Upon learning of the Chairman’s sudden collapse, Arianne considered the possibility of a mole within the Rochefort Group. It hadn’t been three hours since the incident, but Lucas and the Communication departnt had already received calls about the rumors.
Arianne hadn’t dared to go to bed after returning ho. Instead, she spent another two hours seated on the couch in her living room, the television playing a news and current affairs program.
She turned her laptop on and had an ergency eting with Lucas and Carla, the head of Rochefort’s Communication departnt.
"Ms. Sumrs, we’ve already received several calls from dia outlets. They were asking for confirmation about the Chairman’s condition." Carla inford her.
"We’ve already drafted a press statent to release very soon," Lucas added, "I’m just waiting for an update and a go-signal from Franz."
Arianne nodded.
"It would be hard to deny the situation at this rate."
"Yes," Lucas answered imdiately. "For now, Carla and I are the only ones who are coordinating with you and Franz for updates. It should narrow down the people who had direct access to the information."
"I’ll send soone to investigate the hospital staff who attended to the Chairman earlier to cover all bases," Arianne said. "For now, we should remain silent until we’re certain of the Chairman’s condition. I’ll ask Finn to set a board eting first thing in the morning. We’d better be prepared this ti."
They decided to set an ergency board eting for the next day, first thing in the morning.
Later, Carla disconnected from the call, leaving Arianne and Lucas online.
"I have sothing else to discuss with you," Lucas said.
"Is this about the rger?" Arianne asked.
"Yes," he affird, "I actually received a few calls from our board mbers. They’d been asking if the rger would be signed and finalized or not."
"What about our shares? Is there anyone who wants to sell their shares that could affect the company?"
"Nothing so far. We’ve only noticed a slight dip in the market shares, but nothing concerning." Lucas replied. "We’ll need to create a contingency plan with Franz if things escalate."
Arianne humd, touching her chin out of habit whenever she was in deep thought.
"I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be directly involved with it," she reminded Lucas. "I could, at least, pacify the board mbers and partners while we wait for news."
Lucas fell silent. Arianne noticed that he wanted to say sothing to her, but decided not to.
"Alright. I’ll see you in the morning," he said before ending the call.
Arianne was left restless. Even though her body clock was telling her to sleep, her mind was filled with thoughts and wouldn’t calm down. Rubbing her temple, she glanced at the clock that said 02:35 in the morning.
She shut her laptop down, dimd the lights, and returned to her room. There were a lot of things to do later.
-
The conference room was already filled when Arianne and Lucas arrived for the ergency eting. Everyone seed to be on the edge of their seats, awaiting the news of the chairman’s condition.
Arianne looked around, seeing that the head of the table was empty. Franz was nowhere to be seen, which was understandable.
The board mbers voiced their concerns, and Lucas confird what everyone had been dreading. He didn’t lie about the chairman’s current situation, but assured them that they had already begun preparing a contingency plan to keep the company stable.
"This would put the rger with Orion Logistics on hold." One of the board mbers comnted.
"The dia also picked up the news this morning. They are questioning if Franz would be able to keep the company afloat during the chairman’s absence."
"This speculation could hurt the company in the long run." Another one chid in.
Lucas did not respond imdiately. Instead, he observed everyone’s reactions.
Arianne watched the exchange without intervening.
"The question," Lucas said at last, "is not whether speculation exists. It does. It’s inevitable at this point."
He tapped the table lightly with his fingers, his eyes scanning people seated across him.
"The question is whether we introduce instability by reacting to it. You know how the dia like to twist things in their favor."
One of the older board mbers cleared his throat. "The chairman’s absence creates uncertainty. Markets do not accept confusion and ambiguity."
Lucas inclined his head slightly. "Which is why interim authority has already been logged."
That drew attention.
"Logged where?" another asked.
"With compliance and legal. With the rger counterparty." Lucas didn’t raise his voice. "Franz Rochefort has been formally recorded as acting authority, effective imdiately."
Arianne noted the wording. Recorded, not announced.
A director near the window frowned. "That may be sufficient internally, but the market doesn’t recognize process. It recognizes confidence."
"And track record," soone added.
No one looked at her, but the words that were spoken pertained to her.
Arianne didn’t react. Her impassive expression gave away nothing.
Lucas answered instead. "The market recognizes continuity. Which is what we’re maintaining."
Silence followed. Everyone looked at him.
Another director leaned back in his chair. "Continuity works only if people see the acting authority as capable of maintaining it."
The implication settled into the room without being nad. It had been an ongoing issue since Alex’s passing.
Arianne shifted her gaze to the docunts in front of her. Not to read—just to move.
Lucas noticed.
"So far," he said, "there has been no breach. No withdrawal. No formal notice from Orion Logistics."
"But there will be pressure," the sa director said. "We’re already seeing it. Are we going to wait until the rger fails?"
Arianne finally spoke.
"Pressure isn’t a breach," she said. Her voice didn’t cut through the room. It entered it. "It’s a test."
Heads turned toward her as if they had been waiting to hear her opinion.
"The chairman’s collapse is a variable no one prepared for," she continued. "How the board responds becos the signal."
She stopped there.
Soone waited for more. None ca.
Lucas picked up the thread. "Which is why the board needs to be aligned on what we do not do."
"And that is?" a woman across the table asked.
"We do not overcorrect," Lucas said. "We do not introduce new authority structures without cause. And we do not speculate on succession while the chairman is alive."
Another pause followed.
Finally, a director spoke quietly. "If Franz falters, what is our margin?"
He didn’t bother to hide his doubt about Franz this ti.
Lucas didn’t answer imdiately.
He looked at Arianne.
Not for permission. For acknowledgnt.
She t his gaze, once, then looked away.
"That," Lucas said, "is a question we are not answering today."
The room absorbed it unevenly.
So accepted it. Others didn’t.
Arianne noted who remained silent.
And who didn’t.
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