Page 14 of Hers to Love
“Perry, if what you’ve told me is true, she won’t have enough time.”
Perry rubbed his forehead. “That’s still up for debate.”
“Is it?” Marshall leaned forward, the first glimpse of hope he’d had since Perry slipped to him that he was getting pushed out. The board wasn’t unanimous in letting him go?
“I shouldn’t even be telling you this, Marshall.”
“Perry,” Marshall began firmly, “I started this company fromnothing. You know that. You were there when I pitched the idea to you.”
“I was. This is true.”
“Then consider my position. My life’s work is about to be taken away from me by ten men who aren’t and haven’t invested as deeply into it as I have.”
Perry’s expression turned annoyed. “Then consider this, Marshall. In the last year, you have invested in this company hardly at all. Now we know you had the divorce, but this company is much more than just you. There are other employees. People’s livelihoods. The board isn’t doing this out of spite. We’re thinking of everyone else that is investing in this companynow,” Perry said sternly, jabbing a finger into the chair’s armrest for emphasis.
Perry’s strong argument silenced Marshall. His friend was right. Marshall had spent the better part of a year wallowing in his own feelings. Doing so had sapped his drive and altered his focus away from work.
“And your excuse that it hasn’t been detrimental to the company’s performance doesn’t hold a lot of weight with us.”
“It should,” Marshall snapped, feeling emboldened by the board’s refusal to see how his absence had been handled. “Clearly, I’ve fostered a company that can survive—”
“Without you,” Perry said quickly.
The revelation dropped between them like an anvil that could’ve crushed Marshall’s desk. He said no more.
His companycouldsurvive without him. His entire body went cold. There wouldn’t be any reason for the board to keep him.
Perry sighed and stood. “Look, Marshall, I’m one of the few holdouts on the vote. I’m breaking confidence in telling you that because I strongly believe—to the depths of my soul—that ousting you is the wrong move. The company would be worse off without you. Maybe not today, but a year from now, sure.”
“Thank you, Perry,” Marshall said, his throat thick with emotion.
“But you have to tread lightly with Ms. Kaye. Your conduct better be aboveboard.”
“I understand,” Marshall clipped.
“I mean it, Marshall.” Perry pointed at him. “Aboveboard. If you can’t make that happen, fire her. I suggest you do that anyway. It’ll look good to the other board members.”
No way he was doing that to this poor girl. She’d been through enough with Brigham. She only wanted to do a good job. He wouldn’t deny her that chance. Not when the board was still giving him one. “Got it, Perry, thank you.”
Marshall didn’t like being spoken to like a child unsure of what he was doing. He was a grown man who had thought his conduct wouldn’t have been questioned after all of his time in the business. No employee had ever considered his conduct reprehensible. He was friendly with everyone but always kept the professional line clearly drawn.
Furthermore, this was his company. He had started it in his living room. Perry knew the story. He had thought it was a wise decision to include a board of directors as a check-and-balance system. It had only strengthened the company by keeping them on target. They hadn’t once questioned Marshall’s leadership in over twenty years. Marshall considered himself very good at policing his own decisions and thought processes. He thrived on deep thinking.
Marshall watched Perry leave. He should’ve been more accommodating to Perry. At least more empathetic. Perry was probably his greatest advocate on the board and clearly up against a wall with other members who didn’t have the relationship he had with Marshall. Although Perry had said a few others didn’t want to vote Marshall out, how long could Perry count on their resistance? Perry hadn’t given Marshall any indication of when the final vote would take place—or even the first one. There had been talk, enough of it to inform Marshall’s attorney and for documents of transition to be drafted. The words “generous compensation package” had also been tossed around.
Marshall chuckled. What exactly did that mean? How generous could it possibly be after giving about half of his life to this company? Nothing short of keeping his job would be considered by Marshall as generous.
Or at least maintaining a controlling stake in the company’s stock. Which he already had.
The board would be seeking to grab as many shares away from him as possible until his stake was below fifty percent. Marshall’s attorney had suggested he could move to a position on the board and have Perry be elected CEO. Marshall liked Perry, but the man was better suited in his position where he had to handle less of the decisions that didn’t need board approval. Perry thrived in a group and would likely falter as the CEO. He would rely too heavily on the board, and Marshall never liked it when a small collective ruled everything.
Left little room for dissension and change.
And freedom, for that matter.
Marshall sighed. His attorney had opted for him to focus on the transition. Get as much money as he could and try to keep his foot in the door as long as possible. Once the company was out of Marshall’s hands, he would never have another decision-making role again. It was the way of business.
First, he would have to make good on Perry’s suggestion. Keeping Ms. Kaye at arm’s length.
