Chapter 12 - Midnight Sale
"They cannot sell away evidence," Iris said.
"They can try to make it disappear into a warehouse," Adrian answered.
He took the elevator to the boardroom with Marisol at his side. She had changed into a clean gold wrap and pinned her hair back. The perfect hostess was back, except for the rage in her eyes.
"You're late," she said. "We're transferring a failing asset before it drags the company under."
"The asset has people living in it," Marisol said. "Forty-three families."
"Temporary occupancy. They signed agreements."
"They signed because you threatened their jobs."
A director named Ruth Halpern looked between them. "Is that true?"
"The maid is not a board member."
"But I am," Adrian said. "And the sale is suspended until independent investigators preserve the records."
"You don't have enough votes."
He hadn't expected her to say it so confidently. Ruth looked down. Two others avoided his eyes. The room was full of people who had already accepted the outcome.
Then Ava's voice came from the doorway. "Will the board state on the record why it's voting while firefighters are examining a possible deliberate fire?"
"This meeting is private."
"So were the exit chains," Ava replied.
Adrian stood beside the window looking out over the city. He could save the hotel by signing the deal. The books showed debts he had ignored. But the people downstairs had been paying for that ignorance for nine years.
"Record my vote against," he said. "And record my demand that every director disclose financial ties to Voss Holdings."
Celeste leaned close enough that only he could hear. "You will lose the Grand."
"Maybe it needs a different kind of owner."
May you like
Across the table, Ruth raised her hand. "I want an independent review before I vote."
The meeting paused. Celeste snatched her bag and headed for the door. As she passed Iris, she murmured, "Your mother wasn't the only person who tried to leave that night."
