Page 15 of Forever We Embrace: The Later Years
The lines haven’t changed. The only thing that has changed is what we know about them. Ward used a structure that existed before him, and whoever created it remained outside the investigation that brought Hearthstone down.
We remain in the study for a while longer, close enough that every shift moves through more than one body. No one tries to fill the empty space on the board with a name we don't have. When we finally go upstairs, the question mark remains behind us, but none of us carries it alone.
8
Blake
Three weeks after we contacted Agent Thane, a formal motion for an executive fitness review rests open in front of me in the Keller Industries boardroom.
Victor’s investment group submitted it that morning under the review provisions attached to the original acquisition process. The provision doesn't give Victor authority over Keller Industries, but it gives his group standing to place a concern before the board and force the company to answer it while the acquisition proposal remains unresolved.
I have already read the first page twice. The motion cites my collapse, the length of my medical leave, my continued use of a cane, and the accommodations made since I returned to work. It relies on an investor covenant written for the prolonged incapacity of a principal officer.
Maceo remains standing beside my chair long enough to straighten the knot of my tie. He smooths the collar beneath it, then bends and kisses me once on the mouth.
“You read it,” he says as he takes the chair beside mine. “I’ll stop them when they start pretending the motion says something it doesn’t.”
“And if I start pretending I can answer all of it today?”
“Then I’ll stop you too, genius.”
Victor and Dorian enter before I can tell him which part of that arrangement I object to.
Victor settles across from me and aligns his copy of the motion with the edge of the table. Dorian sits beside him as the acquisition group’s strategic representative, a second packet resting beneath his hand.
“This isn't a personal indictment, Blake,” Victor says. “Your collapse was public, your leave extended beyond the original estimate, and the accommodations required since your return have raised reasonable questions about continuity.”
I turn to the second page while he speaks. I refuse to let him summarize my body for me.
“I resumed my executive duties more than three weeks ago,” I say. “Maceo has taken over part of the operational workload, but every final decision remains mine.”
Dorian folds his hands over the packet in front of him. “The question isn't whether you can participate in a meeting. The board will consider whether the current division of responsibilities is temporary, whether it can be sustained, and whether the company has become dependent on accommodations that were never presented to its partners.”
His phrasing is careful. He never says weak, incapable, or replaceable. He leaves those conclusions on the table for everyone else to reach.
Victor slides a two-page medical summary across the table toward me.
Maceo reaches across my open folder and removes it before I can touch it. He places the summary facedown beside his legal pad.
“You don't hand him selected portions of his own records,” he says. “Any medical documentation submitted to the board will come through counsel, with the scope and privacy protections stated in writing.”
I turn the next page of the motion while Victor looks between us.
“Continue,” I tell him.
Victor’s mouth tightens slightly. “The covenant allows the board to request a review when there is uncertainty regarding a principal officer’s ability to perform essential functions.”
“The covenant is intended for prolonged incapacity,” Maceo says. “Blake is sitting in front of you, actively directing this company and participating in a board-level discussion.”
“Then the review will confirm that.” Victor adjusts the motion in front of him. “Until the board completes the process, Keller Industries will have to answer reasonable questions from its partners. Medical confirmation, continuity planning, and the current delegation of executive authority are all relevant.”
Maceo’s expression doesn't change. “Relevant doesn't mean unrestricted.”
“No,” Victor says. “It means documented.”
Maceo angles the motion far enough to read the paragraph beside my hand. I keep two fingers against the page, and he leaves the packet between us without turning it toward himself.
The motion is legally weak. Maceo explained that before the meeting, and our counsel confirmed it after reviewing the covenant. Victor doesn't need the motion to remove me immediately. He needs it to remain in the corporate recordlong enough for investors and partners to begin asking whether Keller Industries is stable without someone else standing behind my chair.
