Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Surprise
The next morning, the grand ballroom of the Minneapolis Plaza Hotel was filled with city officials, logistics executives, and the entire Voss family. It was the official retirement brunch for my father, and Eric was practically glowing with arrogance. He stood near the podium, shaking hands with board members, already acting like the king of the castle.
Mom sat at the VIP table, looking regal in an expensive cream outfit—which I later found out she had charged to the family account just an hour before I deactivated it. When she saw me walk in with Noah, her face turned cold.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here after the embarrassment you caused last night," she whispered as I sat down beside her. "Your brother had to borrow money from his father-in-law just to leave the restaurant."
"He should have ordered the hotdog, Mom," I replied smoothly, adjusting Noah’s collar. "He would have survived."
Before she could reply, the master of ceremonies took the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the founder of Voss Logistics, Arthur Voss, and his successor, the new CEO, Eric Voss!"
The room erupted into applause. Eric marched up the steps, his chest puffed out, taking the microphone from Dad.
"Thank you, everyone," Eric boomed, flashing a brilliant smile. "As the new CEO, my first order of business is to streamline our operations. We are eliminating redundant contracts and focusing on core family values. Effective immediately, Voss Logistics will be terminating all external consulting agreements—specifically those managed by independent, non-essential parties."
He looked directly at me from the stage, his smile dripping with malice. The board members shifted uncomfortably, recognizing the public attack on his own sister.
"However," Eric continued, "before I sign the official ascension papers, we have one final formality. We need to introduce the representative from our primary institutional investor—the firm that holds eighty percent of our commercial debt and corporate shares. Please welcome the CEO of Vanguard Capital."
Eric turned toward the side stage, expecting a wealthy older man to walk out.
Instead, I stood up from the VIP table.
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I walked calmly past my mother, who was staring at me with her mouth open, and walked straight up the steps of the podium. I took the microphone right out of Eric’s frozen hand.
"Thank you, Eric," I said into the microphone, my voice echoing through the massive ballroom. "As the CEO of Vanguard Capital, I accept your resignation."
