32. Will
32
WILL
I had been working my hardest to deliver to the board exactly what they wanted. Since the Valentine's gala where Beth's pregnancy was discovered, she'd been off work, taking an unpaid leave. After a few weeks of struggling, she finally allowed me to help her financially but we weren't any closer to her moving in with me. Though I understood her concern for her sister.
Now I stood at the head of our conference table with the board seated in front of me and cameras pointed in my face. Our live stream of our shareholders' meeting allowed every shareholder to join without a chance that any of them would hijack the feed and speak out of turn the way Mr. Banks had done at the gala. The virtual session was Allen's idea, and I had to give him full credit. I felt much better about this emergency meeting called at last minute's notice knowing I was in full control.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I started, and the board members stopped their chatting and put their cups of coffee and pens down. Every eye in this place was on me, and on the laptop screen in front of me I saw the notifications popping up that shareholders were joining the meeting even as I stood there speaking.
"Thank you for joining me today." I pressed my fingertips together and held my arms at my sides, thankful for the last six weeks and the progress I'd made in putting the board's concerns to bed. Allen and I got the answers we needed and we were already moving to deal with things swiftly. "I wish it were under better circumstances that we were gathering like this, but as you all know there has been a bit of controversy."
Carl's face was more relaxed than it had been in weeks. We had a board meeting just prior to this where I shared my findings with them and now all that was left was to reveal it to my shareholders, amongst which was Nevil Banks, who if I had my say would be banned from this meeting and all future meetings. The snake was about to have its head cut off.
"Let me start by telling you all how deeply sorry I am for the silence these past few months and for the unnecessary fears you all had and uncertainty where your shares were concerned." I watched comments pop up on the live feed but I knew our accounts were the only ones who could see them. Others in the meeting could post, but not see what was posted. It gave me more confidence to continue.
"As you know I have been under scrutiny by my board and rightly so. They were doing their due diligence to ensure our common interests were being safeguarded and protected, and I applaud their diligence and faithfulness to their duty." I paused for a moment before diving into the hard stuff. This was where the rubber met the road.
Nevil's attempts to buy up shares stopped when he reached 11 percent because my shareholders believed in me. Now it was time to show them why they did, and to put their minds at ease, if Nevil's own firm taking a nosedive in share prices wasn't proof enough. He'd lose it all if he wasn't careful, and it was karma just visiting on the backswing. I took a deep breath, blew it out, and thought of Beth as I continued.
"My relationship with Ms. Elizabeth Reid in no way affected or continues to affect my ability to run this firm. What I started years ago is growing and thriving, and thanks to Ms. Reid's efforts and her true passion for what she does, we are stronger than ever." I paused as a few board members clapped for me, then continued. "Ms. Reid became an integral part of our process and has sacrificed much in order to prove to you all that she believes in our mission and takes pride in honoring your interests.
"As for rumors that she shared proprietary information and sold it to a competing firm, they have all been proven false. Elizabeth upheld her contract to maintain confidentiality with the utmost care for our clients' data and has been cleared of any wrongdoing. That said, there was an employee within our staff who crossed lines that we cannot ignore, and action is being taken to diligently and swiftly deal with those breaches."
Again, the board clapped and Carl nodded at me, showing me there really were no hard feelings between us. He supported me now as he always supported me, and all he had done was his job. As chairman, his singular purpose had always been to protect shareholder interests and support the growth of the firm. I was honored that he'd taken that job so seriously.
"Share prices have steadied after a slight decline, but we are projecting growth even into the third and fourth quarters. You can place full confidence that your investments are secure and you will continue to see things trending in a positive direction…" I sighed and looked at my CFO, nodding. "And now Jewel Morrison will come give you an update with more specific numbers."
I stepped away from the cameras and Jewel stood in my place. When I walked to the back of the room to stand next to Allen, who had a confident look on his face. He and I had finally sniffed out the person who'd done so much damage she almost buried Beth's career permanently.
"Is she gone?" Allen asked and I felt my face screw up into a scowl.
