Chapter 9 - The Unexpected Visitor
Back at Vance Global, the evening rush had settled into a quiet, focused hum across the executive floor.
Victoria Vance had spent the last two hours walking me through the corporate architecture, introducing me to department heads, and setting up my new digital credentials. Every person we met treated her with a mixture of immense respect and absolute fear—yet when she spoke to me, there was a palpable sense of shared purpose.
We were back in my new office, reviewing the preliminary budget for the upcoming global product launch, when a soft knock sounded at the open door.
I looked up. Standing in the doorway was an older man in a slightly rumpled suit, holding a worn leather briefcase. His face was etched with exhaustion, and his eyes darted nervously around the luxurious office before locking onto me.
"Excuse me," the man said, his voice trembling slightly. "Is... is this Sebastian Cole's office?"
I stood up from my desk, frowning in confusion. "Yes, I'm Sebastian. Can I help you?"
The man stepped inside, pulling off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "My name is Arthur Pendelton. I'm... well, I was the chief financial officer at your former agency until about an hour ago, before Nick started firing people to panic-cut costs."
I stared at him, completely taken aback. "Arthur? What are you doing here?"
Arthur let out a tired, self-deprecating laugh, shaking his head. "When Nick found out that Vance Global had terminated our contract and hired you to run their global division, he went completely unhinged. Started screaming at the staff, blaming everyone in sight, and then tried to pin your illegal termination on me as an administrative error."
Arthur looked up, meeting my eyes with quiet dignity.
"I've worked at that agency for fifteen years, Sebastian," Arthur continued softly. "I watched Nick take credit for your work year after year. I stayed quiet because I had a mortgage and kids in college. But today, when he fired you just because you stopped to help someone on the road... and then tried to throw me under the bus to save his own skin... I realized I couldn't work for a man like that one second longer."
He set his briefcase down on the edge of my desk, unlatched it, and slid a manila folder toward me.
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"What is this, Arthur?" I asked, looking down at the folder.
"That is a complete, unredacted audit of every financial discrepancy, client buyout violation, and predatory contract clause Nick has executed over the last two years," Arthur said steadily. "He thought he was building an empire. But he forgot that the CFO keeps all the receipts."
