Julian pointed at me with a shaking hand and insisted that I could not fire him because his contract guaranteed five years of generous executive compensation. I smiled for the first time that evening and informed him that his protection only applied if he were dismissed without cause. The general counsel opened her black folder and listed the investigative findings including fraudulent expense reports and undisclosed conflicts of interest alongside vendor kickbacks. Because the company supplied components under federal contracts the board had already referred the undeniable evidence to the appropriate authorities for formal prosecution. Camilla panicked and grabbed Julian by the sleeve reminding him that he promised the invoices were protected. Malcolm read the board resolutions stating that Julian was terminated for cause effective immediately with all his unvested equity canceled and bonuses revoked. Camilla was suspended pending termination proceedings and both were permanently barred from company property. Security and local police officers escorted Julian out of the building because his physical aggression toward me had been captured by the hotel ballroom cameras and witnessed by multiple guests.
Fourteen months after that dramatic evening the autumn sun streamed through the massive windows of the Northstar Holdings corporate headquarters in downtown Boston where I sat at the mahogany desk of my late mother. Aurelia Systems was now thriving under the brilliant leadership of Dr Elena Rostova who had guided the company to three consecutive quarters of organic growth and retired all remaining high interest loans. Malcolm stepped into my office with coffee and shared the wonderful news that the federal government had just renewed our logistics contract for seven years based on superior engineering and transparent pricing. He also delivered the final divorce decree confirming that Julian had no claim to my family assets because of our ironclad prenuptial agreement. Julian had recently pleaded guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud and tax evasion resulting in a forty two month sentence in a federal correctional facility. I walked out of the building that evening and strolled through the beautiful public park feeling a profound sense of quiet peace. I had not ruined the life of Julian because he had destroyed his own through greed.