May Major exited the elevator at the top floor. She saw a young man walking up from the hall, his employee badge clipped to his pocket.

“You,” she barked. “Conference room. Which way?”

The young man froze in place and his eyes widened. He pointed meekly to his left.

May walked down the hall until she saw the glassed conference room. The designers equipped it with electronic curtains, which had been closed. She approached the door, took a deep breath and opened it, walking inside.

Preston Marbury stood immediately, “Ms. Major,” he said, looking at his watch. “We’re not ready for you yet.”

“What’s going on here, Marbury?” one man asked.

May took a quick survey of the room. Four men and one woman were sitting at the long mahogany table. All them bore shocked expressions.

“Excuse me, Mr. Marbury,” May said. “It’s my understand this is an investor’s meeting.  My name is May Major. I am Mike Major’s daughter, legal representative and interim CEO. I represent the largest investor.”

The man closest to her stood and smiled, “Of course, Ms. Major. I’m Roger Cavanaugh,” he said. “On behalf of everyone in this room, please accept our sincere condolences on the passing of your father.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cavanaugh,” she replied. “Now would someone please explain why the interim CEO and legal representative of the primary investor to Major Timber was not invited to the entire investor’s meeting?”

“Mr. Marbury explained to us that he provided the paperwork to you that would name him as the proxy to Mr. Major’s shares,” said the woman in the room, a short, impeccably dressed Asian woman in her sixties.

“He handed me those papers. I haven’t fully read them yet, Ms…”

“Nakamura,” she finished.

“Ms. Nakamura,” May repeated. “I have not signed them. As of this moment, I still represent my father’s interests in this company.”

Cavanaugh flashed Marbury a stern look and turned back to May, regaining his smile, “I see. Well, please, have a seat. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Cavanaugh introduced May to everyone in the room. When he got to Marbury he merely said, “And you’ve already met your father’s counsel, Mr. Preston Marbury.”

“I have,” May said. “I have a question, though. Mr. Marbury, are you at this meeting merely as my father’s legal counsel or are you also an investor?”

The room fell silent for a moment. Two investors looked down. The rest looked at Marbury.

“I am also an investor,” Marbury said. “I have an eight percent stake in the company.”

“Is there a reason you failed to mention this earlier, Mr. Marbury?” May asked.

“I thought I had, actually. It’s not particularly relevant, is it?” he said in a smug tone. His facial expression was one of dismissiveness.

Jorge Jessup was right. She thought about pursuing the line of questioning further, but instead waited.

“Certainly, it’s relevant,” May answered. “There’s a diff…”

“Tea, Ms. Major?” Cavanaugh interrupted.

“No. No thank you,” she replied.

“Well, please, then, take a seat.”

May sat.

“Well, I’m here now,” she said. “You asked me to be here at four. It’s nearly four now. What is it you wanted to talk with me about?”

Cavanaugh stood. He was a thin man in his early fifties with dark hair combed straight back. He wore what appeared to be a custom-tailored business suit. She could smell his cologne from where she sat. It smelled expensive.

“Thank you for coming, Ms. Major,” he said. “As Mr. Marbury told you this morning, your father was engaged in a transaction that would result in the sale of Major Timber Logging to Redwood Timber Industries.”

“Go on,” May urged.

“That transaction has the full support of all the investors,” Cavanaugh continued.  “With your father’s unexpected death, it now concerns us that there may be a delay that would jeopardize the transaction.”

“What’s the rush?” May asked. “I know that my father was in negotiations but I’m sure they would understand a small delay given the circumstances of my father’s passing.”

“You father dragged out the negotiations far too long, I’m afraid. The CEO of Redwood Timber, Peter Phillips, has been frustrated for some time. RTI has given us a deadline to complete the transaction,” he continued. “We explained that Mike Major passed away, but they refused to change the deadline.”

“So, they’re playing hardball?” May noted.

“More or less,” Cavanaugh said. “This has been a long process. Peter Phillips is not a patient man. He…”

“Why has it been such a long process?” May interrupted. “If it's true that my father wanted to sell and it's true you all supported the sale, what dragged this out?”

“That’s a long story,” Cavanaugh said.

“I have time,” May replied.

Cavanaugh sighed and scratched his head, “Ms. Major, my understanding is that you are a graphic artist by trade, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is, but I don’t see…”

“And…” he interrupted, “it’s also my understanding that you’ve rarely seen your father over the last ten to fifteen years. Is that true?”

May licked her lips nervously, “Yes.”

“And you’ve shown no interest in any aspect of Major Timber. True?”

She cleared her throat and nodded.

“When was the last time you even stepped into these offices, Ms. Major?”

“I am still Mike Major’s legal representative,” she replied.

“Please don’t take offense at this, Ms. Major, but for a woman of your background, the fiscal process required to make a sale of this magnitude is not something that would be easily understood. Again, please don’t take offense.”

May leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers together, “You’re asking me to not take offense at telling me you think I’m too stupid to understand the terms of an agreement?”

Marbury leaned forward, “Ms. Major… the people in this room… we’ve all been part of this company for many years. You probably had to use a navigation app to get here. All of us have agonized over this transaction from the beginning. This company cannot survive without this sale. I tried to explain that to you this morning. This is what your father wanted. This is what all of us want. You’ve had no relationship with your father and showed no interest in this business whatsoever, until now. We can’t let you charge in here like a bull in a China shop at the final hour and derail a process that’s near its conclusion. There’s too much at stake.”

May fought back the urge to tear up. Marbury and Cavanaugh had verbally bitch-slapped her and shut her down. She wanted to respond but said nothing. She just sat there… humiliated.

Mrs. Nakamura stood, “Please, let’s all take a deep breath here. Ms. Major, we are not bad people. The value of the company is declining. This is our only opportunity to make back our investment. We wanted to conduct a financial presentation for you. It will break down the state of the company and what we believe will happen if we do not sale.  Would you afford us the courtesy of listening to the presentation?”

The woman was throwing her a lifeline, May thought, a way to save face. Mrs. Nakamura was allowing her to see the presentation and understand the error of her ways.

“Please,” May said. “I’d love to see it.”