He reviewed the shareholder agreement.
Governance provisions.
His ownership rights.
He spoke with the board’s independent directors.
He requested data.
Voluntary turnover.
Average tenure.
Exit interviews.
Customer complaints.
Training costs.
The results were more complicated than anger.
Revenue had increased.
Margins had improved.
Delivery performance had improved in several regions.
Richard had made good decisions.
He had also cut deeply.
Voluntary departures among experienced employees had doubled.
Training costs had risen.
Customer complaints involving continuity had increased.
A surprising amount of institutional knowledge was leaving faster than documentation could replace it.
Daniel read everything.
He did not build a case that Richard had failed.
That would have been dishonest.
He built a case that Mercer Industrial was succeeding in ways that could eventually weaken what made success sustainable.
Then he requested another meeting.
This time, nobody made him wait.
The boardroom was ready at nine.
Daniel arrived at 8:55.
Richard was already seated.
For a moment they were alone.
Richard stood.
“I owe you an apology.”
Daniel removed his coat.
“You do.”
“I should not have let you sit outside.”
“No.”
Richard looked uncomfortable.
“And I should have stopped the conversation when it became disrespectful.”