At the center of the table sat Eva Johnson. To her right sat Sir Reginald Vance, the senior non-executive director and a long-time ally of her late father. To her left, sat Richard Miller, flanked by two corporate defense attorneys who looked increasingly pale as they sifted through the digital evidence stack.
"This board meeting is officially called to order at 00:15," Eva announced, her voice echoing off the high wood-paneled walls. "The sole item on tonight's agenda is the immediate, for-cause termination of Senior Regional Manager Richard Miller, the dissolution of all vendor agreements with AeroElite Staffing, and the criminal referral of Helios Investments to the Parquet National Financier."
Miller's lead attorney, a razor-thin man named Maître Laurent, raised a hand.
"Miss Johnson, with respect," Laurent began smoothly, "while the documentation presented is... extensive, it represents complex offshore financial mechanisms that require months of independent audit. To summarily dismiss a decorated officer of this corporation based on preliminary digital findings assembled during an international flight is a severe breach of French labor law and corporate governance procedures. Mr. Miller is prepared to offer a voluntary leave of absence while—"
"Mr. Miller is not being offered a leave of absence," Eva cut in, her voice slicing through the lawyer's smooth rhetoric like a scalpel. "And as for French labor law, Maître Laurent, Article L1222-1 of the Labor Code explicitly mandates that employment contracts must be performed in good faith. Committing fraud, taking kickbacks from an unlicensed staffing agency, and intentionally maintaining a hostile, discriminatory work environment constitutes gross misconduct—faute lourde—which voids all contractual severance and notice protections immediately."
She swiped a finger across her tablet, sending a document directly to the individual monitors set into the table before each board member.
"Page seven of the audit," Eva instructed. "This is a recorded wire transfer from an account controlled by AeroElite to a Swiss account registered under the name Etoile Holdings. The date is March 14th of last year. The amount: 450,000 euros. The exact date that Miller signed the exclusive ten-year renewal contract with AeroElite, overriding the competitive bidding process of two higher-rated, fully unionized French aviation crew providers."
Sir Reginald Vance adjusted his spectacles, staring at the screen with mounting fury. He looked up at Miller.
"Richard," Sir Reginald said, his voice deep and trembling with disappointment. "Is this account yours?"
Miller sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. His posture was defensive, his expression sour and contemptuous.
"That account was used to facilitate discretionary operational expenses," Miller sneered. "Expenses that couldn't be routed through standard corporate bureaucracy without causing regulatory delays. I saved this company eighty million euros over six years! What if a few hundred thousand went into maintaining operational flexibility? You all enjoyed the stock dividends that performance generated! None of you asked questions when the stock price broke two hundred euros!"
"We didn't ask questions because we trusted that you were a man of integrity!" Sir Reginald barked, slamming his fist onto the table. "You were stealing from the company, debasing our brand, and abusing our front-line workforce!"
"I was running a business in the real world!" Miller shouted, leaning across the table toward Eva, his face contorted in rage. "You think you can run an empire on moral purity, girl? You think passengers give a damn about 'dignity' when they buy a ticket? They want flights on time and low costs! You want to ruin this enterprise to satisfy your personal vendetta because two flight attendants didn't bow low enough when you walked onto an airplane!"
The boardroom went dead silent. The board members looked at Miller with disgust; even his own legal team looked away, unable to defend the outburst.
Eva did not flinch. She did not raise her voice. She met Miller's furious glare with a cold, unwavering stare that seemed to pull all the energy out of his outburst.
"You believe this is about my ego, Richard," Eva said softly, her words carrying incredible weight. "That is your fundamental flaw. You believe that power is the right to look down on others. You built a system where ordinary people—workers, passengers, middle-level staff—were treated like disposable fuel to be burned for your personal comfort."
She stood up, holding a bound red leather folder containing the formal board resolution.
"I am moving for an immediate roll-call vote on the following resolution," Eva stated, her voice resonating through the room. "First: The immediate termination of Richard Miller for gross misconduct, effective at 00:30 hours. Second: The clawback of all bonuses, stock options, and executive compensation paid to Mr. Miller over the past seven years under the fraud provisions of our corporate charter. Third: The immediate cancellation of all contracts with AeroElite Staffing and the absorption of all ground and cabin personnel into direct, union-protected Johnson Global employment contracts."
She looked around the room at the twelve directors.
"All those in favor?"
Sir Reginald Vance raised his hand immediately. "Aye."
One by one, every single hand around the table was raised. Even Miller's long-time corporate allies slowly lifted their hands, unable to face the sheer, indisputable weight of the evidence before them.
"Unanimous," Eva declared. She picked up a heavy Montblanc pen, signed the bottom of the resolution with a firm, flowing stroke, and slid the paper across the table to Miller.