Chapter 4 - The Eviction Notice
Grant stared at Evelyn as if she had suddenly turned into a stranger.
"This is a mistake," Grant stammered, looking frantically around the boardroom at the faces of his vice presidents, who were all staring down at their notebooks or looking away. "Arthur, check the file again! I signed those papers in 2018!"
"You did sign them, Grant," Evelyn said quietly, taking a step toward him. "You signed them while sitting in the lounge of the St. Regis in Atlanta while drinking scotch. You signed them because you needed twenty-two million dollars of my family’s trust capital to close the deal, and my trustee refused to release the funds without controlling equity."
Madison stood up, her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment. "Grant, what is she talking about? You told me you owned seventy percent of the group!"
"Be quiet, Madison!" Grant snapped, sweat breaking out along his hairline. He turned back to Evelyn, dropping his voice into a pleading tone. "Evie... please. Don't do this here. Let's go to my office. We can work this out privately."
"There is nothing to work out, Grant," Evelyn said calmly. She pulled three stamped legal documents from her black leather portfolio and laid them flat on the conference table.
"Document number one," Evelyn declared, her voice carrying absolute authority across the room. "An immediate corporate freeze on all marketing contracts signed with Cole Branding Solutions, pending an independent forensic audit of all funds paid to Miss Cole over the past eighteen months."
Madison gasped, her hand going to her throat. "You can't do that! We have an active service agreement!"
"Document number two," Evelyn continued, ignoring Madison completely. "The immediate revocation of Grant Hart’s signature authority on all corporate accounts held at Chase, First Horizon, and Bank of America."
Grant gripped the edge of the table. "Evelyn, you are destroying my reputation!"
"And document number three," Evelyn said, laying the final paper down with a crisp snap. "An eviction notice for the estate at 4402 Belle Meade Boulevard."
Grant blinked, stunned. "You’re evicting me from my own house?"
"It isn't your house, Grant," Evelyn reminded him gently. "The Belle Meade property is held under the Vance Real Estate Holding Trust. You don't own the bricks, you don't own the land, and as of 8:00 AM this morning, your security access codes have been deleted."
May you like
She turned toward the door, stopping just behind Madison’s chair.
"You have until 5:00 PM today to remove your personal clothing from the house, Grant," Evelyn said without turning around. "If Miss Cole’s ivory heels are still on my foyer floor by five-thirty, the sheriff’s department will impound them along with the rest of your abandoned belongings."
