Chapter 6 - Corporate Realities Begin to Crush Richard's Arrogant World
The emergency board meeting convened via a secure encrypted video conference link while the airliner continued its flight.
Twelve senior directors dialed in from New York, London, and Tokyo, their faces grim and focused on the crisis.
The interim chairman of the board, an old-school industrialist, opened the virtual session without preamble.
“We have received direct confirmation from Mrs. Sterling regarding Richard's unacceptable conduct on flight 402,” the chairman stated.
“The PR fallout alone could wipe twenty points off our stock value before the opening bell tomorrow,” a London director warned.
“We cannot tolerate executives who treat the public with such blatant, actionable contempt,” a Tokyo director agreed firmly.
The motion to permanently strip Richard of his CEO title and board voting rights was brought to the floor immediately.
Every single director voted in favor of the termination motion without a single dissenting voice.
His severance package was legally voided due to gross moral turpitude and breach of corporate compliance codes.
Federal investigators were given greenlight access to audit his private discretionary expense accounts over the past decade.
Back in coach, Richard had no idea that his entire financial empire had just been dismantled by a unanimous voice vote.
He stared blankly at his dead smartphone screen as the battery finally gave out from excessive notification strain.
His personal credit cards were likely frozen by now, and his bank accounts flagged for suspicious wire activity.
The luxury penthouse in Manhattan, the Hamptons estate, and the collection of vintage sports cars were all in jeopardy.
He had traded everything he owned for a fleeting moment of petty tyranny in a first-class aisle.
The irony of his situation was as crushing as it was mathematically precise.
He was flying home to an empty life built entirely on sand and intimidation.
The passengers beside him continued chatting quietly, completely unaware they were sitting next to a fallen corporate king.
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The airplane engines hummed a steady, relentless rhythm that sounded like a ticking countdown clock.
His time at the top of the corporate food chain was definitively, irrevocably over.
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