“First, I’m curious where Karl is. He’s got some supporters on this board and his actions need to be discussed.”

A few of the board members whispered to one another at my mention of Karl, but no one volunteered any information to explain his absence. Lawrence’s expression showed he knew nothing of what I suspected were Karl’s plans to take my place at the head of the company.

“Karl contacted me when this meeting was called and informed me that he would be late. What’s going on here?”

I opened the folder Daryl had given me containing all the information concerning Rider Pharmaceutical, Cordovex, and Cardiell. Taking the first packet off the top of the pile, I passed the rest to my right for each member to have for their own. As each man scanned the facts surrounding Rider and its heart drugs, their eyes grew wide in horror. Even the members I’d suspected of backing Karl looked shocked at the information Daryl had gathered.

“What you’re looking at is the information the Feds will have concerning a subsidiary of Stone Worldwide. My father gave Rider Pharmaceutical to Karl Dreger to run, and for years he handled the company without a misstep. However, just after my father died, leaving his position to me, Rider found itself in trouble with Cordovex. As you can see on page two, the drug was deadly. The FDA knew, and Rider pulled it voluntarily, but it still held the patent.”

James Sheridan, one of the members I’d believed supported Karl in his takeover plans cleared his throat and asked in a shaky voice, “Is this company responsible for Rider’s actions?”

I knew what he was afraid of. As a Stone Worldwide stockholder, Sheridan worried more about his portfolio than helping Karl climb over me on his way up the corporate ladder. Nodding, I spoke the truth that no one in that room wanted to hear. “Of course. This board will have to answer for its actions in this matter also, especially considering how accommodating you’ve been to Karl Dreger’s ambitions over the years.”

Whatever support he’d had evaporated as they read page after page of his malfeasance as the head of Rider. While the members of the board began to mutter their disbelief, Karl himself came through the conference room doors full of confidence and oblivious to the shitstorm he’d just stumbled into.

He stopped next to my chair and looked down at me, his beady eyes telegraphing his smugness. “Nice to see you again, Tristan. A few days more and you may not have had that seat.”

Leaning back, I stared up at him and smiled. “We were just talking about you, Karl. Sit down. I think you’ll be very interested in this. Perhaps you’d like to give us a rundown of how Rider Pharmaceutical is doing.”

He pulled up a chair and sat down as I slid one last copy of Daryl’s report toward him. He hadn’t read more than a few words before his hands began shaking.

“Rider? I think you’ll find it’s doing just fine,” he sputtered out. Looking up from the stack of papers with enough proof to cost him everything he’d earned, Karl scowled. “What the hell is this? You all aren’t believing this, are you?”

“Yes, they are, Karl, and so are the Feds. Killing people is not only bad business. It’s wrong. When it comes out that you knew what Cordovex did and still brought it back as Cardiell, you’re going to be the one to pay.”

His eyes darted around the room, searching for an ally that no longer existed. Looking like a trapped animal, he swallowed hard. Sweat beaded on his brow, even as the fight inside him struggled to overcome his fear. Thrusting his chair away from the table, he stood upright and shook his head violently.

“This is fucking bullshit! I’m not going to stand here and take this. That company was nothing when I took over. It was nothing!”

Lawrence shot me a glance and calmly spoke up. “Karl, I think it would be better if you got your things in order and spoke to counsel. What we’re seeing in this report means you’ll have to go.”

As if the chairman’s words set something off inside him, Karl turned toward me and spat out, “You don’t know who you’re fucking with, son. You’re not going to take me down. No fucking way.”

“Time’s up, Karl. And don’t call me son. I’m Tristan Stone, son of Victor and Tressa Stone.”

I watched as the mention of my mother’s name made his eyes flash with rage, and he stormed out of the room, slamming the doors behind him. While the members of the board sat in stunned silence at what they’d seen, I stood and leaned down to place my hands on the table. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I have a mess to clean up.”




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