Chaptertwelve
1109 Words
Mila’s POV
I woke up the following morning feeling that I was heading to a courtroom rather than a board meeting. My stomach did not calm down, and even though the breathing was deep, the fear could not be forgotten.
“I can wait out there,” I said to Ruben as we got into Titan Corp.
"No," he said firmly. “You can also hear them out, in case they are talking about your future.”
His voice was not tense, and I sensed the strain in him. His hand touched my back as we walked firmly and guardingly.
As we walked into the boardroom, the tension had been cut. Talks were instantly interrupted. Some of the members of the board did not want to look at me. Others stared openly.
Victoria sat towards the middle of the table. She was in white as though she wanted to appear innocent. Her eyes looked directly at me, and with a little, polite smile, which never touched her eyes, she smiled back at me.
The chairman cleared his throat. "Let us begin."
Ruben remained standing. I was sitting in a quiet corner against the wall, endeavouring to shrink into myself.
The chairman went on to say that they were present to discuss the reputational damage and leadership issues. Precisely in the case of Ms Mila Daan.
My name was sort of below.
Victoria spoke first. “It is not personal, this is not personal,” I said to myself. But it is one employee, and that is not enough to keep the company bleeding.
I felt heat rise to my face. “I did not do anything wrong,” I said, and could not help myself.
Some of the heads twisted around and looked at me.
One board member frowned. "Ms Daan, thou hast no invitation to speak.
"She is," Ruben said firmly. "I invited her."
The man's jaw tightened. The latter is not appropriate at all.
It is wrong to condemn an individual without showing evidence, Ruben said, and this is what is inappropriate.
Victoria clasped her hands together. "Evidence exists, Ruben. The public video. The inadequate rapport. The drop in stock value."
That was a video that was leaked, Ruben said. And there is no crime in the relationship.
Distraction, it is a distraction, Victoria replied. Investors are putting their money in gear.
Another board member nodded. We have already received more than forty formal complaints by shareholders.
My heart began to race.
The chairman also added that when the leadership appears to be shaky to the shareholders, they panic.
Ruben's voice lowered. "You call this instability. I call it loyalty."
"Loyalty to whom?" Victoria asked softly. "The company, or her?"
The question was hanging in the air.
I felt like I was suffocating. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to defend myself. I would have screamed that I did not want all this.
One of the older board members sat up. Discipline and order were what this firm was made out of. Not emotional decisions."
Ruben's eyes darkened. “It is not emotional to protect an innocent employee. It is ethical."
Victoria shook her head slowly. "You are blinded."
And you are estimating, he replied.
The chairman raised his hand. "Enough. We will move to the vote."
My breath caught.
Move to dismiss: Mila Daan is dismissed with immediate effect, and a press release will be made to dissociate Titan Corp from the scandal.
I gripped the edge of my chair.
Stop, said Ruben before you vote, know something. Firing her without showing any evidence of misconduct would mean that you are a weak person. You are informing the world that Titan Corp is stooping to gossip.
Silence filled the room.
One by one, hands began to rise.
I could not breathe.
But then Ruben spoke again.
“Should this motion be successful,” he said, I shall publicly attack it. I will ensure that internal documents are made transparent. Every audit result. All in-house communication. And to you, I pledge, I will not ask tender questions henceforth.
The hands which had been uplifted dropped gradually.
Murmurs filled the room.
Victoria's eyes sharpened. You are intimidating the board.
Ruben answered, “I am defending the truth.”
The chairman finally spoke. “We shall adjourn till the audit is completed.”
The tension was not eliminated, but the immediate threat was eliminated.
For now.
The members of the board walked out stiffly as the meeting came to an end. Victoria paused by me as she drove away.
“You look tired,” she said in her low tones.
I had to make myself look at her. "I am."
You ought to have left when you had an opportunity, she said. You are dragging him down now, now you are.
“No, he had never promised to guard me,” I said to myself.
"No," she said. "But you enjoy it."
Her stinging words had hurt, but I made myself indifferent.
She leaned closer. It is larger than you know.
Then she walked away.
At the moment when the room was almost empty, I turned to Ruben. "You didn't have to do that."
"Yes, I did," he answered.
Now they are going to follow you more as well.
They are already, he said very still.
I stepped closer to him. What should happen in case the audit reveals something that they can p*****t?
"Then we fight it," he replied. "Together."
I studied his face. He was weary, and there was no uncertainty in his eyes.
“I don’t want to be the reason you lose everything,” I whispered.
“You are not the reason,” he said firmly. “You are the line I refuse to let them cross.”
His words filled me with warmth and fear at the same time.
As we walked out of the boardroom, I noticed something through the glass wall down the corridor.
Bram Vermeer stood alone near the windows, speaking quietly on his phone.
His voice was low, but I caught one phrase clearly.
“Yes, the pressure is working,” he said.
He paused, listening.
“No, not yet,” he continued. “But the shareholders are ready.”
My heart dropped.
He ended the call and turned, noticing me watching.
For a brief second, his calm expression slipped, and I saw something dangerous beneath it.
Then he smiled.
Later that afternoon, the news broke.
Several major shareholders were demanding an emergency vote of confidence in Ruben’s leadership.
And I knew Bram had made that call.
The war inside Titan Corp was no longer hidden.
It had just begun.
- Writer
