The CEO Shoved an Elderly Woman Asking for Bread—Then Learned She Owned the Company
Chapter 4
Margaret sat alone in the back seat of a taxi.
Her cane rested beside her.
The few dollars she had brought with her remained folded inside her handbag.
She stared out the window.
The city moved past in gray streaks.
She had not expected kindness from everyone.
She knew better than that.
But she had expected basic decency.
Especially from someone who carried her company’s title.
Her phone rang.
“Mrs. Whitmore?”
It was her longtime attorney, Samuel Brooks.
“Yes.”
“Did the visit go well?”
Margaret gave a quiet laugh.
“You could say that.”
“What happened?”
“I met our CEO.”
Samuel went silent.
“And?”
“She pushed an old woman out of the building because she asked for bread.”
Another silence.
Then Samuel asked:
“Does she know who you are?”
“No.”
“Did she apologize?”
Margaret looked down at her hands.
“No.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“When I started the company, I had twenty-three dollars.”
Samuel smiled faintly on the other end.
“I know.”
“I sold bread from a rented kitchen.”
“I know.”
“I remember the first winter. I couldn’t afford heating.”
“And your neighbors brought you blankets.”
Margaret smiled.
“Yes.”
She looked at the crowded streets.
“I built this company because I wanted families to have food on their tables.”
Samuel waited.
“So I think it’s time I found out what happened to the company I built.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Call the board.”
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
“Emergency meeting?”
Margaret looked at the reflection of her own tired face in the taxi window.
“Tomorrow morning.”
Samuel hesitated.
“And Victoria?”
Margaret’s eyes hardened.
“Tell her to attend.”
