Chapter 6 - War in the Boardroom
On Monday morning at 10:00 AM, the glass-walled boardroom of Leister Development on 5th Avenue in downtown Nashville was packed.
Roman sat at the head of the polished mahogany table, flanked by his corporate legal counsel, Arthur Pendelton. Across from him sat Aurora Reese, wearing a tailored cream blazer, her eyes darting nervously around the room. Her pear-shaped diamond ring was conspicuously missing from her finger.
At 10:02 AM, the double doors opened.
I walked in, wearing a sharp charcoal-gray suit, flanked by Harrison Vance—my uncle and senior partner at Vance & Sterling—along with two forensic accountants carrying leather briefcases.
Aurora flinched when she saw me. Roman stood up, his face rigid.
"Eleanor," Roman said, trying to maintain an air of control for the board members present. "This is an internal executive meeting. Unscheduled visitors aren't permitted."
"Mrs. Leister is not a visitor," Uncle Harrison said in a booming, aristocratic voice that silenced the room instantly. "She is the sole copyright holder of the entire architectural portfolio upon which Leister Development operates, as well as the majority lender for your Series A funding."
Harrison threw a thick stack of legal documents onto the center of the table.
"As of eight o'clock this morning," Harrison continued, "we filed an emergency injunction in Federal District Court. All construction on the Charleston property is ordered to halt immediately. Furthermore, we are initiating a full audit of Aura Hospitality LLC."
The board members immediately began whispering frantically.
"Is this true, Roman?" one of the lead investors, a silver-haired man named Richard, demanded. "Is Charleston on hold?"
"It's a temporary marital dispute, Richard!" Roman blurted out, sweat glistening on his forehead. "Eleanor is acting out of emotional distress. We are handling it internally—"
"I am not in emotional distress, Roman," I said, speaking clearly so every board member could hear. "I am executing standard corporate protection protocols. You transferred my copyrighted intellectual property to Miss Reese’s shell company without board authorization or my consent."
I turned my gaze directly to Aurora.
"Miss Reese," I said smoothly. "Did you really think a shell company registered to your personal apartment address in Midtown would hide the transfer of 4.2 million dollars from Leister Development's capital reserve?"
Aurora turned beet red. "I... I was executing instructions under the direction of the CEO!"
"You were signing mortgage documents for a riverfront villa in Savannah using my trust as collateral!" I countered, throwing a second file onto the table.
The room exploded into chaos. Board members stood up, shouting over one another, demanding answers from Roman. Richard turned to Roman, his face dark with fury.
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"Roman, if this is true, the board will demand your immediate resignation by five o'clock today!" Richard yelled.
Roman stared at me across the long mahogany table. The arrogant, untouchable billionaire was gone. In his place was a man watching his empire crumble brick by brick.
