Ownership Percentage: 51%. Signed beneath it was the name Thomas Sterling, the father of the arrogant young man who had humiliated her earlier that morning.
Her fingers lightly traced the lines of text, her heart pounding in her chest. The deep memories she had always tried to bury suddenly sprang to life.
It was the summer of 1988 in a small room on the outskirts of the city. Otis Carter had just graduated with honors in mechanical engineering from Howard University, one of the nation's historically Black universities.
But that pride quickly faded when she stepped into the workforce, a world full of prejudice, where gender and race became enormous barriers. She had knocked on the doors of dozens of companies only to be met with skeptical glances or cold rejections.
Until one day, she met Thomas Sterling, a young and ambitious engineer. Thomas, who was struggling to build his own company due to lack of capital and difficulties with complex designs, had recognized Otis's genius when she swiftly fixed technical issues that had taken him months to resolve.
They then decided to collaborate, starting Sterling Corporation from scratch. Thomas became the public representative because they both knew that, at that time, society would not easily accept a Black woman standing as an equal partner to a white man in the tech industry.
Otis agreed to remain in the background, taking the role of chief engineer, both advising on technical matters and contributing her modest but precious savings, $30,000, all the money she had saved to open her own small shop. From the beginning, Thomas Sterling always treated her as an equal partner.
One late evening, while working in the workshop, Thomas had looked at her with sincere eyes and said, "Otis, society is unfair, but I promise one day everyone will know that you are the true soul of this company. What you've contributed deserves to be recognized."
But fate was harsher than they had anticipated. Just a few years after Sterling Corporation became a tremendous success, Thomas suddenly died of a heart attack.
At that time, Ryan Sterling, Thomas's only son, was still young and ambitious. Otis decided to remain silent, keeping her promise to Thomas and quietly protecting the company.
But she never imagined that her silence would become the reason for the injustices to come.
Ryan grew up in wealth and privilege, quickly forgetting the values his father had upheld. He turned Sterling Corporation into a tool for his own gain and for the benefit of his greedy associates, disregarding lower-level employees, especially people of color and women.
Otis watched in pain as the company she co-founded became a symbol of greed, injustice, and prejudice. Although she had many opportunities to step into the light, she hesitated, never feeling the time was right to reveal herself.
But now, when Ryan announced his ruthless plan to fire 400 struggling employees just to maintain exorbitant bonuses for the executives, Otis knew she could remain silent no longer. Carefully placing the documents back into the leather briefcase, she took a deep breath, her resolve firm.
She knew full well what would happen once the truth was revealed. A fierce battle was sure to erupt.
People like Ryan would not easily accept defeat, and she was no longer young enough to fight alone.
But inside Otis, the fire of determination burned stronger than ever before. The door to the small room opened again.