeding money.
Investors were nervous.
Our proposed buyer withdrew.
Half the staff thought I had saved Vale Biomedical.
The other half thought I had turned a broken engagement into a corporate war.
Both groups stopped talking whenever I entered an elevator.
At my first company meeting after reinstatement, eighty employees sat waiting for me.
The communications department had written a speech.
I folded it in half and left it on the podium.
“You have all seen considerably more of my private life than anyone should be forced to see before lunch.”
A few people laughed.
“The investigation found that Nathan concealed conflicts. It also found that I broke policy when I directed an employee to copy a confidential document. I accepted that reprimand.”
June sat in the second row.
I looked at her.
“She should not carry the blame for following my instruction.”
Then I looked at everyone else.
“We lost money. We lost time. We lost credibility. I cannot promise there will be no layoffs if we fail to secure new financing.”
No applause.
Good.
I wasn’t asking for applause.
“What I can promise is that nobody in this company will be asked to ignore a conflict because exposing it would embarrass somebody powerful.”
That was the beginning.
Not a victory.
A beginning.
Marcus remained as adviser to the independent board.
Which meant we argued constantly.
He wanted conservative projections.
I wanted speed.
He questioned one of my financial assumptions for forty-five minutes during a committee meeting.
Afterward, I followed him into the hallway.
“You could have called me first.”
“I sent you a memo.”
“You challenged me publicly.”
“It was a public decision.”
“You enjoy making people uncomfortable.”
“No. I enjoy making boards hear bad news before voting.”
“You think I hide bad news?”
“I think nine years with Nathan trained everyone around here to raise objections privately and announce agreement publicly.”
I stopped.
“That’s unfair.”
“It’s uncomfortable. Not the same thing.”
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
I hit the elevator button.
“Find another ride home.”
Marcus frowned.
“I didn’t know we had plans.”
“We didn’t.”
“Then I believe I have already succeeded.”
The elevator doors opened.
I hated him again.
For almost a month.
Then the trust hearing began.