Chapter 6
I thought of Carter telling me to find somewhere suitable to live.
Then I remembered the woman I had been before I married him: ambitious, independent, and perfectly capable of standing in a room full of powerful men without needing their permission to speak.
“Yes,” I said.
“I think I am.”
---
The emergency board meeting was scheduled for ten the next morning.
By nine forty-five, the conference room at Hale Development was already crowded.
Carter sat at the head of the table, flanked by his chief financial officer, two outside directors, and the company's general counsel. Patricia was there too, despite having no formal position in the company.
She had always treated access as a form of ownership.
When I walked in, her expression tightened.
“Oh, good,” she said. “The guest of honor has arrived.”
I took the seat reserved for the representative of my trust.
Carter stared at the nameplate in front of me.
“Who authorized that?”
The company's general counsel, Martin Shaw, cleared his throat.
“I did. Evelyn's trust is entitled to representation under the shareholder agreement.”
Patricia gave a disbelieving laugh.
“She's his wife.”
“Former wife, according to the papers he served yesterday,” Martin replied evenly. “And regardless of their marital status, the trust's contractual rights remain in effect.”
For once, Patricia had no immediate answer.
Carter leaned back.
“This meeting is about a proposed restructuring. It has nothing to do with my personal life.”
“Then let's discuss the restructuring,” I said.
His gaze snapped toward me.
I opened my folder.
Martin presented the proposed transfer of development contracts to the new subsidiary. He explained that the transaction had been paused pending legal review because the company had received formal notice of potential breaches of the shareholder agreement.
Carter interrupted twice.
Both times, Martin asked him to wait until the explanation was complete.
The irritation on Carter's face grew.
Finally, one of the outside directors turned to me.
“Ms. Hale, what is your objection to the transaction?”
I answered calmly.
“I don't object to restructuring a business when the transaction protects the company and its shareholders. I object to moving profitable assets into a privately controlled entity while leaving substantial obligations behind, especially when the arrangement bypasses the approval rights expressly provided in the governing agreements.”
The director glanced at the documents.
“Do you have evidence that the proposed transfer would disadvantage the existing shareholders?”
“Yes.”