Kayla, unfazed, leaned back in her chair. She couldn’t hide the flicker of amusement in her eyes. “Because you’re
not cut out for it,” she said, her tone casual, almost bored.
Lionel’s head snapped toward her, his face red with anger. “Not cut out for it? Kayla, I’ve been with this company for years! You know how much I’ve done. You know my abilities!”
She tilted her head, her expression cold and unimpressed. “Oh, I know your abilities, Lionel. That’s why I made the call. Tell me, in all these years, what have you actually done for Sutton Group? Any real accomplishments?”
He opened his mouth but stopped. The silence was answer enough. The truth was, without the support of the old shareholders, the company would’ve crumbled under him.
Kayla’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Exactly what I thought”
Lionel tried again, desperation creeping into his voice. “Kayla, please. Give me another chance. I’ll make things right, I promise, I can do better this time!”
She shook her head, almost pitying him. “Lionel, you’ve had your chances. Plenty of them. You don’t get to ruin
company and call it trying. Not anymore.”
From the sidelines, Stephanie jumped in, her voice sharp and defensive. “How can you do this to Lionel? He’s taken care of you for so many years! Don’t you owe him anything?”
Kayla chuckled, a sharp, bitter sound that echoed in the room. “You two are quite the pair, Acting all united now- how touching. Honestly, it’s nauseating, just worry about yourself.”
Stephanie looked momentarily stunned but quickly grabbed her phone when it buzzed with a notification. Her fingers fumbled over the screen before her eyes widened in shock.
“What is this? This company is ours! Who has the right to fire us? Are you messing with me?” she yelled, pointing at Kayla like a cornered animal.
What Stephanie didn’t realize was that Kayla had already taken care of everything.
The board of directors had been more than willing to side with her. They were fed up with Lionel and Stephanie- executives in name only, who had dragged the company into chaos.
Stephanie couldn’t even read a balance sheet as CFO and Lionel’s management was a disaster waiting to happen. Subsidiary losses were piling up and both had treated the company like their personal piggy bank.
So when Kayla proposed removing them, the board unanimously agreed. Per Kayla’s late mother’s will, neither
company.
Lior Stephanie had any legitimate claim to control the
“Messing around?” Kayla asked, her voice calm but cutting. “The money you siphoned off has been returned to its rightful place. Didn’t you notice?”
Stephanie’s face went pale as she frantically checked her account. Her hands shook so badly that her phone slipped from her grip more than once. When she finally managed to open her banking app, the balance stared back at her. a few bucks.
“No… no, this isn’t possible!” she whispered, her voice rising into a shriek
Kayla smirked. “What’s not possible? I didn’t touch your money. That’s the balance you’re left with after giving back what you stole. Feel free to spend it wisely.
Stephanie’s knees nearly buckled as she stared at her phone. All the bluster and confidence drained from her face, leaving only raw panic. For once, she had no snarky comeback
