Harrison takes the seat at the opposite end, the one he has sat in for 22 years. He looks smaller in it today. Three lawyers from outside counsel sit along the wall. They are not here for him. They are here for the company.
Katherine does not waste a word. Before we begin, has every board member watched the broadcast from this morning? Heads nod around the table. Has every board member also reviewed the Wall Street Chronicle footage from last night? More nods.
Patricia Reynolds, eight years on the board, is openly crying. Then we will proceed. I move that Harrison Whitmore be removed as chief executive officer of Whitmore Industries effective immediately. And that the office of the CEO be transferred on an interim basis to the chair of the board. Katherine, please.
Harrison, you will have your chance to respond. Right now, I am completing the motion. Do I have a second? Second. The voice belongs to David Mitchell, Harrison's closest ally for 15 years.
He does not look at Harrison when he says it. All in favor? 11 hands go up. Opposed? Harrison raises his own hand.
It is the only one. The motion carries 11 to 1. Harrison, you are no longer the chief executive of this company. Security is already outside your office. Catherine, listen to me.
This is a misunderstanding. Two glasses of champagne last night. The thing this morning was a joke. A bad joke. I can call her.
I can fix this. My college roommate was Harrison. What? Stop talking. The room is silent.
Patricia is still crying. Edward Brooks stands against the far wall, watching the man he served for 19 years discover what it feels like to be in a room where no one will save him. You did not lose this company over two glasses of champagne. You lost it because you stood in front of 300 cameras and decided you were more important than the 4.2 billion dollars the rest of us spent decades building. That is not a misunderstanding.
That is a choice, and it is the last one you will make in this building. Two security officers in dark suits open the boardroom door. Mr. Whitmore, please come with us, sir. Harrison stands. He looks once around the table.
No one meets his eyes. Not David, not Patricia, not the lawyers. He walks toward the door. He stops beside Edward Brooks. Edward does not move.