"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, of course I understand. Kingsley. Please take your seat. Our Chairman has given me the floor."
I'm about to give his fucking face the floor.
But I sit.
I live by the rules of the boardroom. Respect them. Even love them in some ways. They are the guidelines of my world. And I will live within them.
And when I need to, I will use them to my advantage.
"Sometime in the next few days, I don't know when, but Commerce Insider will be publishing a article on Baxter Enterprises and Miss Luna Pham. And how she has been a spy for The Hamilton Group to get close to The Baxter Enterprises through Kingsley."
White hot anger streaks through my entire body as I spring up again, this time roaring, "What?!"
Leonard points his gavel at me. "Mr. Baxter. Sit down!"
Gerry smirks and waits for me to lower myself back down onto my seat to continue. "For those of you who don't know, Miss Luna Pham, is Ernest Hamilton’s, of The Hamilton Group, biological daughter. She is 25 years old, born and grew up in Sutcliffe with her mother who passed away ten years ago. She has been under Ernest Hamilton's care until he passed away tragically almost two months ago. What you may not know is that he left half of his estate to Miss Pham, and the other to his foster son, Alex Hamilton. Miss Pham is the recipient of aninheritance that included 26% of The Hamilton Groups shares, worth today at over £160 million, a stock portfolio valued at over £10 million and a cash account worth a million pounds. What you also might not know is that the trustee of her trust is our own dear Kingsley."
Some of the board turn towards me, questions already flashing across their faces.
"The supposed terms of the trust is that Kingsley manage the trust for three months, or until he deems her ready to manage her own trust, at which time he will sign over her trust completely to her. For the last months, though, beneficiary and trustee have been involved in an intimate relationship."
“Mr. Chairman, I still don’t see the relevance of this!”
Leonard sighs. “Gerald, please get to the point and fast.”
“Of course. Reports have also shown that Miss Luna Pham is not only involved in a relationship with Kingsley, but also Alex Hamilton. And has been for some time. There is evidence of them having been involved since she turned twenty and Mr. Hamilton was 25. If you will open your folders, you will see that she still regularly stays at his house, is physically intimate with him, and even attends events on his arm. And at a recent gala, she was going by the name Luna Hamilton.”
"That was a misunderstanding!" I shout.
"Kingsley. Not another outburst or you will be removed from the boardroom."
"I would like to the raise the question of Miss Pham's motives when it comes to Mr. Baxter. Why did she need him as her trustee? Why did she need to supposedly spend so much time with Kingsley? Three months, in fact. That seems like a very specific time frame. Considering that at a date three month’s from her father's passing Miss Pham will start work under an official capacity at The Hamilton Group under a position createdjust for her. VP of Networking. This has been confirmed by my source at The Hamilton Group."
What the fuck?
"But aside from all that, the most egregious offense is that Miss Pham, through her relationship with Kingsley has affected the business of Baxter Enterprises. As of last night. Farmington, Inc. and The Hamilton Group submitted a joint bid for the government’s The Lakes contract, with a submission that is reportedly identical to Baxter’s bid. Except 3% lower. As you know, Farmington, Inc. also submitted a ludicrous bid a few weeks ago, and then almost immediately retracted it. However, at the aforementioned gala, Miss Pham was seen conversing both with Drake Farmington of Farmington, Inc. as well as Alex Hamilton at the same time. Now, a week later, they have submitted a joint bid that undercuts our bid. Mr. Chairman, and fellow board members, I suspect that with her unfettered access to Kingsley, I have no doubt that she shared privileged information with our competitors. Information that will lead us to lose one of the most important contract of the decade.
Lastly, to show her commitment to her long term goals, Miss Pham was attacked a week ago outside the gala. At first it seemed like a brutal, senseless and tragic attack. One that I was devastated to hear about. But now that the attacker has been found, it has come out that it was in fact a known person to Miss Pham, one who refers to himself as her step-brother. Coincidence?
Due to her injuries, Kingsley has been almost unreachable, completely focused on her recovery. Which seems like incredibly convenient timing in light of the Farmington and Hamilton bid.
Miss Pham cannot be trusted. And Kingsley cannot be trusted as long as he continues a relationship with her. That is the feeling of not just me, but of multiple members of the board. I would like to put it to a vote that until Kingsley resolveshis relationship with Miss Pham and has this breach of privacy investigated, that he be removed immediately from his position as regional director. And have his status as a board member suspended.”
Gerald sits down.
And silence ensues.
For just a moment, until I stand up.
"Mr. Chairman and esteemed board members, I move that every word that Gerald Baxter be stricken from the record. And that his status as a member of our board of directors be immediately and permanently revoked. His allegations are unfounded and dangerous and aimed at sabotaging me in a power-hungry grab at regaining his role as interim CEO."
No one says anything.
I don’t blame them. I can barely speak from my own shock.
Leonard finally clears his throat and slides to the edge of his seat. "Kingsley. The allegations are indeed serious. But as a board, we will need to investigate some of the points Gerald has presented to us. Is there anything you would like to say to rebut Gerald’s accusations?"
"Gerald has drawn conclusions based on hearsay, circumstantial evidence, illegally obtained information, as well as unfounded rumors. Making decisions based on this data is unfair and unprofessional. For example, she does not have a romantic relationship with Alex Hamilton. They are friends. And have been. Whatever youthful dalliance they had has long been over."
