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The Board talked it over and the Chairman called for a vote.
Glancing around the table, everyone voted nay.
The Chairman continued. “The measure is voted down. Ransom is still the CEO. This meeting was called on an emergency basis. We have one scheduled for the last week in January. Let’s keep that and reassess the status of the contracts and plastic intake at that time.”
With that, the meeting was adjourned. Striding up to Martin, I shook his hand.
Martin leaned in. “Are you worried about the profits?”
I lifted a shoulder. “No, the plastic is out there. We’ll find it. Meantime, I’ll look more into microplastics. If we can make it profitable, I don’t see a reason not to try it, but only when we’re back on an upswing.”
He nodded. “On your way to Calgary now, right?”
I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “Yeah. Call me, though, if there’s any further trouble. I want to stay on top of this.”
He shook my hand. “Absolutely. See you at the end of the month, Ransom. Go Cavaliers!”
Aunt Lori and Dominic had already moved to my office. After making my rounds with Mary and the other Board members, I went to give my aunt a hug. It’d been too long since I’d seen her.
“Hey, big guy,” she said, wrapping her arms around me. “How are you?”
Sighing into her hair, I felt nerves rush through my body. “Been better.”
She pulled back. “Why? What’s wrong?”
I looked back toward the conference room. “Just got a feeling that wasn’t the end of it in there.”
Dominic nodded. “Me too. Are you going to fire Jamarion?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I’ll give him a chance to submit his resignation. I’m not out to ruin the guy. If he wants to move in another direction, he can. Otherwise, I’ll challenge him to show me how microplastics can be profitable. Maybe Phoebe will do some research on it for me.”
Dominic slapped his palm to his forehead.
Aunt Lori looked between us, her brow wrinkled. “What’s going on, guys? It feels like I’m missing something.”
Dominic looked at me. I narrowed my eyes at him. It was my news, but I wasn’t ready to share it.
With a shake of his head, Dominic threw his hand at me. “See you, Auntie. I have to get some sleep. Catch you for dinner.”
Aunt Lori peered up at me. She was over a head shorter than I was, in the lower five-foot range, but somehow her fierce look penetrated me anyway.
I grimaced. “What’s that for?”
“You’re hiding something from me, Ransom. I always know. Take me to lunch and tell me all about it.”
I spotted Jamarion in the hallway. “Give me just a second,” I said, striding to catch up with him. “J!”
Jamarion spun around seething. “You! I can’t believe you brought my mother into this!”
I chuckled. “Look, J. I don’t know what your problem is, but there’s room for both of us in this company if you’ll work with me instead of against me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re not firing me?”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I should. But we go way back, J. Let’s call it an error in judgment and get back to running this company together. Okay?” I held my hand out to see if he would shake it. He stared at it a second, then shook my hand. “Now, let’s get back to business.”
He nodded, but I still felt like something was off with him. Or maybe it was just nerves about the way I left things with Phoebe. I really couldn’t tell anymore.
By the time Aunt Lori and I were situated at the front counter of the deli, hoagie in hand, I felt nothing but nerves. If I told Aunt Lori about Phoebe, it felt more real somehow. With the precarious situation we were in, I wasn’t sure if telling people was the right thing to do.
