“She’s trying to lock me out before we can file the papers,” he said.

“Precisely,” Arthur said.

“If she strips your authority tonight, the board will not legally have to recognize your request for tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Any document you present after the vote will be tied up in litigation for years.”

“You have to get to Stamford, Nathan.”

“And you have to get there before the vote is called.”

The call cut out with a sharp static beep.

Nathan looked at the dashboard clock.

It was seven-fifteen.

The meeting was at eight.

“We are twenty-five miles away,” Nathan said, his voice tense.

“In this rain, it will take at least forty minutes.”

He pressed his foot down on the accelerator, and the SUV surged forward into the dark, wet night.

The headlights caught the reflective signs of the highway entrance ahead.

“We have to make it,” I said, holding the folder tighter.

“We will,” Nathan said.

The phone on the dashboard began to flash again, a new notification popping up on the screen.

It was an email alert from the corporate server.