Before the rest of the board members filed into the 50th-floor executive suite, the Chairman's private inner office was locked in a tense, claustrophobic silence.
Richard Newman stood behind his desk, leaning both hands heavily on the polished mahogany. His eyes swept over Finn and Ray. The anger from earlier had settled into a cold, hard ache behind his temples.
"We have to come up with ten percent by two o'clock," Richard said, his voice gratingly quiet. "The best option on paper is a company-wide capital restructuring—diluting every shareholder's stake equally across the board. That way, no single person takes a catastrophic hit."
He paused, letting the silence heavy in the air before adding, "If the board rejects a general dilution, then we have to pull it out of our own pockets. The three of us will have to figure it out."
Ray scoffed softly, twirling a high-end pen between his index and middle fingers. He didn't even bother sitting up straight in his leather chair.
