Chapter 5 - The Corporate Confrontation
By Tuesday morning, news of the New Year's Eve incident had leaked through the high-stakes tech corridors of downtown Denver.
I walked through the glass doors of CloudGuard Security headquarters wearing a sleek cream-colored pantsuit, my bump showing proudly beneath my jacket.
As Vice President of Marketing, I had built this company's public identity from a three-room startup into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
My administrative assistant, Sarah, handed me a warm cup of herbal tea with a fierce, supportive smile.
"The board of directors is waiting in the main conference room, Claire," Sarah reported softly.
"Ryan showed up at the front desk an hour ago after making bail, demanding to see your personnel file and stock portfolio."
"Security escorted him off the premises, but he left a message saying he would ruin your career if you didn't drop the criminal charges."
I took a slow sip of tea, feeling my baby give a gentle, reassuring kick against my ribs.
"Let him try," I said calmly, turning toward the glass-walled boardroom at the end of the hall.
Inside, the Chief Executive Officer, David Sterling, sat at the head of the long oak table alongside our chief legal counsel.
"Claire, we saw the police reports and the court filings regarding the unauthorized transfer of corporate stock options," David said gravely.
"Ryan attempted to liquidate three hundred thousand dollars of your vested shares using a forged power of attorney form last Friday."
"Our financial compliance team caught the transaction before it cleared the clearinghouse."
I pulled a flash drive from my purse and placed it on the center of the table.
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"That drive contains complete forensic documentation proving Ryan and his father were attempting to short our company's stock prior to the acquisition," I revealed.
"They weren't just stealing my money, David—they were trying to sabotage CloudGuard from the inside."
