Susan laid the two documents side by side. "You told us there was formal regulatory suspicion. The bank says there was no such finding."
Preston's face reddened. "I was cautious."
"You were selective," Susan replied.
Wallace Dunn, who had delayed the earlier vote, stared at the comparison. "I voted to postpone because I thought we were protecting the company from an actual fraud investigation."
Preston turned toward him. "We had incomplete information."
Wallace shook his head. "You presented it as complete enough to frighten us."
Richard Cole looked at Rachel. "We need to decide whether anything else he told us was accurate."
Preston stood abruptly. "This is absurd. I built this company into what it is. I won't sit here while people who've never run a division interrogate me about an incident that lasted minutes."
Rachel stood, too. Her voice was calm.
"This is not only about the minutes in the lobby. It's about what you did afterward. You authorized misleading public statements. You tried to impose retaliatory investment terms. You used an unsupported risk allegation to stall a transaction and misled directors about the nature of the bank's review. Those are decisions you made over eleven days."
"I protected this company."
"You put it at risk to protect yourself."
Preston looked around the room. He searched for Richard, Wallace, Susan, anyone willing to give him the reassuring nods he had relied upon for more than a decade. No one offered one.
He looked toward the recording light. "Turn that off."
Jonathan Pierce answered. "The authorized session is being recorded as agreed. The board will now move to its confidential deliberation under the proper procedures."
Preston opened his mouth, then closed it. The public part of the proceeding was finished. The documents had been entered. The witnesses had spoken. Nothing he said next could erase what everyone had seen.
Malik remained seated while directors prepared to deliberate. Odell leaned toward him.
"You okay?"
Malik looked down at his hands. The bruises had nearly faded.
"I think so."
"You held your ground."
"I kept remembering that first morning. How small he tried to make me feel."
Odell nodded. "He couldn't do it this time."
Malik looked toward Preston, who was speaking urgently with his attorney near the door.
"He shouldn't have been able to do it the first time."
Odell didn't argue. "No. He shouldn't have."
Preston was asked to wait outside while the nonconflicted directors deliberated. He resisted at first. He argued that no one had authority to exclude him from a room he'd occupied for twelve years. Jonathan Pierce explained the board's procedure a second time, without raising his voice. Finally, Preston walked into the executive conference lounge with his attorney and slammed the door.
Inside the boardroom, Rachel did not rush the discussion. She asked each director to state whether the documented conduct and subsequent actions were compatible with Preston's continued leadership. Susan spoke about corporate controls and the unacceptable misuse of an investor review. Richard described the damage to shareholder confidence. Wallace acknowledged that his earlier support for Preston had been based on an inaccurate description of the bank's action.