Ellen was standing at the head of the table in her blue cleaning uniform. She had not changed her clothes. The room was full of directors, counsel, independent auditors, Jamal, Otis, Kiana, Maya, and the employees whose statements had been collected during the week. Several people rose when she stepped away from the head chair. Shenine stopped walking.
"Good morning," Ellen said. "Some of you know me as the cleaner."
Nobody answered. The silence was total.
"My name is Ellen Hail," she continued. "I founded this company in a kitchen, and I am still chairwoman of its board. Now, please sit down. We have a great deal of work to do."
The first person to find her voice was Shenine. She gave a startled little laugh, stepped toward Ellen, and reached for her hand as though they had been friends for years. "Grandma Ellen. I always knew there was something special about you. Why didn't you say anything?"
Ellen looked at the hand. Shenine slowly lowered it. "You poured mop water at my feet on Monday," Ellen said. "You called me trash. Yesterday you tried to make me clean your shoes in front of the reception staff. I don't remember you asking whether there was anything special about me then."
Shenine's mouth opened. "That was an accident. You have to understand, I thought you were a temporary cleaner."
"I was working as one. That wasn't an invitation to humiliate me."
"Of course not. I mean, I had no idea you were family."
Ellen's expression hardened. "And there it is. You believe a person has to be family before you owe them decent treatment."
The directors watched without interrupting. Jamal sat near the center of the table, his eyes fixed on a folder he had not opened. At the far end, Derek studied his hands. Kiana sat beside her attorney, the muscles in her shoulders so tight that Maya could see them trembling from across the room.
Ellen glanced at the independent committee chair, a former manufacturing executive named Margaret Ellis. "I have two roles here," she told the board. "I am the founder and chairwoman, and I am a witness to some of the conduct under review. I intend to distinguish between those roles. Margaret will lead the factual portion of this hearing, and I will not substitute my personal anger for evidence."
Margaret nodded. "The committee's outside investigators have provided evidence packets to counsel for all relevant parties. The purpose of today's session is to establish what we know, what remains disputed, what immediate employment and governance action the board can take, and what must be referred for separate legal investigation."
Shenine looked around the table. Her confidence returned slightly. Lawyers meant rules, and rules sometimes gave a person room to contest details. "Then I want it recorded that this has been a campaign against me from the beginning," she said. "Maya was jealous, and the cleaner concealed who she was to create a trap."
"Your statement will be recorded," Margaret replied. "So will your answers."