But he could see the humiliation in her eyes.
Then he watched himself.
Pointing.
Laughing.
Throwing money onto the table.
Turning a young woman's livelihood into a joke because he believed she couldn't answer him.
For several seconds, he stared at the frozen image.
Then he looked toward Eleanor's portrait.
She would have hated this.
The thought came without warning.
He remembered the way she used to intervene when he spoke too sharply to employees.
Walter, you don't need to make somebody feel small to prove you know more than they do.
He used to laugh.
Tell her she was too sensitive.
Or insist that business required toughness.
Now, watching himself humiliate a woman who had just prevented him from signing a potentially disastrous agreement, he finally understood how ugly he looked.
His office door opened.
His longtime general counsel, Margaret Shaw, entered carrying a folder.
She was fifty-eight, experienced, and one of the few people at Sterling Dynamics who still argued with Walter when she believed he was wrong.
She looked tired.
“Walter.”
He turned off the screen.
“Morning.”
Margaret placed the folder on his desk.
“We have an emergency.”
He glanced toward it.
“The documents?”
“Yes.”
She sat.
“Keiko has preserved the disputed execution package. The escrow agent has confirmed receiving an earlier version containing substantially similar voting provisions.”
Walter's expression hardened.
“Was anything executed?”
“Not the final documents from last night's dinner. But the agent also received purported preliminary authorizations that need verification.”
He closed his eyes.
“Eleanor's signature.”
Margaret nodded.
“Among other things.”
For several seconds, Walter stared toward the desk.
Then asked, “Can North Quay take control of the votes?”
Margaret answered carefully.
“Not simply because those papers exist. We have strong grounds to challenge unauthorized documents, and the trust structure has safeguards. But we need to establish what was submitted, who submitted it, and whether anyone attempted to act on it.”
Walter nodded.
She continued.
“We've notified the appropriate trustees and instructed the relevant parties to preserve records. The independent board committee is being convened.”
He looked toward Eleanor's portrait.
“Julian?”
Margaret hesitated.
“He's retaining separate counsel.”
Walter stared.
For a moment, his expression became cold.
Then he asked, “What about Conrad?”
“His firm has received preservation notices. We still need to determine exactly what it knew and did.”
Walter leaned back.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked toward the dark computer screen.
“Margaret, I made a fool of myself last night.”
The attorney studied him.
“Yes.”
He seemed surprised.
She didn't soften the answer.
He looked down.