Dismissed

"Tell me this meeting has nothing to do with my recent scandal." Soleil desperately needed some affirmation that everything would be fine when even she didn't believe it.

"I can't tell you that, Sol." Vivy's grip on the steering wheel tightened as she sped down the road. "You and I both know the board of directors won't take this too lightly, especially since they think you cheated on the son of our biggest investor which is bad for business."

"I forgot about Kevin." Soleil sighed and sank deeper into her seat.

"That isn't such a bad thing." Vivian never bothered to hide her distaste for Kevin whenever an opportunity arose.

"Now isn't the right time for you to lecture me on how bad of a fiance Logan is." Soleil stayed quiet for a few moments before turning to face Vivian. "Do you really think everything will be alright?" 

Without taking her eyes off the road ahead of her, Vivian smiled reassuringly at Soleil. "I can't promise you anything I'm unsure of, but you're a fighter Soleil, and I'm willing to bet my life on the fact that you'll get through this."

Soleil felt more confident after Vivian's comforting words and that made her a bit more relaxed- as relaxed as she could be in that situation.

That calm however faded as soon as the car pulled up to the company's basement. Soleli's heart started racing faster and faster by the second but she masked her jittery nerves with a stoic look on her face.

To the outside world, she looked unbothered by everything going on- bored, even, but to Vivian who was familiar with her mannerisms, it was obvious that Soleil could throw up a bucket once left alone.

"Don't worry." Vivian rubbed her hands as a sign of comfort as the two walked up to the elevator.

As they walked through the office, the same workers who would bow to her, nearly kissing the ground when she walked by were visibly mocking her and staring at her like she was a nobody. None of them even bothered to greet her despite Soleil being their boss.

"She still dares to show up here."

"If I were her, I would never show my face to anyone again."

"What a shameless woman."

"I'm pretty sure she can sleep with the janitor at this point since she clearly has no regard for her dignity."

Soleil kept her head high and shoulders square as she walked past the gossiping mongrels without sparing them a glance. They were not worth wasting her time and energy on.

By the time they arrived at the meeting room, she noticed everyone was already there, including Logan who left after she did.

However, before Soleil could ponder on how Logan got there before her, she took notice of where he was seated. "What's going on here?" She asked no one in particular as she stared at Logan who was comfortably seated at her seat with the CEO nametag resting on the table.

When no one answered her question, she spoke up again, this time with more force than before. "I asked you all a question... What. Is. Going. On. Here?"

"We asked Mr. Logan here to take his seat at the head of the table, a position you obviously don't deserve." Old man Paul didn't bother to hide the mockery in his tone as he spoke.

Ignoring him, Soleil turned to face the room. "I am still the CEO of this company and you all need to show me some respect."

"You certainly didn't care about respect when you were whoring around," Paul rudely added.

"What Paul here is trying to say is," Another board member spoke up, "The purpose of this meeting is to remove you from your seat."

"What?" Soleil's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "You can't possibly do that."

"Yes, we can," Paul smirked. He seemed to have some sort of vendetta against her ever since she started working at the company and even more so when she became the CEO.

"Surely the articles about me aren't enough to warrant my dismissal from the company- the company my father built."

"To be fair you got the position through nepotism... Daddy's little girl." Paul laughed.

"I earned my position here and you know it- you all know it."

"It's not been a full day since the news broke out and our stocks have dropped to the lowest point in this company's history!" Andrew spoke up for the first time since the meeting started.

"Our public image is tarnished right now and if we want to fix it, we can't have a slut running the company." 

"Watch your mouth, Paul." Soleil warned, "I've done so much for this company and you can't dismiss me because of this small issue."

"Except it's not a small issue," Logan started as he leaned in more into the seat to try and get a reaction out of Soleil, "Your sexual escapade led to you cheating on the son of our biggest investor at the height of our success. You might have done a lot for the company, little sister, but that all doesn't matter when it gets overshadowed by a cheating scandal."

The way Logan called her little sister turned Soleil's stomach inside out. In the thirteen years that she had known him, not once did Logan ever call her little sister. And what did he mean by 'our success', he hadn't done anything substantial to contribute to the company yet he was proudly claiming part of its success.

"We need to prioritize the future of the company and all the workers here," Andrew added. "Shall we begin the voting for the dismissal of Soleil Simmons as the CEO and the enlistment of Logan Simmons to take over the seat?"

As if she wasn't there, they all proceeded to vote her out of her father's company without giving it a second thought. Not a single person in that room voted red against her dismissal and just like that Soleil had lost everything.

She watched them all in a trance as they all congratulated Logan and snubbed her like she was nothing, not even worth looking at.

Soleil wasn't even mad about losing her seat, she was mad about the fact that she lost it, Logan. Her father's blood, sweat, and tears were now in the hands of a man who was in no way blood-related to him and a man whose only interest was money and not the company.