The CEO Fired Her in Front of Everyone, But He Had No Idea Who She Was
Chapter 3
Alexander didn’t sleep.
At 5:30 a.m., he was already in the office.
He called the CFO.
“Thomas.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I need every document related to the Northbridge acquisition.”
Thomas hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because I asked.”
The line went quiet.
“Of course.”
Alexander hung up.
Ten minutes later, he called legal.
“Is Maya Bennett’s termination reversible?”
The attorney hesitated.
“Technically.”
“Do it.”
“We need her consent.”
“Get it.”
“There is another issue.”
“What?”
“She may already have contacted her family’s legal team.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
“Find out.”
At 8:00, the board began arriving.
Everyone had heard about the firing.
Nobody understood why Alexander looked exhausted.
Then the chairman entered.
William Bennett.
Alexander stood.
The room went silent.
William was seventy years old, silver-haired, calm, and intimidating without raising his voice.
He placed a folder on the table.
“Good morning.”
Alexander swallowed.
“Mr. Bennett.”
William looked at him.
“Where is my daughter?”
Nobody moved.
Alexander answered carefully.
“She no longer works here.”
William nodded.
“I know.”
He opened the folder.
“My daughter has worked here for seven years.”
“She never told us who she was.”
William looked up.
“She wasn’t supposed to.”
Alexander felt his stomach drop.
“Why?”
“Because she wanted to see how the company treated people who didn’t have a powerful last name.”
The words struck harder than any accusation.
William continued.
“She wanted to know whether Hawthorne deserved further investment.”
Alexander said nothing.
“Yesterday,” William said, “you answered her question.”
Silence.
William slid another document across the table.
Alexander read it.
A shareholder position.
Bennett Strategic Holdings.
Twenty-eight percent.
The room changed instantly.
The CFO looked terrified.
William closed the folder.
“My daughter warned you about false numbers.”
Alexander looked at Thomas.
Thomas looked away.
William stood.
“The acquisition vote will be postponed.”
Alexander asked quietly.
“For how long?”
“Until an independent investigation is complete.”
“And Maya?”
William paused.
“My daughter doesn’t need this company.”
Then he walked out.
Alexander remained in the room.
For the first time since becoming CEO, he understood that he had made a mistake he couldn’t simply repair with an apology.
He had publicly humiliated the one person who had been trying to save his company.
And now Maya was the person Alexander needed most.