"Not sure. I told her to clear out before we even talked to the board, because I knew they would support my decision." Just thinking of what Sarah had done made me furious. It made me want to bury her career now too, though I wasn't that sort of man. She had seemed remorseful, but how immature and childish did a woman have to be to stoop so low.
The emails, the gossip and rumors—it'd all been started by Sarah to make Beth look bad. She was steamed that her office was taken and she just wanted to make Beth uncomfortable. That part I understood. But she confessed that Nevil had approached her too, requesting anything that might make me look bad so he could twist shareholders' minds. As my secretary, she had access to a lot of dirt, but to her credit, Sarah had mostly held off.
When things heated up between Beth and I and Beth took that other office, Sarah went for the jugular. The tears in her eyes as she told me how she mentioned the Butcher account to Nevil Banks didn't do anything to lessen the severity of the breach, and all at a moment of weakness. All because of a stupid office. How petty.
"Well I hope she learned her lesson. She's walking out of here with a black stain on her reputation. She won't get a job anywhere…" Allen's smug expression didn't undo the fracture in our relationship over all the things that occurred and the way I treated him, but I knew given enough time our friendship would heal.
I opened my mouth to speak, but my phone chimed and every eye in the place turned to lock on me as Jewel went over numbers for our shareholders. Even she flicked a glance at me as I mumbled an apology and pulled the phone out. It was a text from Abby, one I probably shouldn't have read during this important meeting, but my part was mostly done.
"Put that way," Allen hissed, but I swiped to read it.
Abby 1:11 PM: Dad, 911 Beth's in the hospital. Her water broke. Going with her. Get here fast.
My gut twisted and my heart leapt up into my throat, and I noticed Allen's eyes staring down at my screen. I started toward the door and he grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?" he hissed, and it drew the attention of everyone in the room. He again was looking out for the company but there was nothing more important to me than the woman I loved.
"I have to go…" I grumbled but his grip on my bicep remained firm. "Let go of me."
"Think about what you're doing." His eyes narrowed and he nodded at the board.
I didn't care. This was bad. Beth wasn't even twenty-eight weeks yet. Her water breaking so early meant scary things.
"Uh, excuse me, everyone. My partner is being rushed to the hospital. I have to leave right now. Allen will finish the meeting for me." I turned to look at him and said, "Good day."
Then I pulled my arm from his grasp and moved toward the door and Carl stood and turned toward me. He said, "Let us know how it goes, William. We'll hold down the fort."
I walked out of that conference room feeling confident that I was doing the right thing, and I had my driver rush me to the hospital. While he drove I texted Abby who didn't respond, and tried calling the hospital but they only knew that Beth was on her way in by ambulance. No one could give me details. I was frantic, having pushed everything out of my mind except for Beth and the baby. She was probably terrified; so was Abby.
By the time I got there the ambulance had already arrived and Abby sent me a text. I rushed into the ER and she met me by the doors and took my hand.
"Dad, she's in labor…It's so early." Abby looked like she'd been crying as she dragged me past exam station after exam station.
"What happened?" I asked, feeling panicked. The girls had been together apparently, and I wondered if Beth fell or had some sort of accident.
"I don't know, Dad. She just said her belly had been hurting and then she gasped. When she stood up it looked like she peed herself and she said to call 911…" Abby recounted the tale with a horrified tone and I wanted to pull her into my arms and settle her, but I felt just as traumatized.
I threw back the curtain when we stopped at an exam station and Beth lay there doubled over with her arms wrapped around her growing belly. In the past month she had really popped out, so there was a lot more belly to love. I hurried over to her and bent to take her into my arms.
"Oh God, Will…" She was crying, obviously scared.
"What happened, baby? Are you okay?" I sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her into my chest. Abby hovered nearby.
"I just felt sick all morning, and then my belly was hurting. They said I have to have steroids and—" Shock was scrawled on her features and her hands trembled. "The nurse hasn't come back. I need a doctor…please."
The fear in her tone engaged my primal nature to defend and protect. "Nurse!" I shouted, not even fully knowing if there was anything they could do. I just knew Beth was scared and all I could think about was losing this baby. What if something horrible happened? What if she lost the baby? What would I do then?
Would Beth and I survive?