“We will bring him back in to deliver the decision.”

“I want to be here when you tell him,” I said.

“You have that right, Clara,” Arthur said.

They spent the next twenty minutes drafting the terms.

The air in the room was cold.

I watched the cursor blink on the laptop screen as Evelyn typed the resolution.

It was the blueprint of Ethan’s professional death.

Finally, Evelyn printed the document.

Arthur signed it, followed by Marcus and Evelyn.

“Call him back in,” Arthur told his assistant over the intercom.

A moment later, the door opened.

Ethan walked back in, but he was not alone.

He had a junior attorney from the firm’s legal department with him.

His face was pale, but he had regained some of his composure.

“I have representation,” Ethan said, gesturing to the young man beside him.

“This meeting is a violation of my contract.”

“Your contract is no longer valid, Ethan,” Arthur said.

Arthur picked up the printed resolution.

“We have reached a decision,” Arthur said.

Just as Arthur began to read the document aloud, the phone on the center of the conference table lit up.