Chapter 3 - The Corporate Strike
At 8:00 AM the next morning, Maya was safely asleep in a spare bedroom at my commander’s heavily fortified suburban home, guarded by an off-duty federal agent.
At 8:15 AM, I walked through the glass doors of Mercer Enterprises.
Julian had spent the last five years strutting around Seattle as a titan of industry. He genuinely believed his business acumen had built the logistics empire. He had conveniently forgotten that when we married, his "company" was a bankrupt delivery service. My family’s venture capital trust had injected thirty million dollars into it, restructuring it under a shell corporation called Vanguard Holdings.
Julian was the CEO on paper. But Vanguard Holdings owned 85% of the voting shares. And I was the sole manager of Vanguard.
I bypassed the receptionist, flashed a terrifying smile at Julian's panicked assistant, and pushed open the double oak doors to the corner office.
Julian was sitting behind his mahogany desk, looking rumpled and exhausted in yesterday's suit. Chloe was lounging on the leather sofa, sipping an espresso.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Julian snapped, shooting up from his chair. "Security!"
"I cancelled your security detail this morning," I said, walking to the head of the boardroom table attached to his office. I tossed a thick manila folder onto the glass surface. "Sit down, Julian."
"Get out of my building, Clara," he snarled. "I've already spoken to my lawyers. You freezing my personal accounts is illegal. I'm going to sue you for everything you have."
"You don't have lawyers, Julian. You have a retainer paid for by Mercer Enterprises," I corrected, pulling a sleek tablet from my bag. "A company that you no longer work for."
Julian froze. Chloe let out a mocking laugh. "Are you delusional? He’s the CEO!"
"He was the CEO," I corrected, tapping the tablet. "As of a 7:00 AM emergency board meeting of Vanguard Holdings, Julian Mercer has been terminated for cause, effective immediately."
"You can't do that!" Julian roared, slamming his hands on the desk. "I built this company!"
"You built nothing. I financed you. I let you play boss because it kept you busy and out of my way," I said smoothly. "The 'cause' for termination is a breach of the morality clause in your contract, specifically: felony child endangerment."
Julian’s face drained of color. "You're bluffing."
"Check your email, Julian."
He snatched his phone from the desk. His hands began to shake as he read the termination notice, the immediate freezing of all company assets, and the revocation of his company car, phone, and expense accounts.
"You have five minutes to take whatever personal items fit into one cardboard box," I said, glancing at my watch. "Then building security—who now answer only to me—will escort you out."
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"You bitch," Chloe hissed, standing up. "He'll take half of everything in the divorce! Washington is a community property state!"
I looked at Chloe, a slow, predatory smile touching my lips. "Oh, Chloe. You really should have done your homework before you decided to hitch your wagon to him."
