Chapter 65
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining this meeting,” I say, bracing myself for the next hour. It’s a mix of in-person and virtual attendees for Real-ity’s board meeting. “It’s been a challenging quarter and year, but I remain optimistic about our future. If you turn?—”
“Gideon, we can read this packet on our own time,” Adam Harris interrupts, sitting in the seat closest to me in our conference room.
“I’m going to cut to the chase. You’ve communicated the setbacks well since the start of the year, and we all know the year-to-date results have been disappointing.
Some of us are starting to lose confidence in your leadership.
You’ve been distracted recently, and there are growing concerns among the team. ”
Well, fuck him. I wasn’t expecting this meeting to be this combative, especially so soon into it.
“I understand that three hundred million dollars is the most significant investment Harris Ventures has ever made,” I start. “It’s disappointing to miss metrics so soon after the investment. I’ve been working tirelessly.”
“Have you?”
I take a sip of my water. Today is shit. I should never have gone out with Dani the night before this meeting. I should have gotten a good night’s sleep and been at the office first thing.
Adam’s always an ass, but this feels different. Is this about Dani or something else? He doesn’t know that we’re together. At least I haven’t said anything. Would she have said something? I have to stay professional in front of the board.
“It seems like you might have some bullet points you want to discuss,” I say, trying to stay collected and unemotional.
“You went to Traverse City and spent ninety thousand doing so,” Adam replies. “Explain how you weren’t misusing company funds to impress your girlfriend.”
Fuck. He does know about Dani. Would Declan have told him? I know they are close. Why would he say anything though?
“That trip was for business purposes. Our team is looking into several sites for development there,” I say, my eyes boring into his.
Then, I look at the other board members.
“With the changing demographics and job influx due to tourism and agricultural growth related to global warming, it’s a promising market.
It didn’t cost the company anything extra for my girlfriend to join the flight or hotel room.
She’d never flown private before, and I got a lot of brownie points for that. ”
The other board members knowingly chuckle, and I’m too happy to tell him that I’m treating her better.
“I’ll forward you the email thread I had with the team after the trip, including PINs and tax IDs I wanted the analysts to look into.
Last year, we made our first acquisition in the market and have made several offers since the trip.
Traverse City is going to be the next Nashville, and we’re early adopters. ”
“You should have hired her in March, like I suggested.”
“Ah, I never thanked you for introducing me to her,” I say, taking the moment to relish in the fact that she’s mine and not his.
“She also owns a PR firm that Adam always recommends,” I say to the board.
“I spoke with Business Insider earlier this week and am in talks to be the marquee 40 Under 40 with The Real Deal this year.”
He glares at me, and I can tell I’ve gotten under his skin. Dani and I, while currently in a rough patch, are going to make it through. I am also going to make it through this board meeting. Maybe not as dignified as I should, but I can’t help myself.
“But with how things are going,” I say, getting the conversation back on track.
“She has been doing all of this for free to help Real-ity out. The goal of those efforts is to hit two key demographics—average and high-net-worth investors. These upcoming placements will give us a nice bump in traffic, if not conversion. And we will be switching PR firms too. The one we are currently working with isn’t doing anything like she is. ”
“How are the site selection algorithms coming?” a board member asks over Zoom, and I could not be more grateful to talk about one of our biggest areas of weakness right now.
“Our beta users are very excited about our initial offering. The AI and computing costs are currently over budget, but our team has a few ideas to bring development costs down.”
“Automated site selection should be the focus. I know you are used to buying, flipping, and selling, and excited about developing, but the technology you’re working on,” the board member says, “it’s going to take this company to a multi-billion-dollar valuation.”
“Technology is a focus,” I share. “I can set you up with my head of machine learning if you want to dive deeper into the status and progress.”
“Please do. I’m not hearing enough about that. That’s where you should be focusing your marketing efforts too.”
“I’ll bring your feedback to our marketing team.”
As I hang up the Zoom call, board members shake my hand before leaving the conference room. Adam, however, hangs back. When it’s just the two of us, he steps close to me. “If you and Dani are still together by the next board meeting, you will be voted out by no confidence as CEO.”
“Fuck off,” I assert. “I am still the majority owner.”
“Read the bylaws … and your contract,” he quips before leaving.
Opening my phone, I text my contract attorney, telling him to review everything.
Back at my desk, I search for the email from Dani with her latest proposal and forward it to accounting to pay. I type a simple email to our current PR firm, firing them, and introduce our head of machine learning to the board member.
I consider rereading the bylaws and employment contract, but I don’t have the brainpower to do it right now. Then, a thought I’ve never had before creeps in. What if I wasn’t CEO?