Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Alone in the Room Aria Hartwell.

Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Alone in the Room Aria Hartwell.
Chapter 42
Alone in the Room
Aria Hartwell.

Cassian had been gone for barely four days when I was told that there was an emergency board meeting. At first, I thought there was something really wrong with the company... Maybe it was failing or we had lost a major contract, or something...

But when my assistant walked into my office with her face which had an odd expression on her face, I knew it wasn't so much of an emergency.

"Is there anything wrong, Priya? Why do you look so down?" I asked her as I carefully picked up my folders and pen, ready for the board meeting.

"The meeting was called by Mr. Pemberton."

"Pemberton." I stopped in my tracks. If any meeting was called by that short bald man, then it meant it wasn't serious and was probably over exaggerating the emergency.

"What is this meeting about? Do you have any idea about it?" I pinched the space between my eyebrows to relax my nerves because if this was something stupid, I swear I would move a motion for him to be voted out of this company.

I mean, everyone already had a lot on their plates. Some companies were withdrawing from partnering with our company, and those who were coming to partner were offering really low prices which diminished the image of this company.

"Um..." Priya looked at me carefully. "It has something to do with what he calls 'performance review'."

"Performance review? Like an audit?"

"Yes, something about that." She said.

"But auditing doesn't happen until the third second half of the month. This is still early... What is he —"

"I think he is auditing only you, Ma." She lowered her head, refusing to meet my eyes. "He says it's a routine review."

That was when I got the full picture of what was going on.

Routine. Cassian had been co-CEO for eleven years without a single routine performance review. I had been here four months and we were already on the second one.

"Fine." I closed the folder in my hand. "What time is this emergency meeting?" I tried to act like I was unbothered about it.

"It's by ten am, ma'am. In approximately five minutes." She checked her tablet before giving me a tight smile. Telling me good luck.

I carried the dark blazer that I had taken off and placed on the coat rack, and I threw it over my back, checking myself out in the mirror. I loved how sharp I looked in it, and even my father had complimented it one time. He had even said that if I walked into a boardroom with it, all eyes would be on me and everyone would have their backs straightened. I hoped this case would be one of it.

I was in front of the boardroom one minute to ten o'clock, and all the board members had already been seated before I went inside. Priya was walking behind me when I turned and whispered something into her ears. She looked confused at first before nodding and turning around.

"You're late." One of the board members began, and I met his eyes across the room as I made my way towards the CEO's seat that Pemberton was currently occupying.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Havilah." I kept my voice even. "You can check your time and you'd see that it isn't yet ten. So, I'm on time. Mr. Pemberton, can you kindly move from my seat and sit somewhere else."

Mr. Pemberton face turned red immediately. "We are here to audit your performance, so it would be right for you to sit anywhere until we are done."

I circled the table and stood in front of him before slowly bending low to his level, keeping my voice loud enough for everyone on the table to hear.

"I'm glad you've already told me the purpose of this meeting. But as it stands now, I am the CEO and not you. This seat is reserved for the CEO, and the last time I checked, you don't own that title, do you?" When I didn't get an answer from him, I turned to the rest of the board members to throw the question. "Does he deserve to sit here?"

No one answered. It was as if they had come together to stand against me.

"Mr. Pemberton, if anyone had any right sitting on that seat, it would be Mr. Cole Adams whose performance has outranked each and every one of you a hundred times. Ever since you came into this company, I don't think you've made any real difference. So, do you still think you deserve to be seated there?"

People began to shift in their seats, and I knew I struck a nerve. Pemberton stood up grumbling and arranging his files, whispering under his breath.

"I'll see how long you will be snagging that title."

I took my seat and Priya came in with what I had asked her for.

Pemberton opened without preamble. "In Mr. Kent's absence, we felt it appropriate to assess the division of responsibilities and whether the current co-CEO arrangement is serving the company effectively."

"I see." I folded my hands on the table. "And what metrics are you using for this assessment?"

"Your contributions specifically, Miss Hartwell." This one came from Crawford, who had never addressed me directly in four months. "We'd like to understand what you've brought to the table independent of Mr. Kent's guidance."

Independent of Mr. Kent's guidance.

"I'll be happy to walk you through it," I said.

I went through everything. The housing initiative numbers, the three partnership proposals I had independently drafted, the operational inefficiencies I had identified in the eastern division that saved the company eight hundred thousand dollars in the last quarter alone. I presented without notes because I knew every number by memory, because I had always known that a day like this was coming and I had been preparing myself since my first week.

They interrupted constantly and talked over me a lot of times.

Then Reeves, who had said nothing for the entire meeting, looked at me across the table and said, "The question, Miss Hartwell, is whether you're genuinely capable or whether you've simply been well-positioned by someone with an interest in your success. Do you deserve this position, or you've been hiding behind Cassian's back all these while?"

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