Chương 10
Catherine leaned against the counter. “Your mother told me.”
“He would come home with gifts. Not for her. For me. Shoes, tickets, stupid things. I hated him for making me part of the apology.”
He looked at the oversized stuffed elephant near the bookshelf.
Catherine followed his gaze.
Michael closed his eyes. “I bought that before I realized what I was doing.”
For one dangerous second, compassion moved through her.
Then Sophie began to cry. Michael stood and bounced too quickly.
“Slow down,” Catherine said.
He reduced the movement. “What does she need?”
“She’s hungry.”
Catherine took the baby. Michael turned away while she adjusted her blouse, an old courtesy that now seemed absurd.
“I will resign as CEO temporarily,” he said.
Catherine looked up.
“If you agree not to vote for removal. Let the investigation finish. Let me keep my board seat.”
“You want me to protect you.”
“I want you to protect the company.”
“There it is.”
“Hundreds of people work for us.”
“And you placed every one of them behind your appetite.”
Michael’s voice rose, then he caught himself. “If Meridian walks, projects stop. People lose jobs. You know that.”
“I do.”
“So don’t turn this into revenge.”
Catherine waited until Sophie latched.
“I haven’t decided how I’ll vote.”
“Catherine.”
“You should go.”
He placed the coffee cup in the sink. “I am still your husband.”
“No. You are still legally married to me. That is administrative.”
He stopped near the door.
“Do you ever miss me?” he asked.
The question was so naked that Catherine almost refused it.
“Yes,” she said.
Michael looked at her.
“I miss the person I kept insisting you were.”
He left without taking the croissants.
At the hospital, Daniel Brooks received a formal complaint accusing him of unnecessary physical aggression and unprofessional interference in a domestic dispute.
The department chair called him into an office overlooking the ambulance bay. Risk management attended by video. Daniel described the incident in concise sentences and refused to speculate about Michael’s intentions.
“Did Ms. Harrison ask you to intervene?” the chair asked.
“No.”
“Then why did you make physical contact?”
“Because Mr. Harrison’s arm crossed above the infant while the wheelchair was moving.”
“Could verbal redirection have been sufficient?”
“There was not time.”
“Did you say, ‘The man who was here’?”
Daniel paused.
“Yes.”
“Was that medically necessary?”
“No.”
The risk manager adjusted her glasses. “It may be interpreted as personal involvement.”
“It was an inappropriate comment.”
“Are you personally involved with Ms. Harrison?”
“No.”
“Have you communicated outside clinical care?”
“No.”
“Would you object to reassignment of her follow-up care?”
Daniel looked through the window at an ambulance backing into the bay.
“Yes.”
The chair frowned. “Why?”
“Because reassignment after a complaint from her husband may communicate that the hospital accepts his characterization of the incident.”
“That is not the reason being considered.”
“It will still be the effect.”
The meeting ended without resolution.
Daniel returned to the maternity floor and found Lena replacing labels on a medication cart. She listened while he summarized the complaint.
“You shouldn’t have said the line,” she told him.
“I know.”
“It was a good line.”
“I know.”
“That makes it worse.”
He leaned against the counter. “They asked whether I was involved with her.”
Lena snorted. “You barely involve yourself with people you like.”
Daniel looked toward the room Catherine had occupied. Another family was there now. A balloon shaped like a blue bear bumped against the window.
“Will they suspend you?” Lena asked.
“No.”
“Then stop trying to look persecuted. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I don’t look persecuted.”
“You do. It’s mostly your eyebrows.”
He rubbed his forehead.
Lena handed him a stack of charts. “Go be useful.”
The board meeting lasted four hours.
Catherine attended from the company’s conference room with Sophie and Rebecca in a private office nearby. Priya sat behind Catherine but did not participate. Michael occupied the opposite end of the table. Nolan sat between them.
Outside counsel presented preliminary findings. Thirty-seven thousand dollars in expenses required reimbursement or further documentation. The apartment guarantee had not been approved through normal channels. Amber’s anticipated promotion created a conflict Michael had failed to disclose. Draft resolutions concerning Catherine’s authority had not reached the board, but their preparation raised governance concerns.
One outside director, Sandra Liu, asked Michael whether he had instructed Amber to gather Catherine’s emails.
Michael said he had asked for records relevant to executive continuity.
“Did you tell Ms. Collins you intended to use those records in a custody dispute?” Sandra asked.
“No.”
Amber’s attorney had provided a message sent after the hospital confrontation.
Need anything showing C’s volatility. Personal and work. Don’t send from company account.
Michael read the message displayed on the screen and closed his eyes.
Nolan removed his glasses.
The second outside director, Peter Lang, asked Catherine whether she had authorized any transfer of her responsibilities.
“No.”
“Were you planning an indefinite leave?”
“No.”
“Were you informed that management considered you unable to perform your role?”
“No.”
Peter turned to Michael. “Then what emergency were these documents designed to address?”
Michael looked at Catherine before answering. “Uncertainty.”
Catherine almost admired the word. It was broad enough to hold every fear and empty enough to accept no blame.
The directors discussed three options: no immediate action pending completion of the investigation; temporary leave with Michael retaining his title; or removal as chief executive while preserving his board seat and ownership.
Nolan argued for temporary leave. He described pending financing, lender confidence, and the need for continuity. Sandra said continuity had already been damaged. Peter worried removal would appear punitive before the review was complete.
Then Michael spoke directly to Catherine.
“We built this together.”
May you like
Everyone at the table became very still.
Catherine looked at the man she had met in a nearly empty apartment building when they were both twenty-seven. Michael had worn a borrowed coat and carried a spreadsheet printed on paper because his laptop battery had died. He had talked for an hour about neighborhood growth, financing structures, and the beauty of buildings no one wanted yet.
