Chapter 4 - The Boardroom ReckoningWhile my mother was retreating in defeat, my father was facing his own judgment three miles away in the executive boardroom of Mercy General Hospital.
According to Arthur Sterling, who called me later that afternoon to give a blow-by-blow account, the meeting was a masterclass in poetic justice.
My father, Richard Vance, had arrived at the boardroom expecting a sympathetic gathering of old friends and business associates who would help him draft a public relations statement spinning the viral video as a "private family disagreement."
Instead, he walked into a room where half the board members had personal ties to the staff Nathan had protected during the fire.
"Your father tried to explain that it was a simple misunderstanding of professional tiers," Arthur told me over the phone, sounding highly amused. "He actually used the phrase 'social alignment.' That didn't go over well with Dr. Kenneth, whose granddaughter was in that pediatric wing."
"What did Dr. Kenneth say?" I asked, curled up in the corner of our sofa with my feet in Nathan’s lap.
"He stood up, looked your father dead in the eye, and asked if social alignment stops a smoke inhalation victim from dying," Arthur said. "Then three other board members brought up the fact that your father’s foundation had repeatedly stalled funding for the hospital’s security equipment upgrades—upgrades that Nathan had personally requisitioned three times."
I looked down at Nathan. He was gently tracing circles around my ankle with his thumb, his expression unreadable.
"Did they fire him?" I asked.
"Not yet," Arthur said. "They gave him forty-eight hours to issue a formal, unreserved public apology to Nathan and you, acknowledging his elitism and resigning as chairman of the foundation. If he refuses, they’re releasing the internal audit of the foundation's real estate dealings to the local press."
I let out a slow breath. "He’ll resign. He cares more about his public image than anything else."
"He already has," Arthur chuckled. "He signed the resignation papers before he left the building. Your mother called my secretary three times asking if I could intervene. I told her I was too busy planning your husband’s promotion gala."
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When I hung up, Nathan looked up from my feet. "You okay with all of this?"
"I’m better than okay," I said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "For the first time in my life, I feel light."
