Chapter 44 Forty-For

Chapter 44 Forty-For
Sydney
My fingers drummed on the table, staring at Eric. He was standing at the head of the table in front of his seat and I sat three chairs away from him. I adjusted my white blouse, which I had paired with navy pants earlier this morning.
I’d barely slept last night. After pretending to be exhausted, I’d snuck off to Miles’s room, put him to bed, and spent the next few hours coordinating with my assistant about onboarding Ian.
He had needed a bit of convincing but once I told my father and showed him Marcus’s records, Dad was on board. He spoke to Ian and he agreed immediately.
Eric pointed at his PowerPoint presentation as he spoke. He was giving a speech on the West Coast expansion and he looked so good that I couldn’t entirely blame myself for being fooled in the past.
“And this is why ladies and gentlemen, I’m confident that Marcus McBroten is the ideal candidate to lead this division.” He clicked his remote and the screen moved to a slide showing Marcus’s credentials.
“You can see his experience in capital management.” He pointed at the screen. “You can also see his extensive West Coast network and Marcus has a proven track record of generating exceptional returns…”
What he wasn’t saying was his track record of embezzling billions while at it. I glanced at the table and the board members seemed quite impressed. Bryce stubbornly sat beside me, his eyes fixed on Eric.
Cassandra had opted to sit a seat away from Eric and I couldn’t help noticing how good she looked. Her blonde hair was styled in nice waves and she was wearing a blue designer dress that was clearly expensive. She was smiling at Eric.
The audacity to show up all the time and grin at another woman’s husband. I let out a sigh, forcing myself to relax. There was no point getting agitated.
“Now,” Eric’s voice cut through my thoughts as he changed the slides to another one showing charts.
“I know this is an expedited timeline but there are huge opportunities in the West Coast market and I believe we need to move quickly. I’ve spoken to Mr. McBroten and he is willing to resume in one week and this positions us perfectly.”
His eyes swept across the table, a huge smile on his face. “Are there any questions or objections before we move to a vote?”
The room went silent with most of the board members nodding. I waited to see Eric’s face of excitement. I wanted to see his smile widen before lifting my hand.
Every head turned towards me and just for a second, I saw Eric’s eyes flash in anger before he quickly masked it.
“Sydney,” he widened his eyes slightly, feigning surprise. “Do you have a question?”
“Actually,” I stood up, buttoning my suit jacket. “I have a couple of concerns I’d like the board to consider before we vote on this appointment.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “Of course.” He smiled but it was a tight lipped smile. His eyes darted around the room, nervously. “Although I must admit I’m surprised you didn’t bring them to me privately rather than…” he let out a nervous laugh.
I smiled back at him. “Apologies although I must admit that I’m surprised you didn’t let me know your choice candidate before now.”
His eyes flashed and I couldn’t help smirking. He was trying to sell the idea that we were some sort of perfect couple. There was no way in hell I would be joining in that facade.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Since we’re already discussing this before the board, I think we should also look into Marcus McBroten together.” I looked around the table making eye contact with them. “Especially because I have some serious concerns.”
Mrs. Smith leaned forward, frown lines on her forehead. “What concerns?”
I smiled at her and turned to Eric, my voice rising. “I’m concerned about McBroten’s history with financial management. Specifically, the SEC investigation that preceded his firm’s dissolution a few years ago.”
The room went very quiet with the board members exchanging glances. Eric’s face went blank.
“That investigation was inconclusive, Sydney.” He retorted, his voice tight. “Marcus was never charged with any crime.”
“That’s interesting.” I tilted my head, feigning innocence. “Because a moment ago you were presenting his credentials.” I pointed at the screen. “And I don’t recall seeing any mention of an SEC investigation in your slides. In fact, I don’t think you mentioned it at all…”
His hands clenched on the remote. “That was because it was irrelevant.” He hissed. “The investigation found no evidence…”
“You don’t think that’s information the board should know about?” I asked pointedly, holding his eyes. “Especially since we were about to vote on his appointment?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sydney, I didn’t know shit about that investigation. I just know it’s nothing…”
I turned to my EA who had moved towards the equipment. “Could you please pull up the research file?”
She nodded at me, connecting her laptop to the projector and the screen lit up with my investigation summary.
“As you can see,” I started, pointing at the screen. “The SEC’s investigation into McBroten’s management firm documented suspicious transactions totalling approximately $4 billion moved through offshore accounts. While the investigation was closed due to insufficient evidence…” I looked around the table. “Mostly because some key records mysteriously disappeared, several of the investigators gave reports that this was the pattern with systematic embezzlement”
I nodded at my EA who moved to the next slide which was a page of his professional timeline.
“As you can see, several companies collapsed after he did. He dissolved and left the country for a while, only returning to transition into cryptocurrency.” I turned to the board members. “And we all know this is an industry with little regulatory oversight and it allows large sums of money to be moved easily.”
“Where the hell are you going with this, Sydney?” Eric snapped. “There was no evidence for this”
I turned to look at Eric. His face had gone pale, and his eyes were blazing. I smiled.
“I thought you didn’t know anything about the investigation. So how do you know no evidence was found? You’re either lying to the board or choosing not to disclose your knowledge of his crimes. Which is it?”
He stiffened, glaring at me.