Chapter 9 - NO FAVOR, NO REVENGE“What documents?”
Chase's voice was quieter now.
Martin didn't answer immediately.
The conference room had changed.
Five minutes earlier, Chase had still believed he controlled the temperature of every conversation.
Now every person at the table was watching him.
Martin finally spoke.
“Expense approvals.”
“We already provided expenses.”
“Not the overrides.”
Chase's eyes hardened.
“Those were internal.”
“They were requested.”
“I told you legal was reviewing.”
“No. You told me to delay.”
Dana raised a hand.
“This conversation shouldn't continue as an argument.”
Chase ignored her.
“You went behind my back?”
Martin looked exhausted.
“I complied with an investor diligence request.”
“You work for me.”
“I work for the company.”
That sentence landed.
Aaron had heard it before in troubled companies.
A founder who believed every employee, every dollar and every decision belonged personally to him often forgot one critical distinction:
Owning influence was not the same as owning people.
Dana slid the documents toward Aaron.
He read several pages.
Executive expense limits had been overridden repeatedly.
Some exceptions were defensible.
Others were not.
One private flight to Miami had been labeled an investor meeting.
The investor listed on the report had confirmed the meeting never occurred.
Aaron looked up.
“Chase.”
“What?”
“Was there a business meeting in Miami on March eighteenth?”
Chase didn't answer.
“It's complicated.”
“Was there a meeting?”
“I attended an event.”
“With the investor named here?”
“No.”
Aaron turned the report.
“Then why are they named?”
“My assistant filled that out.”
Martin spoke.
“You dictated it.”
Chase shot him a look.
“Enough.”
Aaron closed the folder.
“Let's pause.”
Chase laughed without humor.
“Now you want to pause?”
“Yes.”
“Because you got what you wanted?”
Aaron's expression tightened.
“What exactly do you think I wanted?”
“To humiliate me.”
“If I wanted that, Chase, Friday gave me easier opportunities.”
Chase said nothing.
Aaron continued.
“I could have told everyone outside that restaurant who I was.”
“You showed the card.”
“To pay for the window.”
“You knew what it meant.”
“I knew what it did.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
Aaron leaned forward.
“You still think that card was the moment the balance changed.”
“It was.”
“The balance changed when you hit an eight-year-old because you assumed his father couldn't challenge you.”
Chase stared at him.
Aaron's voice remained calm.
“You weren't afraid of wealth. You were comfortable with what you believed was weakness.”
Nobody spoke.
Dana finally closed her laptop.
“We're postponing the investment vote pending independent review.”
Chase's face drained.
“You can't.”
“We can.”
“You know what that does to our financing schedule?”
“Yes.”
“We have commitments based on this round.”
“Then your board needs to address them.”
Chase looked at Aaron.
“There it is.”
Aaron frowned.
“What?”
“Revenge.”
Aaron stood.
“No.”
He gathered his papers.
“Revenge would be me voting no today because I'm angry.”
“This is worse.”
“No. This is slower.”
Chase laughed bitterly.
“You're freezing eighty-five million dollars.”
“We haven't invested eighty-five million dollars.”
“You were going to.”
“If the company survived diligence.”
Chase pushed back from the table.
“My company is worth hundreds of millions.”
“Then an independent audit should protect that value.”
“You're enjoying this.”
Aaron stopped at the door.
He looked at Chase for a long moment.
“I watched my son ask whether he'd ruined our family because you told him a broken window could cost us our house.”
Chase's expression flickered.
“So no, I'm not enjoying this.”
Aaron left.
That afternoon, he picked Milo up from school himself.
Milo climbed into the SUV.
“How was the big meeting?”
Aaron glanced at him.
“How do you know about the meeting?”
“You told Mom.”
“And your mother told you?”
“She said you had to see the mean guy.”
Aaron shook his head.
“Your mother and I need better information security.”
Milo grinned.
Then he grew serious.
“Did you fire him?”
“No.”
“Did you yell at him?”
“No.”
“Did he say sorry?”
“No.”
Milo looked disappointed.
Aaron drove for another block.
“His company has some problems.”
“Because he hit me?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because sometimes one bad moment makes people look more closely at things they should have looked at earlier.”
Milo thought about this.
“Like when my teacher checks my whole math page because one answer is wrong?”
Aaron laughed.
“Sort of.”
“Did he cheat?”
“I don't know yet.”
Milo stared out the window.
Then he asked, “If he did something bad before me, does that mean the slap doesn't matter?”
“No.”
“And if he didn't do anything bad before me?”
“The slap still matters.”
Milo nodded.
The answer seemed to satisfy him.
That evening, Aaron's phone buzzed.
Dana.
He answered.
“What happened?”
“The board of Barron Mobility called an emergency session.”
“Expected.”
“They've hired outside counsel.”
“Good.”
“And Chase wants to speak with you privately.”
“No.”
Dana laughed softly.
“I assumed.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
Aaron heard papers moving.
“We found a former employee willing to go on record.”
“About expenses?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Dana hesitated.
“About the way Chase treats people he thinks can't fight back.”
Aaron stopped walking.
May you like
“And?”
“She says Milo wasn't the first.”
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