Catering. Nobody touched Halloway Capital on one side of the table. Three lawyers deep. Fountain pens lined up like surgical tools. Vanessa at the head.
Cream suit. Pearls. The silver pen. Julian lounged two seats down, tie loosened, wearing the confidence of a man who believed the a hard part was over. The signature pages sat in the middle of the table in little flagged stacks.
62% of Dean Foster's life dressed up in tabs that said, "Sign here. " Dean rode the elevator, watching the floors climb, wearing the same rain damp jacket she'd fired him in. Margaret Boon stood on his left with a litigation case. Ruth stood on his right holding a thin folder and a flash drive reading glasses up in her hair like she meant business. The doors opened. The two security guards from that morning were posted at the boardroom entrance.
The taller one looked at Dean, looked at Margaret, and stepped aside like a man grateful for the excuse. They walked in mid-sentence. Vanessa's sentence. It died in the air for one full second. Nobody moved.
Then the silver pen clicked twice fast, Dean. Her voice went for board and almost made it. You can't be in this building. You were separated this morning. Gentlemen, I apologize.
This is an ex-contractor with hurt feelings. Security? Neither guard moved. Loyalty or curiosity? Either one did the job.
Margaret set her case on the table. Unhurried as always. Good afternoon, Margaret Boon, council for the GE Foster Trust. Here's the detail Dean will remember until he's old. Vanessa relaxed.
She actually smiled and gestured at an empty chair because in her version of the world, the trust's lawyer showing up meant the seller had come to close. She pulled out the chair herself. Wonderful. We were told the trustees preferred to sign remotely. There are no trustees, Margaret said.
There is one trustee. She let that hang one beat. Before we address that, a housekeeping question for the record. Miss Sinclair. This transaction relies on a delegation of voting authority executed in March 3 years ago.
Who signed it? The lead lawyer looked up. Lawyers can smell weather changing before anyone else in the room. The trustee of records signed it. Vanessa said it's in the data room.