Mr. President 2(199)

"We'll start the meeting as soon as I deal with my wayward daughter," Mother says, more to the room than to anyone in particular.

But why is she giving orders?

I need to stop this. Whether or not Mason Kane is here, someone needs to speak up.

"Mr. Purpus, before you sit down and let my mother take over this meeting since Mason isn't here, there are a few things you need to know about what I found out about Red Lion Aviation," I say out loud to Roy, raising my voice. He turns around and looks at me, as if noticing me for the first time.#p#分页标题#e#

I gulp. That did it.

The entire room is now looking at me.

But this is my chance.

"I've done some research into Red Lion Aviation," I begin, my heart starting to beat a mile a minute.

I mean, I'm 21 years old. I'm not supposed to be addressing the Board of Directors of one of the most powerful investment banks in the world.

But here I am.

God, sometimes I hate Mason for stranding me here like this.

"And?" Roy asks.

I notice Mom smile and walk to the head of the table.

A few people eye her warily as she sits down at the head of the table where Mason would be sitting.

I need to get what I have off my chest as quickly as possible.

"We all know the reasons why we're either for or against taking a majority-minority stake in their company," I say. "We think they could grow, but they've got a horrible safety record."

"That's not news," a Board Member that I can't identify says from somewhere in the room.

They're already losing patience with me.

They think I'm a petulant little girl.

They're not going to take me seriously.

But no one else is standing up to her.

I need to continue.

"After their last accident off the coast of Bali, I noticed something about their routes," I begin, reaching to the sofa-bench and pulling up my file that I had brought with me. "The number of passengers and routes began to decrease."

"So?" a Board Member—again unidentifiable—asks me.

"So, they began posting higher and higher profits," I say to the room. "Even as independent industry ratings agencies began to note fewer and fewer passengers."

The room is silent at this point.

"In fact, for an entire month at the beginning of this year, they had almost two weeks of planes that were running empty. Yet that was their most profitable month ever," I tell the room. "Don't you see? Something very strange is going on here. Something that probably violates the Anti-Money Laundering Act as well as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as a host of other US laws that could shut us down!"

"Stop being so dramatic, little girl," Mother says dismissively from her seat.

I turn to her.

"You don't care anything for this company," I seethe at her.

"Lorna, it may be something we wish to investigate," another Board Member who I remember being sympathetic to Mason says.

"We will do no such thing based on the lunatic ravings of a little girl," Mother says out loud before looking at me. "Especially the rantings of a girl who has seduced my husband and your CEO and is now acting out like a spoiled and wicked little brat."

There are gasps from around the room. Of course people have read the papers, but having to confront what they read with someone standing right in front of them is jarring.

I stiffen my back and look at my Mother.

"You're overthinking what is merely a diversion for Mason, dear," Mother says to me. "You're nothing more than a plaything for him until he gets bored. Only this time, he's gone too far and allowed the company to suffer."

"Mr. Purpus," I beseech the large man as he turns away from me. "You have to do something to delay the vote until Mason can be here to explain himself and tell you about his concerns about this company in person."

Roy looks at me for a long moment. I can see pain and sadness in his eyes.

"I wish I could," he says, shaking his head at me. Then he turns to Mom. "I think we can get started."#p#分页标题#e#

I can't believe it!

They're going to remove Mason from his own company.

And there's nothing I can do to stop it.

Tears begin to fall from my eyes as I see the world start to go dark. I wonder if I'm going to faint.

"I would like to say a few words before you guys get started," Mason says.

Wait.

What?

No, you read that right.

That was Mason.

Only he hasn't walked in.

People are gasping and pointing to the television.

He's sitting there next to the anchor on Market Pulse.

"Hi, everyone," he says with a smirk; the same smirk he's used on me many times. I can see his eyes shift slightly. "Hey Becca."