Taking Out The Trash
Her face was a storm of emotions—disbelief, dawning realization, and then, finally, overwhelming elation as the truth sunk in.
Relief washed over her features as she scrolled through the information on her device.
"Oh my God," she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.
"It's all here. Everything I suspected... I KNEW IT!"
Jessie's eyes glistened with unshed tears of vindication.
For months, she had endured ostracism from her colleagues and bore the overwhelming stress of keeping a company being devoured from the inside afloat.
Now, with the evidence laid bare before her, a weight seemed to lift from her shoulders.
Her gaze snapped up to meet Brandon's, a mixture of gratitude and fierce admiration in her eyes.
"You… did it," she said, her voice growing stronger.
"You actually found proof."
Brandon caught Jessie's eye and shot her a sneaky wink, his lips curling into a confident smirk.
The gesture was quick, almost imperceptible to the others in the room, but its effect on Jessie was immediate.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she bit her lower lip to suppress a smile.
On the other end of the table, CFO's face, already pale, turned an alarming shade of white.
*THUD!*
His eyes rolled back in his head, and with a soft groan, he slumped forward and hit the table with a heavy thud.
The room exploded into chaos.
Chairs scraped back violently, voices rose in a cacophony of shock and disbelief.
"$7MILLION?! Julian embezzled more than $7million?!"
"No wonder we haven't gotten an equipment budget in years!"
"HAH! I KNEW IT! No way a multi-million dollar label barely has a marketing budget!"
"Is that where our bonuses went?!"
Whispers grew louder, executives leaning towards each other, their faces a mix of shock and anger.
Papers rustled as trembling hands fumbled with phones, each ping of a new message ratcheting up the tension.
Derrick's face turned an alarming shade of purple, his jowls quivering with rage.
"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!"
He bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls of the boardroom.
Fred, his skinny frame shaking like a leaf in a storm, shakily extended his phone towards Derrick.
"C-check t-t-his…"
As soon as Derrick's meaty fingers closed around the device, Fred collapsed back into his chair, looking as if he might faint himself.
As Derrick's eyes scanned the screen, the change in his expression was almost comical.
The purple flush drained from his face, replaced by a sickly pallor.
His mouth, which had been set in a hard line of defiance, now hung open in shock.
Derrick's fingers trembled as he scrolled through the evidence of his crimes.
His eyes widened with each swipe, the reality of his situation sinking in.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
His breath came in shallow, rapid gasps, as if the air itself was suffocating him.
"T-This... this can't be..."
Derrick muttered, his voice a far cry from the confident bellow of moments ago.
He looked up at Brandon, fear replacing the earlier contempt in his eyes.
Brandon leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other with deliberate ease.
A satisfied smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched the room descend further into chaos.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, the boardroom doors slammed open with a deafening bang, the sound reverberating through the room like a gunshot.
A flood of men and women in dark suits and tactical gear poured into the room, their voices rising above the startled cries of the executives.
"FBI! Everybody stay where you are!"
The lead agent, a stern-faced woman with her badge prominently displayed, strode purposefully into the room.
The boardroom fell silent.
Her eyes scanned the faces around the table before settling on Julian Ashford.
"Julian Ashford, you're under arrest for embezzlement, fraud, and conspiracy," she announced, her voice crisp and authoritative.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
As two agents moved to cuff Julian, another approached Derrick Mallon.
"Derrick Mallon, you're under arrest for bribery, extortion, and racketeering," the agent declared, reciting the Miranda rights as he secured the handcuffs.
Fred Mallon's skinny frame shook violently as an agent pulled him to his feet.
"Frederick Mallon, you're under arrest for conspiracy and aiding and abetting criminal activities."
The unconscious CFO, was being tended to by paramedics who had arrived with the FBI team.
As soon as he regained consciousness, an agent stood ready to place him under arrest as well.
Brandon watched with satisfaction as the FBI agents took control of the room.
The lead agent approached him, extending her hand.
"Mr. Blackstone, I presume?" she said, her tone professional but warm.
"Mr. Martinez sends his regards."
Brandon shook her hand firmly, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
"Thank you, Agent. I appreciate your prompt response."
Almost right after the agents left, a disheveled BMG staff member burst into the room, his face flushed, eyes wild with panic, and shirt untucked, as if he had run the entire way.
"Sirs! Madams!" he gasped, addressing both Brandon and the other executives.
"A group of FBI agents just arrested everyone in the A&R department! And there's a swarm of reporters outside the building!"
The shocked boardroom erupted into panic once again.
Executives who hadn't been arrested began talking over each other, their voices rising in pitch and volume.
Jessie's brow furrowed as she scanned the room, her eyes darting from face to face.
"How in the world did the press find out so soon?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief and a hint of panic.
Isabella, the Head of Marketing, stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor.
Her usually composed demeanor was cracking under the pressure, fear etched into the lines of her face.
"If it gets out that we lost our CEO, CFO, and the entire A&R department got arrested," she said, her voice trembling slightly, "who knows what it'll do to our reputation and our entire business? We could be looking at a complete meltdown!"
Andre scoffed from his seat, his eyes rolling dramatically.
"Reputation?" he sneered.
"What reputation? We've been circling the drain for years now."
Harrison, the Head of Sales, leaned forward, his face grave and his fingers interlaced tightly on the table.
"We've been struggling to stay profitable for far too long," he said, his voice low and serious.
"This might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. We're talking about a potential collapse here."
Jessie turned to Brandon, her eyes filled with concern and a silent plea for help.
"He's right," she said softly, almost as if she didn't want to admit it.
"We just about managed to pay our staff last year... Another hit like this could be the end of everything we've worked for. This may bankrupt us."
Brandon stood up slowly, his movements deliberate and confident.
He buttoned his blazer, the fabric settling smoothly across his shoulders. His eyes swept across the room, taking in the panicked faces of the executives.
A smirk played at the corners of his mouth as he straightened his cuffs.
"Well then, thank god that your new CEO is a Blackstone," he said, his voice cutting through the chaos like a knife.
"We've got an impromptu press conference to attend to, shall we?"